Best noise stand alone reduction software.

[bomberbaz]

Hello all. I am looking for a stand alone noise reduction software programme.

Needs to run on windows and as I don't have any premium software to bolt it onto, stand alone would be best. This said, I am open to suggestions as long as it doesn't become cost prohibitive. I am thinking maybe up to £125.00 with a little leeway depending on what's on offer.

One with a trial period would also be highly desirable. 

TIA for any suggestions.

Steve

[happy-kat]

3rd party photoshop plugins some can work in GIMP, could see if that noise exterminatorx plugin also gets used in GIMP as an idea

[John Wick]

Had good results with Topaz DeNoise AI

[PeterCPC]

Topaz is good but I also use Noiseware.

[Crackabarrel]

Topaz Denoise is good, however I tend to only run it on starless images then recombine.

[PeterCPC]

But my favourite is Astroflat pro.

[John Wick]

There are a number of add ons for photoshop that I have indirect experience of, they seem to work well. I think RC Astro? Have some, the Gradient xterminator plugin is very good. 

[carastro]

Sorry irrelevant

Edited October 19, 2022 by carastro
Delete pist as realise irrelevant

[skybadger]

Have you considered affinity, it will take most Photoshop plugins and is seriously cheap. 

 

[carastro]

What software are you using for processing?

[bomberbaz]

6 hours ago, carastro said:

What software are you using for processing?

currently mostly using Siril and Gimp Carol

[carastro]

Ok.  Thanks. 
Carole

[bomberbaz]

2 minutes ago, carastro said:

Ok.  Thanks. 
Carole

Oops, sorry miss spelled name 🙃

[ollypenrice]

Compatibility is explained here for Russ Croman's Noise Xterminator. https://www.rc-astro.com/resources/NoiseXTerminator/index.php

I'm always very wary in using noise reduction but this product is astonishingly good and, most importantly, almost invisible.

Olly

[Ouroboros]

9 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

Compatibility is explained here for Russ Croman's Noise Xterminator. https://www.rc-astro.com/resources/NoiseXTerminator/index.php

I'm always very wary in using noise reduction but this product is astonishingly good and, most importantly, almost invisible.

Olly

Invisible? Does it work like a placebo?  You apply it and it makes you think it looks less noisy.  😉 Sorry. I’m being cheeky. 

[vlaiv]

What is wrong with G'mic plugins for Gimp?

There is vast array of noise reducing options - I find wavelet noise reduction to work the best for astronomical images.

Do use layer mask composed out of image brightness - so that you denoise only in darkest areas of the image (where SNR is low because of low signal).

(do notice how many different smoothing options there are in the list).

[bomberbaz]

41 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

What is wrong with G'mic plugins for Gimp?

There is vast array of noise reducing options - I find wavelet noise reduction to work the best for astronomical images.

Do use layer mask composed out of image brightness - so that you denoise only in darkest areas of the image (where SNR is low because of low signal).

(do notice how many different smoothing options there are in the list).

thanks vlaiv, I wasn't aware of this plugin. I shall give it a go and see what the results are like. Much appreciated. 

[Elp]

43 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

G'mic

This is one of the better ones I've used, and it doesn't cost a dime. Iain's Denoise works quite well within also but you have to be very subtle with it.

[bomberbaz]

45 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

What is wrong with G'mic plugins for Gimp?

There is vast array of noise reducing options - I find wavelet noise reduction to work the best for astronomical images.

Do use layer mask composed out of image brightness - so that you denoise only in darkest areas of the image (where SNR is low because of low signal).

(do notice how many different smoothing options there are in the list).

 

1 minute ago, Elp said:

This is one of the better ones I've used, and it doesn't cost a dime. Iain's Denoise works quite well within also but you have to be very subtle with it.

the installation guide is here G'MIC - GREYC's Magic for Image Computing: A Full-Featured Open-Source Framework for Image Processing - Installing the G'MIC-Qt Plug-in For 8bf Hosts (gmic.eu)

Any idea which guide I should follow, there is a general one and one for photoshop plus two others!

[vlaiv]

1 minute ago, bomberbaz said:

Any idea which guide I should follow, there is a general one and one for photoshop plus two others!

I have no idea.

I used this build of Gimp (at the time it there was no official 2.10 build that could handle 32bit per channel data):

https://www.partha.com/

and it came with G'mic plugins preinstalled.

[Elp]

Seems okay to follow. If you're using GIMP you extract the zip file and copy the whole "gmic_gimp_qt" folder to the plugins folder where GIMP is installed. For me in windows this was in:

C > users > "username" > appdata > roaming > gimp > "version" > plug-ins

Edited October 26, 2022 by Elp

[bomberbaz]

Thanks @vlaiv for the G'MIC heads up, it is a super programme and there is so much more than wavelets as I am sure you already know. 

One of them is a super star reduction tool and I am guessing there will be many more to find out about, thanks again, it's a great help.

Steve

[petevasey]

I've been using 'Neat Image' for quite a while now.  Easy to use, not expensive and there is a Demo version.

Cheers,

Peter

[bomberbaz]

13 hours ago, petevasey said:

I've been using 'Neat Image' for quite a while now.  Easy to use, not expensive and there is a Demo version.

Cheers,

Peter

Is it a simple programme to use Peter? I should have also said I am not brilliant on tech, although probably above average. 

cheers

steve

[petevasey]

Hi, Steve,

 

I have quite an old version (5.8 from 2013!), and yes it is straightforward.  I see that there are two versions - the cheaper one only works on bitmaps.  Make sure your computer and Photoshop version meets the requirements. My version  works on fits, pngs, etc. etc.  I think my Photoshop (CS3) is too old for the latest version of Neat Image.   Why don't you give the trial version a go and see if you like it.  Free for a month, so nothing to lose 🙂

Cheers,

Peter