Noiseware Photo Resizing/Reduction Question??

Hello,
I'm using the Noiseware (free "community edition"), which does an excellent job btw, but it resizes/reduces my pictures? It's really not resizing my pic per say, as it retains the same dimensions(3850x2567), but instead saving with less mb. My original pic is 9.87mb but only 2.56mb after using the noise reduction tool.

My concern, is this particular one will be for a large print. Will this reduction affect the final print, as it still shows much better than the original in clarity/noise on the computer, even with extreme cropping.

Otherwise, how can I re-increase the file size for printing? The print will be either a 16x20 or larger.

Thanks

The very nature of noise reduction reduces file size. 9.87mb to 2.5 is a pretty big drop, so I'd make sure you're not saving at a lower quality, but it's feasible if the image was a overly dark/bright shot with a lot of noise.

BrandonSi wrote in post #12408776
The very nature of noise reduction reduces file size. 9.87mb to 2.5 is a pretty big drop, so I'd make sure you're not saving at a lower quality, but it's feasible if the image was a overly dark/bright shot with a lot of noise.

Thanks. The freeware version states it is saving at 90% jpeg? It will not let you save at a higher percentage (reserved for paid version). What I've experienced however is about a 75% reduction and thus actually saving pic at about 25%, not 90%?

Is there any way of increasing that within the program or within Photoshop or DPP? There is no extreme lighting in the picture, etc. It just has some noise and softness showing with enlarging and as I want to correct. The program fixes that perfectly but then saves at a lower mp.

Ralph

The percentage is not related to file size, it's related to quality. If it's set to 90% I'm sure that's what it's doing, but that has no direct correlation to the decrease in file size.

Photoshop actually as a noise reduction filter, so you could try that if the image isn't terribly noisy..

ACR also has this feature.

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=S2OXyLRDgrk

Thanks for the help.

I went to the Noiseware forum to get a response from someone quite familiar with the program and he basically explained, the file size decreases because the program rids the pic of all the excessive noise. The dimensions are not affected, as noted.

I did some extreme crops, with 5 x 7 prints for comparisons, and there is no degregation of the photo. In fact, the difference in quality only grows between the Noiseware photo and the unedited original as you continue to crop. It would actually be better for large prints, no matter the file shrinking, as the difference is significant. I isolated and cropped a head-shot, which would have rendered an excellent 30" print of the full photo. The difference is amazing.

I did try various combinations of sharpening and noise reduction in both DPP and PSE but the results couldn't be duplicated, especially with such ease. I am going to contact their support to see if the paid version saves larger files as I envision using the program.
Ralph

Like you mentioned above, the freeware saves at a 90% Quality setting whereas a 100% Quality setting would certainly give you a larger jpeg.

But, the bigger picture that you need to "get" is that there will not be a difference in resolution between the two -- fine detail should be retained just fine and, as you have noted, good noise reduction can bring an improvement in an enlarged image/print. Let your eyes be the judge, and don't get your head in the way!

My only suggestion with the freeware is that you do this in a way that you are not doing multiple edits and saving of a jpeg. If I recall correctly, the freeware does not give you a tiff option, meaning that it does jpeg compression for your output. That's fine as a "final product" but is not best for a "wirk in progress" project file. So, it's best done at the end of the workflow rather than earlier on.

And, that would certainly be a consideration in favor of the for-pay version -- that version should have the option of saving the result as a tiff which you can then bring into say Elements and edit and save freely without repeated compression losses. Aand, this is also a big plus from using plug-ins -- you are working with one high-quality file within the Photoshop environment rather than having to go back and forth with external software.

BrandonSi wrote in post #12408776
The very nature of noise reduction reduces file size. 9.87mb to 2.5 is a pretty big drop, so I'd make sure you're not saving at a lower quality, but it's feasible if the image was a overly dark/bright shot with a lot of noise.

I have never noticed that effect in CS5. Does this happen only when processing JPGS from Noiseware standalone, or is it happening in CS and I just never noticed it? I am curious about why it is happening, too. Noise reduction seems like pretty interesting technology.

tonylong wrote in post #12415532
Like you mentioned above, the freeware saves at a 90% Quality setting whereas a 100% Quality setting would certainly give you a larger jpeg.

But, the bigger picture that you need to "get" is that there will not be a difference in resolution between the two -- fine detail should be retained just fine and, as you have noted, good noise reduction can bring an improvement in an enlarged image/print. Let your eyes be the judge, and don't get your head in the way!..."

Exactly! All good advice, btw. That's why I continued to work in various progams, knowing this would be a fairly large print, but none rendered as good of results as the Noiseware utility, which is a very easy process.

The photo was for some friends and they could go as large as a 24 x 36in. with excellent results. The head crops (2 in photo) I performed were full faces that I printed on 5 x 7 photo paper (landscape layout), which would
equate to a near 40in. print with the original photo (4 kids on large oak limb). The prints were so good I gave them the 5 x 7 head shots as well. In comparison, I would only venture printing a 16 x 20 print with the original layout or slightly larger as PSE or DPP noise reduction rendered.

As it stands, they have plenty of room to further crop the original if desired and still get a great 20 x 24in or 20 x 30in print.

Take care