which versions do you all have? which brand do you like better?

The home bundle of Noise Ninja with the stand alone and the plug in is 44.00.
Does that sound about like you all are using?

ginger

Hi Ginger,I have Noise Ninja Pro stand alone version.
I dont find myself having to use it very often.
I also have the demo of Neat Image.
Why do you ask?
I havent seen many of your wonderful photos that looked like it need any noise reduction.
John

I have tried Noise Ninja while it was beta and liked it, but now Nikon Capture Editor has it so I don't bother with NN anymore.

I use Noise Ninja. I just upgraded to the PS Plugin version for an extra $10. I don't use it all that often, but when needed it works great. The plugin version is really handy to use. I recommend it.

That's the thing, I have put off buying it, because I don't need it that often, etc.

But the one time a month I need it, I NEED IT! Nothing else works as well, I have tried the PS methods.

Thanks, ginger

Ginger,

not too long ago I googled for reviews of Noise Ninja and Neat Image. It took me a while to find, but I found a detailed review of about 10-12 different software packages. I didn't bother saving it because after reading all the testing, most didn't do a very good job, but one came out on top (Noise Ninja) with Neat Image a very close second. I beta tested the NN photoshop plugin and liked it.

If I have a choice, I prefer plugins to stand alone applications. I think either would be fine.

Regards,
Brad

Ginger,

I agree with the consensus. Either NN or NI will do the trick. If you can afford the extra $, the plug in versions are definitely worth the extra money. I'm also pretty impressed with Noiseware. The community version is free and it does a decent job. Just don't leave the settings on default. They are way too strong.


Steve

Originally Posted by Steve Cavigliano Ginger, I agree with the consensus. Either NN or NI will do the trick. If you can afford the extra $, the plug in versions are definitely worth the extra money. I'm also pretty impressed with Noiseware. The community version is free and it does a decent job. Just don't leave the settings on default. They are way too strong. Steve

If its free, its for me! Thanks Steve... gonna check out Noiseware

For those that are interested, here is a review of 22 noise reduction tools.

Regards,
Brad

I use the free version of Neat Image, and it does a very good job. There's noise profiles for many cameras including my 300D, and with the profiles it does even better. YMMV

I've been using NI and I pretty much love it. I don't need it all the time, but when I do it works great. Also, it has uses outside the obvious. Applying it with heavy settings can create a great glamour effect. See this thread:

http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=22559&postcount=11

I don't know if NN can be perverted in this way.

BTW, here is an example of what NI can do. The sky and signs confused my camera's exposure system and the people were way underexposed. Shot at ISO 1600. So I pushed the exposure during raw conversion and used shadow/highlight to get the people out of the shadows. The result was darn noisy:



Here it is after NI (I pushed the Y channel noise conversion, since there really is no natural setting for what I did.)




I suppose it could be better, but NI saved this image from the trash.

Originally Posted by rutt I've been using NI and I pretty much love it. I don't need it all the time, but when I do it works great.

I'm with you John. Neat Image v2.0.2 Plug in for Photoshop CS on OS X is the real deal! Very easy to use, complete with profiles for each ISO for the 1DMkll and the 20D, and allows complete noise removal or partial removal and limited sharpening at the same time.

This looks pretty smooth for ISO 1DMkll 800 to my eye after washing in NeatImage.


This shoveler was shot at ISO 800 with a 20D and then washed in Neat Image. Notice how smooth the water looks noise wise.