darktable noise reduction and how does it compare to Topaz Denoise AI

[@bcelasun]

Darktable user here. I usually just use a single instance of Denoise (profiled), select 'Wavelets auto' and adjust strength (usually lowering). That is it. It takes perhaps 10 seconds and the result is very good most of the time. For pixel peepers or for those bigger needs and more time, there are myriad other options including more than one instance of a module with entirely different settings layered on top of each other. In fact, I can imagine someone spending an hour to perfectly denoise a special image. Of course, one can also treat parts of the image differently from other areas by selecting them. You can also apply denoising to a particular range of tones or hues in any combination.

[@StefanoFerro]

Many thanks buddy. I should give more time to the wavelets option. It hasn't worked in the past for me but I am sure it was me not using properly. I totally agree with you on the time you could eventually spend on it LOL like anything in life, it's always hard to find the limit. Cheers

[@lisanamado]

Good video! I'm still using darktable 2.6.2, and see I really need the most recent version. By now, I've been using bilateral filter denoise on color mix mode to get rid of chroma noise, then raw denoise on very low values, and, if that's not enough, go to profiled denoise, applied on luminance mix. setting chromatic interpolation module's color smoothing option to a higher value has also helped much to improve chroma noise. I've had some issues with raw denoise giving a violet tint to darker areas when editing very noisy images. Hope it works better on new Darktable versions! EDIT: Comments below convinced me that profiled denoise must have been improved, I'll check it out.

[@StefanoFerro]

Cheers Lisando, wow that's a great denoise process. I personally suggest to move up to 3.4. It's not only about better denoising capabilities but also new modules that are absolutely outstanding. My new favourite one is the Color Calibration (check out my video I posted just a few hours ago) to add magic to my photos. Thanks again for your feedback

[@lisanamado]

@@StefanoFerro I'm already testing 3.4. That's a huge advance, can't believe I've spent so much time using old 2.6. It even works really faster, I'm glad I came here to find this.

[@LibreArts]

Glad you liked it here in Moscow :)

[@StefanoFerro]

Hey buddy, indeed loved it. Amazing place for photography. I was able also to make it to the famous football field in the forest. With the snow, it was a green patch on white land :). Great experience

[@martinlang5139]

Thank you very much Stefano for the video. I am a darktable user, too, and I also use denoise profiled. I usually reduce the strength and am perfectly happy. I am on Linux, so Topaz is not an alternative for me anyway.

[@StefanoFerro]

No worries buddy. Enjoy dt

[@emrg777]

I prefer wavelets ....more detail preserved but you have to often add large strength....even outside the initial default range of the slider....It is better maybe for luma noise than color but NLM can quite quickly kill the details if you are not careful....IMO....the creator of the module rawfiner has a youtube channel and so great in depth video on the various modules and how to best apply them....Topaz was quite impressive...also you can still find the older DEFINE2 from google before it was purchased by DXO and it is free and works really well too.....

[@StefanoFerro]

I have a mixed experience with wavelets. I am sure it is my fault. And I tend to spend too much time on it, instead of focusing my attention on more important things. I must say that noise has become less of a problem with the latest SONY cameras, even if shooting at ISO 6400. I used the A7R2 and I was happy, then the A7III and it was even better. I am sure Nikon and Canon are similar (I never really shoot too much with the new models, just for a test night). $90 for Topaz is the best investment if noise is an issue. It's not just the quality of the job but also the execution speed. In 5-10 seconds the job is done. Thanks for the DEFINE 2 tip. I will add a dld link into the video description. Cheers buddy

[@emrg777]

@@StefanoFerro That is true. I think it has been updated a bit for the next release also...often I find you need to add a lot to the strength....default maybe only shows say 0-4 on the slider but often you can rightclick and set to 6 or 8 or even higher.....I think you are right the new cameras really help us with noise....

[@emrg777]

@@StefanoFerro This is the software I was talking about incase others are not familiar...its a paid product now but google had if for a period and it was free kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5fGpqqXe6d-aKM You can also use it standalone

[@StefanoFerro]

Included now in the video description. Pity I can't edit the video. Cheers 👍🙏🙏

[@cesareliguori7373]

Thanks for your video. I realize that it is very difficult to keep the pace with darktable development. I see that you used v3.2, and now (13 months later) I am on version 3.8 where there are just two denoise modules, denoise (profiled) and astrophoto denoise. Besides, denoise (profiled) has a much more complex control interface. I would be interested in your experience using the different color modes in this latter version of the denoise module. According to the manual, using the color mode Y0U0V0 should give better results, but I can not get any close to the results I achieve with RGB color mode. I am probably doing something wrong, and some expert explanations would be very useful for me.

[@cesareliguori7373]

Sorry, I realized that it is already 2 years, not just 13 months ... The rest of my comment is still valid, however...

[@emrg777]

And the contrast eq as well...ha ha ...so 5.......

[@StefanoFerro]

ahah...ops, I haven't mentioned that :D

[@rocheuro]

same conclusions. Topaz Ai is very ahead of competition.

[@StefanoFerro]

Indeed. It's a great software

[@wodzimierzwohn114]

Honestly the Topaz result looks much worse to my eyes. Colours are washed out and details/contrast is not in par with DT process.

[@StefanoFerro]

Thanks for your comment. It's always hard to show the quality of a photo with the YT compression. Honestly, dt noise cancellation is good enough for me. Topaz is better when I check pixel by pixel but when I print the photo I can't notice any difference. Cheers