I’m thinking about buying Luminar. How does it compare with other denoise programs.
Luminar is a photo processing a that does noise removal; it is not a dedicated noise removal app. If you have a photo processing software you currently use and are happy with consider a dedicated app. Topaz has a dedicated noise removal app. On1 software also just released one.
Luminar isn't even on the results list of this google: 2021 digital noise software ranking
You need to look at your workflow and current editing software, if any. Some of the software above operates as a plug-in to other software. That is, you perform much of the editing in your primary software and run the image through the denoising plug-in software as a step in the workflow. Some software, like Lightroom or PhotoShop, have their own denoise processing internal to the software, probably like Luminar, but allow for dedicated plug-ins too that are more specialized and specific to noise.
Jrhoffman75 wrote:
Luminar is a photo processing a that does noise removal; it is not a dedicated noise removal app. If you have a photo processing software you currently use and are happy with consider a dedicated app. Topaz has a dedicated noise removal app. On1 software also just released one.
So for noise removal, it doesn’t work any better than the PS sliders?
I use Luminar for several things, but I can’t see that it does much for noise removal. For that I use Topaz; it works well.
warzone wrote:
So for noise removal, it doesn’t work any better than the PS sliders?
I don’t know. My point was if you are happy with what you currently have for processing don’t get involved with a whole new processing product, get a dedicated specialized app.
I thank you for this information. I’m new to digital but have used film for many years. I don’t try to push my ISO to the extremes. I have my 5D Set to the white balance. Then I usually set the ISO and then the shutter speed and the f/stop last. I rarely get digital noise. I’m not very good at post-processing because I have never purchased any processing software.
warzone wrote:
So for noise removal, it doesn’t work any better than the PS sliders?
Really, it depends on the complexity of the issue. I wrote these 'basics' instructional that apply to the LR and ACR. You can go down a rabbit's hole of several techniques in PS, but the consensus even in 2021, is dedicated software is needed above a certain ISO and the Adobe's software ability.
Basics of noise processingI exposure thinking about the potential noise. For the most part, LR can can handle my needs alone. When not, I apply an initial processing in LR and then run the image through the old (discontinued) Topaz DeNoise6. Dedicated software are much better at removing noise and keeping details than Adobe, certainly faster than picking apart the image in layers in PS and processing individual layers separately.
Until now the golden standard of noise removal has been Topaz Denoise. When they introduced AI into their software I began to have issues. In my case it was not as easy as it was before to get the results I wanted. When they decided to charge their customers every time they made an update I simply dropped them. I am still using their original version without AI but I will begin to explore the ON-1 version.
When I use high ISO and that is not common, I tend to expose to the right.
Topaz DeNoise AI is regarded by many as the "gold standard" for noise reduction.
DxO PhotoLab has a Prime denoise setting which is quite good, and a Deep Prime setting which many feel rivals Topaz, but Deep Prime only works on raw files.
ON1 has just released NoNoise a few days ago. It will be interesting to see side-to-side comparisons with Topaz.
Although Luminar has a denoise setting, it is not known at all for noise reduction and you should look elsewhere if noise reduction is your primary goal.
Noise needs not to be removed 95% of the time.
WE have a tendency to pixel peep and see noise all over the place but when we print the noise is diluted during the resizing/printing process.
Save your $$$$
See my previous post on this subject.
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