What noise and sharpening add-ins do you use?

[tlfaust]

Hi
I'm learning Photoshop (CS3), and am looking for plug-ins for noise reduction and sharpeneing. Would you mind sharing what you use (and why)?
Thanks!

[AndrewShirley]

I use Elements (Can't afford CS3) and use USM with selective masking. I think it works great and its built in.

- Andrew

[simonkit]

For noise if necessary I use the reduction in Adobe raw, if its "selective" I create a mask in CS3 & use the Noise Ninja plug-in - works very well & allows good adjustment.

For sharpening I apply a little "capture sharpening" in Adobe Raw & then use the "Photokit Sharpener" plug-in to apply final output sharpening, excellent plug-in that takes much of the hard work out of sharpening

simon

[falconeye]

Originally Posted by tlfaust

Hi
sharpeneing

Are you asking for generic sharpening, or more specifically, a treatment for out-of-focus blur?

[tlfaust]

Hi
I was asking for generic sharpening. For OoF blur, I was considering FocusMagic...

Thanks!

[falconeye]

Originally Posted by tlfaust

I was asking for generic sharpening. For OoF blur, I was considering FocusMagic...

Well, then...

However, you will find that FocusMagic does a splendid job and just outperforms ANY of the generic sharpening techniques (like Photoshops USM). Just use FocusMagic with a mild parameter just like 1pixel blur. Of course, it is slower and not embedded into Lightroom.

As for OoF blur, I am preparing a mini tutorial, also comparing various alternatives, for the convenience of my fellow forum members.

[augustmoon]

Noise Ninja is the best noise-reduction I've tried so far...

[BeerCan]

I started uding Define for noise and focus magic for sharpening. I still have a lot to learn about PP however.

[Lowell Goudge]

for general photo editing, which includes noise and sharpening, I use Corel Paint SHop Pro X2, but I also have Noise Ninja plug in as an optional add in.

Most good photo editors can use third party plug ins.

[ericc]

I use the NeatImage plugin for PS CS3 for general denoising. I like the results with it.

I prefer to keep sharpening to a minimum for web shots. For prints, I apply a little more, but not much. For both, I just use the built-in Smart Sharpen in CS3. I've toyed with Focal Blade and Focus Magic, but I didn't care for the results vs. what CS3 provides.

[tlfaust]

for your thoughts an opinions. I'll keep researching, but I'm leaning towards Focus Magic and not sure abou the noise plug-in yet....

Thanks again

[cputeq]

Noise Ninja is the standard for noise reduction. It's amazing just how well and quickly it works.

I just purchased the $80 "pro" version last night and I'm extremely happy with it. I rarely buy software of this nature (stand alone / plug-in), but after wrestling with Adobe's noise reduction and others, it's well worth it.


I use CS3, and while it's noise reduction is pretty good, Noise Ninja is in another league.
Download the demo and try it out -- unfortunately the demo overlays a grid over your image, but you'll see the results regardless.
Reduce noise, zoom in, then do the "undo" actions over and over to get an idea of the before-and-after affects.

Disclaimer -- I'm in no way affiliated with Noise Ninja or anyone that is associated with them.

[Parallax]

I use Neat Image plugin.