Using Noise Reduction Software

[Rick in Olympia]

I shoot a lot of raw images at ISO 800 to 1600 with my Nikon D70. Before I started shooting raw and using ACR and PK Sharpener I used Noise Ninja to manage noise. I have been reasonably satisfied with the color noise reduction and luminance smoothing functions in ACR, especially when used in conjunction with "sharpening and smoothing" in PK Sharpener.

I would like to see if I can reduce noise in my images even more effectively by using the latest plug-in version of Noise Ninja. In what order in my workflow should I use Noise Ninja, e.g. after ACR and PK Sharpener?

[Jeff Schewe]

Testing would be the most telling but I would suggest running the noise reduction as early in the process as possible and before capture sharpening. Just take care that your killing noise and not edge detail or else you'll be fighting to regain edge detail you had prior to noise reduction.