Noise in easyHDR edits
Dec 11, 2018 11:51:16 #
I have been, for the first time, using easyHDR (3.12.2 64 bit) to enhance some jpeg images from a recent trip. The filters seem to introduce an enormous amount of noise into the images and I wonder if this is the usual outcome experienced by users of this program. The sample images are about 8% of the area of an original 24mp image.
Dec 11, 2018 12:02:18 #
Probably not so much the program, but the inherent issue with HDR. You're adding images and each has a bit of noise in it.
--Bob
--Bob
cdayton wrote:
I have been, for the first time, using easyHDR (3.12.2 64 bit) to enhance some jpeg images from a recent trip. The filters seem to introduce an enormous amount of noise into the images and I wonder if this is the usual outcome experienced by users of this program. The sample images are about 8% of the area of an original 24mp image.
Dec 11, 2018 12:12:24 #
Underexposed or shadow areas typically have a lot of noise when opened up, especially in jpegs. A jpeg is a pre-processed file with much of the latent data stripped off to make it smaller. Try shooting raw, you may have more success with manipulating the image.
Dec 11, 2018 12:43:08 #
andypop wrote:
Underexposed or shadow areas typically have a lot of noise when opened up, especially in jpegs. A jpeg is a pre-processed file with much of the latent data stripped off to make it smaller. Try shooting raw, you may have more success with manipulating the image.
Right, but my jpeg image shows very little noise whereas the easyHDR filtered image is very noisy. By the way, I am simply editing a single jpeg not stacking multiple images to get an hdr image. When i do adjustments in PP on the jpeg, it does not introduce additional noise that is apparent.
Dec 11, 2018 14:35:48 #
cdayton wrote:
I have been, for the first time, using easyHDR (3.12.2 64 bit) to enhance some jpeg images from a recent trip. The filters seem to introduce an enormous amount of noise into the images and I wonder if this is the usual outcome experienced by users of this program. The sample images are about 8% of the area of an original 24mp image.
I think the problem you're having is because you are using jpeg images, which do not have much leeway at all and will always produce a lot of noise when treated that way!
Dec 11, 2018 15:45:56 #
So to deal with the "shoot in raw" comments, here are equivalent crops for a jpeg sooc and a raw (NEF) file edited in easyHDR and saved as a jpeg for display. I see the same added noise that was present when I started with a jpeg in my previous example. So I repeat, have others experienced this type of issue when using easyHDR to edit images?
Dec 11, 2018 17:13:18 #
One of the purposes of HDR is to lighten shadows. If you are referring to the "grain" in the dark color on the side of the boat, I think this is just overcooked HDR doing it's job.
Dec 12, 2018 08:34:43 #
cdayton wrote:
Right, but my jpeg image shows very little noise whereas the easyHDR filtered image is very noisy. By the way, I am simply editing a single jpeg not stacking multiple images to get an hdr image. When i do adjustments in PP on the jpeg, it does not introduce additional noise that is apparent.
I'd say your problem is trying to edit a single JPEG image with an HDR program which really is designed to combine multiple images to balance out Highlights and Shadows
Dec 12, 2018 09:39:01 #
cdayton wrote:
I have been, for the first time, using easyHDR (3.12.2 64 bit) to enhance some jpeg images from a recent trip. The filters seem to introduce an enormous amount of noise into the images and I wonder if this is the usual outcome experienced by users of this program. The sample images are about 8% of the area of an original 24mp image.
Make a 24x36" print - stand about 5 ft away - try and find the noise. Looking at an 8% crop is like looking at a 24x36 image at a distance of about a foot. I think you may also have noise reduction dialed up pretty high on your camera, and you have Easy HDR set for higher contrast and saturation.
For better results, record your images as raw, and you may find that you won't need programs like EasyHDR to help make them pop. Shadow recovery in particular goes better when you recover them in 14 bit raw files.
Dec 12, 2018 12:46:19 #
This is the problem with HDR as it amplifies every detail & flaw. However, using JPEG to do HDR is an even bigger problem. Is this a bracketed shot -0+ of 3 or more exposures or a tone mapped shot of a single image? There is a difference. Regardless you should be shooting in RAW, working in RAW, and then using some selective noise reduction to reduce the HDR noise. Also HDR is better suited for high contrast photography (Dark shadows & bright highlights) not bright fully lite subjects like this one. You may want to consider working in luminosity layer stacking instead of HDR.
cdayton wrote:
I have been, for the first time, using easyHDR (3.12.2 64 bit) to enhance some jpeg images from a recent trip. The filters seem to introduce an enormous amount of noise into the images and I wonder if this is the usual outcome experienced by users of this program. The sample images are about 8% of the area of an original 24mp image.
Dec 12, 2018 15:31:43 #
apply noise reduction to each image before hdr and again after if needed
Dec 12, 2018 16:16:48 #
Gene51 wrote:
Make a 24x36" print - stand about 5 ft away -... (show quote)
First image shot at iso 100 and second (RAW) at iso 320 (in generated jpeg). Camera NR is set to only apply at high iso. Second image was RAW. My concern is that easyHDR claims to be good for adjusting even single jpeg images but my experience with 10 or so separate images with very little noise in the jpegs, is that easyHDR seems to introduce a ton of noise. This does not occur in PP adjustments. I need to try some true HDR sets of images and see how it works.
Dec 12, 2018 17:07:06 #
I've never used easyHDR, but use Photomatix Pro quite a bit, and it can produce quite a bit of noise as well. Some of the presets can generate much more noise than others. Also, HDR can produce a lot more chromatic aberration. Photomatix does do a good job of removing that. I think anyone doing a lot of HDR will need a good noise reduction regimen. I typically use the nik dfine2 plug-in for noise reduction while masking detail areas, and sharpener pro for sharpening details while masking the noisy areas. If you're doing HDR it's just the way of life...
Dec 12, 2018 17:22:45 #
kmohr3 wrote:
I've never used easyHDR, but use Photomatix Pro qu... (show quote)
Thanks. That’s very helpful.
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