Before and After - The Weekly Editing Challenge

digital paradise wrote in post #19309580
I'm sure you could improve on it. You have skill as you use DXO on a regular basis. When PL3 was still usable I did use it for tough NR jobs. No doubt it's an excellent product.

Keep in mind that PL3 only had PRIME NR. DeepPRIME which was introduced in PL4 is very significantly better than PRIME by any measure. The only reason that PRIME is still included in PhotoLab is because DeepPRIME requires an acceptable graphics card GPU to perform well, otherwise it uses the CPU only and is very slow.. PRIME only uses the CPU but it is much less intensive so it runs a lot quicker than DeepPRIME when it is also processing using the CPU only.

On my mid level machine with an nVidia GTX 1050ti it takes around 21 seconds to process a DeepPRIME file and around 35 seconds to process a PRIME file. However, if my card's GPU wasn't supported DeepPRIME would take almost 70 seconds on my computer. The key to speeding up processing with DeepPRIME is to batch all your images using the optical tool settings only. and then export them all to DNG files and walk away. Then later you can edit your DNG files in PhotoLab and export them to Tiffs or Jpegs in only a couple of seconds each.. There is a special export in PhotoLab explicitly for that purpose. The optical tools included in this export are Lens Distortion, Vignetting, Lens Sharpness, Chromatic Aberration and it also includes Denoising.

mwsilver wrote in post #19309584
Keep in mind that PL3 only had PRIME NR. DeepPRIME which was introduced in PL4 is very significantly better than PRIME by any measure. The only reason that PRIME is still included in PhotoLab is because DeepPRIME requires an acceptable graphics card GPU to perform well, otherwise it uses the CPU only and is very slow.. PRIME only uses the CPU but it is much less intensive so it runs a lot quicker than DeepPRIME when it is also processing using the CPU only.

On my mid level machine with an nVidia GTX 1050ti it takes around 21 seconds to process a DeepPRIME file and around 35 seconds to process a PRIME file. However, if my card's GPU wasn't supported DeepPRIME would take almost 70 seconds on my computer. The key to speeding up processing with DeepPRIME is to batch all your images using the optical tool settings only. and then export them all to DNG files and walk away. Then later you can edit your DNG files in PhotoLab and export them to Tiffs or Jpegs in only a couple of seconds each.. There is a special export in PhotoLab explicitly for that purpose. The optical tools included in this export are Lens Distortion, Vignetting, Lens Sharpness, Chromatic Aberration and it also includes Denoising.

I know but I stopped buying products PL3. The wolf sample was from DeepPrime because I decided to try PureRaw.

Stiga wrote in post #19309512
Joe (Bianchi) has kindly uploaded a noisy image for me to work on and do some comparisons. This is the original RAW (Canon EOS R5, 1/1250 sec @ f/9); the original was very dark so I have opened it up by a couple of stops.

Now for my tests, firstly using DxO PL4
HQ

PRIME

DeepPRIME

Next here are the Topaz AI results - using default strength settings
Default Sharpen


Low Light Sharpen


The more I delve into DxO the more I dislike the interface! I'll be interested to read your thoughts

Thanks Martin for your comparison

The image I gave Martin was @ morning twilight, very low light Iso 12,800 and a good test to see how well the various Denoise software's on the market perform. Actually it's a discard file.

Below was the best I could do with it using Topaz Denoise & Sharpen AI from PS, and it wasn't great. Like I said, its a discard file.

DP added a link from Topaz on how to use RAW in Topaz Denoise which I am going to explore. It looks like it gets the best results using your RAW file >>> Thanks DP

https://www.topazlabs.​com/denoise-ai#tutorial-videos-4

Ran this one strictly as a RAW file into Denoise, and used RAW, didn't even use AI Sharpen.. WoW big difference, color me impressed !! This file was a very dark and noise image

This gives me a whole different perspective of what I said above. Goes to show you using the software they way it was intended gets you very good results.

Now I am wondering how to properly intergrate AI Sharpen in combination with AI Denoise. I'll have to check Topaz for a video on it.

Bianchi wrote in post #19309640
Ran this one strictly as a RAW file into Denoise, and used RAW, didn't even use AI Sharpen.. WoW big difference, color me impressed !! This file was a very dark and noise image

This gives me a whole different perspective of what I said above. Goes to show you using the software they way it was intended gets you very good results.

Now I am wondering how to properly intergrate AI Sharpen in combination with AI Denoise. I'll have to check Topaz for a video on it.

Hosted photo: posted by Bianchi in
./showthread.php?p=193​09640&i=i258786234
forum: Competitions

That IS impressive!

Um ... just wondering what happened to the weekly editing challenge. We've had a string of more than 50 posts comparing the performance of various pieces of software. Shouldn't that be carried on in the RAW, Post Processing & Printing forum?

RDWP wrote in post #19307525
New Challenge (15 Nov 2021)

Boat choices this week (since we have lots here). Three subjects in four images, two of which can be combined as a vertical pano, if you'd like.

They can be found at

https://www.dropbox.co​m …fHXcJxshhHUfLHt​HGOca?dl=0

Let me know any download / access problems.

