Every photographer will have experienced noise distortion in an image at some point during their snapping years.
Noise can look great, especially with film photography where the grains exemplified add texture and a vintage feel. However, in digital photography the noise often looks different, ruins images and drives photographers mad.
That’s why there’s specific software to help you deal with noise in your post shooting editing phase. So what is noise and how does it occur? Well noise in photography refers to the random variation of brightness within an image, normally sporadic, sharp and difficult to look at. It’s a form of visual distortion that comes in many types such as Gaussian, Poisson, Speckle and Salt and Pepper.
Noise is normally the result of high ISO, small sensors sizes, or even just shooting in the dark. It’s difficult to completely alleviate the problem which is why software exists to reduce the damage to your shots.
There are lots of different programs by various developers that are specifically dedicated to reducing noise in your photographs. In this list we will run through a selection of the best programs so you can get an overview of which programs do what, and why they might suit you. We’ll also look at value for money options, versatile software and cover everything from beginner, to professional standard quality noise reduction software.
Luminar 4 Photo Editing Software
Our first stop is the Luminar 4 photo editing software developed by American company Skylum.
This program is available on both windows and mac systems and even comes with a free trial for mac users so you can test it out before you make the plunge. This software is really easy to use, extremely user friendly and great for those of you who have mac systems at home.
It also functions as a plugin on both Photoshop and Lightroom so it can be utilised as an add on with other programs. The noise reduction tool on this program is easy to use, simple and it does the job. This isn’t the most experimental program on the market, but if you’re looking for a great simple to use noise reduction software to post edit your shots – it’s well worth a look.
Pros
- Good value for money
- Easy to use
- Functions as plugin for both photoshop and Lightroom
- Available for both windows and Mac systems
- Lots of on board editing tools for post-shoot editing
- Standalone purchase with no recurring subscription fees
- User friendly
- Easy to adopt to your needs
- Versatile
- Auto correction tool
- Responsive edits
- Chromatic noise reduction tool
- Luminance reduction tool
- Denoise filter is simple and easy to use
- One off features and plugins
- Cheaper alternative to LightRoom
- Rate and organize your photos into albums for easy arrangement
- Synchronise your edits
- Good for students,beginners and amateur photographers
Cons
- Works poorly on windows systems where it is unresponsive, lags and doesn’t load images quickly
- Poorly organized layout
- Not professional standard
Adobe Photoshop
I’m sure you’ve all heard of Adobe Photoshop, right? This is one of the top programs that photographers can use for editing their photographs. The application is particularly good for removing noise from images and leaving your photographs looking much clearer.
Via adobe Camera RAW, a RAW plug in that you can use to edit photographs which will directly alter noise levels in your images. If you’re after a great software that offers much more than just photography editing abilities then this is perhaps the right option for you.
The only downside to Photoshop being that you must subscribe to the service meaning you can never outright own the program. However in spite of this, we still highly recommend the program for those that are looking to edit professional standard photographs. Whilst it can take some time to learn photoshop, it is well worth the time with optimum results achievable.
Pros
- Great all round platform
- Perfect for professionals
- Plenty of online videos to help you learn how to use the software
- Increase image resolution
- Amazing design tools that offer more than other programs
- Advanced options are achievable
- Industry standard
- Universal image editing software
- Great for learning the ropes of photography editing
- Plenty of help and support
- Adobe are a renowned company
- Common software that you’ll find lots of people use
- RAW photo editing
- Blending and stacking options available
- Advanced software
Cons
- Only available on a subscription basis
- Not easy to learn at first
- Takes time to master
- Off putting for beginners
Adobe Lightroom
Another Software that we think is worth mentioning from Adobe is Lightroom. Again available as a yearly, or monthly subscription service this offering from Adobe is much better suited to those that want only to edit photos.
With a much easier layout largely due to the reduction in editing and design tools compared with photoshop this software has lots of great inbuilt features that make it a great option for editing noise out of your photographs.
Some great built in features include the ability to pick a specific lens in which you’ll be editing from, color masking options as well as great ways to organize your shots through the application so you save time later adding them into separate folders.
Overall this is a great option for anyone who is thinking about starting a career in photography. With plenty of great tools and ease of use, we think this is a great software for photographers at any level. You’ll never experience negative noise in your photographs again!
Pros
- Easy to use
- Good for beginners
- Plenty of editing software
- Neat ad ons such as the ability to mask color
- Organize your photographs through the application
- Great noise reduction software
- Decent value for money
- User friendly interface
- Professional standard images are achievable
- Fantastic built in features and editing potential
Cons
- Slow importing
- Similarly priced as photoshop but lacking lots of tools photoshop offers
- RAW file conversion is poor and beaten by other software that we covered
DxO Labs OpticsPro 11 Essential Edition
The DxO Labs OpticsPro 11 is usable on its own or as an add-on integrated with Adobe Lightroom.
Plenty of photographers actually use this program solely for editing noise out of images. It’s very simple to use, has a user friendly interface and outperforms lots of other programs.
It’s great value for money which is also a massive plus. With plenty of built in features, great editing tools and software you’ll be hard pressed to not fall in love with this software.
If you’re new to post-shoot editing, software programs or just want something basic to get you started then this is the best place to start. We highly recommend that you check this software out before spending money elsewhere.
Pros
- Fantastic for beginners
- Good overall editing tools
- Edit noise in your images with ease
- Integrate with Adobe Lightroom or use on its own
- Auto Correct tools when you list your camera and lens
- High performing
- User friendly design
- Simple and effective
- Professional standard
- Overall the best software for just noise reduction
- Lots of professional studios use this program just for noise reduction
Cons
- The massive flaw with this program is that it can be slow
- Only work with one image at a time
Capture One 11 Photo Editing Software
Capture One 11 is the last software that we will review on our list. This software is available to purchase as a one off buy and comes downloadable on up to three devices.
This is a great piece of software that was obviously brought out to rival Adobe Lightroom. Designed by photographers this software has plenty of great editing tools. It’s so finite you can even edit by pixel.
It’s easy to see why plenty of users are really moving toward this software. It isn’t aimed at beginners, but studio shooters, professional editors and others will definitely find the features and tools used on board both useful and extremely well developed.
We think this is one to watch and it’s worth learning the tools now if you think editing photographs will become part of your shooting experience.
Pros
- Great features
- Professional quality
- Outstanding one pixel editing ability
- One off purchase and downloadable onto three devices
- Advanced tools
- Color correction
- Faster than other programs
- Edit RAW photos quickly
Cons
- Expensive compared to other software
- Not tried and tested yet
- Complicated to use
- Definitely not aimed at amateurs
Conclusion
This list has run through some of the best Noise Reduction software on the market right now. We covered basic programs, budget options that are handy for beginners as well as professional standard applications.
We hope you found a noise reduction software that will work for you!