Have fun
- Rob
(Note that I have modified the rules to reflect open and notorious practice. )

The Standard Rules:

Download the image file from the current week

Contestants will have 7 days to edit the image and post their edited version to the thread ([1 entry per week] post any number you'd like)

The owner of the original image will choose a winner

The winner will copy & paste this post and include a new downloadable image link

The new image must be unedited / SOOC (straight our of camera), full-resolution, and in a RAW format, ie. CR2, DNG, TIF, etc
(Dropbox works well for uploading and linking these large files)

The purpose of this game is to be creative and learn new editing techniques. You must give some insight into exactly how you went about editing the image. For example, increased shadows sliders, reduced highlights, local sharpening, white balance adjustment, specific filters used, tone curve adjustments, etc. Comments and/or questions regarding the edits are encouraged.

Peano wrote in post #19309723
='Peano;19309723]Um ... just wondering what happened to the weekly editing challenge. We've had a string of more than 50 posts comparing the performance of various pieces of software. Shouldn't that be carried on in the RAW, Post Processing & Printing forum?

Here you go, its the latest if you want to participate, and thank you for your Day to Night workflow

digital paradise wrote in post #19309563
It was still noisier. I don't think Stiga did any refinements.

You're right, no refinements

mwsilver wrote in post #19309569
We don't know what settings he used. and he may not have a high comfort level processing raw files in PhotoLab since he indicated he did not care for the interface.. If I had the raw I believe I could remove more of the noise in PhotoLab. and still retain the details. Given the camera it was taken with, the original is a surprisingly poor image .The reason there is less noise in the Topaz versions is also the reason there is less detail. Noise reduction often removes detail along with the noise. Clearly the amount of noise reduction in the Topaz versions was over applied. It reduced the noise and the details along with it.

I used the default settings for all 5 examples. Joe's original RAW is here.

Peano wrote in post #19309723
='Peano;19309723]Um ... just wondering what happened to the weekly editing challenge. We've had a string of more than 50 posts comparing the performance of various pieces of software. Shouldn't that be carried on in the RAW, Post Processing & Printing forum?

Probably, but this little group has been a lot more active investigating and applying these techniques, especially since the last post on RAW Post Processing and Printing was over 11 years ago ... . But, yes, folks, please uses some of your many talents on the week's subject images!

digital paradise wrote in post #19309562
Has anyone seen this. I just found it today. In LrC I typically right click and select Edit In DeNoise. You have to select either TIFF, PSD or Jpeg. If you drag the file directly into DeNoise it opens as a RAW file. When you save it puts the file back into LrC and after syncing the folder the file appears in the folder.

https://www.topazlabs.​com/denoise-ai#tutorial-videos-4

It is not working for me. I can't access the Color Profiles when back in LrC. It switches to Color.

At 6:07 Matt opens the Sony file where you can see the Adobe Color profile. He doesn't show the Canon file. I checked the video out on youtube and found some feedback. My interpretation. It doesn't work consistently with all manufacturer profiles. Hopefully they address this soon.

Bianchi wrote in post #19309640
Ran this one strictly as a RAW file into Denoise, and used RAW, didn't even use AI Sharpen.. WoW big difference, color me impressed !! This file was a very dark and noise image

This gives me a whole different perspective of what I said above. Goes to show you using the software they way it was intended gets you very good results.

Now I am wondering how to properly intergrate AI Sharpen in combination with AI Denoise. I'll have to check Topaz for a video on it.

Hosted photo: posted by Bianchi in
./showthread.php?p=193​09640&i=i258786234
forum: Competitions

That looks really good. I'll use that method.

digital paradise wrote in post #19309898
It is not working for me. I can't access the Color Profiles when back in LrC. It switches to Color.

At 6:07 Matt opens the Sony file where you can see the Adobe Color profile. He doesn't show the Canon file. I checked the video out on youtube and found some feedback. My interpretation. It doesn't work consistently with all manufacturer profiles. Hopefully they address this soon.

Hosted photo: posted by digital paradise in
./showthread.php?p=193​09898&i=i101415321
forum: Competitions

When I tried raw in Denoise, here was my workflow. I pulled the raw file from its folder out on my external HD and slid it into the standalone Topaz Denosie and processed it as raw, and then returned it as a DNG as was recommended in video. I was able to use color profiles in LR ....Dont forget to make the changes in preferences as was recommended in the video.

Objective, keep image as natural as possible... Used Denoise raw initially then into PS ACR for basic adjustments, and then into L AI for further adjustments, and finished it off with Topaz Sharpen AI. I need to do further research into Topaz Sharpen AI, as when to integrate it in the workflow process when also using Topaz Denoise AI.

Bianchi wrote in post #19309912
When I tried raw in Denoise, here was my workflow. I pulled the raw file from its folder out on my external HD and slid it into the standalone Topaz Denosie and processed it as raw, and then returned it as a DNG as was recommended in video. I was able to use color profiles in LR ....Dont forget to make the changes in preferences as was recommended in the video.

Just tried that and still color. What version of Denoise and do you see the Lens Corrections module in the Denoise preferences? My support ran out on Oct 5ht but it shows 3.3.4 is the latest. I'm waiting for the next upgrade before purchasing support