Silver EFX Pro .... noise ?

I love the look I can get with Silver EFX Pro but I'm starting to think the noise this program adds to images could be a deal breaker. Any one else notice the noise ?

Yep, sure do, I usually run Define right after to clean up the noise..havent really paid to much attention as to what setting is causing it though..

I tend to use the program as it is intended(?) and actually want the film grain effect. I know 'noise' is not the same as grain, but it tends to be irrelivant in this situation.

I can't say I've noticed any real noise when turning grain off though,I assume you are looking at 100% or printing poster size images?

kbColorado wrote in post #12475630
...Any one else notice the noise ?

No. I've been using SilverEfex Pro for nearly 3 years and do lots of B&W.

But it's easy enough to induce noise if you want to, or emulate film grain.

Are you editing, resizing, or compressing your images in any way before doing the B&W conversion in SilverEfex? Shooting at excessively high ISO? Lots of noise in color images goes undetected, but gets magnified in B&W.

Same here, I haven't noticed any additionaly noise unless it's put in there intentionally, either by me, or if I'm using one of the pre-defined styles. Personally, I almost always add at least a touch of noise, though. B&Ws that are too "silky smooth" just look a little wrong to me most of the time.

Never had any noise, though if you push sensitive areas too hard, like skies, you may get posterization/banding depending on shot settings or if the camera simply isn't up to the task.

kbColorado,

"Noise" on screen is one thing. The only question that matteres is the final product. How does it look when printed?

Rad

Since my limited experience is with the Silver EFX Pro presets, and the presets I prefer are pretty extreme ... the Film Noirs, for example ... I'll look into using it with more control over the image.

Honestly I was put off with my first few efforts but it sounds like I need to revisit how I use the program.

Thanks for the replies.

cheers

kb

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …liffecolorado/5​704627052/

Paul
I am not on a calibrated screen, but I do not really see much of any noise in this image. Nice shot btw.

ChasP505 wrote in post #12475812
No. I've been using SilverEfex Pro for nearly 3 years and do lots of B&W.

But it's easy enough to induce noise if you want to, or emulate film grain.

Are you editing, resizing, or compressing your images in any way before doing the B&W conversion in SilverEfex? Shooting at excessively high ISO? Lots of noise in color images goes undetected, but gets magnified in B&W.

Should one not perform any editing before converting? Such as sharpening/NR/cropping in the original performed in LR

Personally, the only thing I might do prior to opening SEP2 is crop. If you happen to have the full suite, Nik suggests the workflow start with Dfine for noise reduction before moving to Silver Efex. I don't know if that applies to LightRoom NR as well.

To the OP, a decent image is needed to start with prior to processing. In other words, you can't polish a turd. In the end, it's probably still just a turd. If you're playing with the image in RAW before moving on, it's probably something you've done there causing issues. But using the Film Noir presets will definitely add strong grains, contrast, vignettes, etc. to the image.

And no, I don't notice any "added" noise on the conversion unless I'm playing with the grain or one of the presets. It's a GREAT program. Have you upgraded to the Silver Efex Pro 2 version yet? It's better than the old one and the interface is easier.

pbelarge wrote in post #12482257
Should one not perform any editing before converting? Such as sharpening/NR/cropping in the original performed in LR

Do whatever you want... Experience with the software (or ANY method of BW conversion) will help you predict the results.

NIK presents at least two live web seminars on SilverEfex for FREE each week. Additionally, they have a large library of video tutorials to view at your leisure. Why don't NIK software users take advantage of these incredible resources? I certainly did, and still do.

Another helpful point ... yes, the images I've worked with in this software have been messed around with in LR first. I'll keep that in mind. And to macroshot ... I don't waste my time on turds polished or otherwise .

Just want to make sure you didn't get the impression I was implying your image as posted was the "turd" in question. Just wanted to clarify.

But I do think Nik has some of the coolest software I've ever used. Play on!

kbColorado wrote in post #12475630
I love the look I can get with Silver EFX Pro but I'm starting to think the noise this program adds to images could be a deal breaker. Any one else notice the noise ?

The "structure" slider is a local contrast adjustment. Its a wonderful tool but can add definition to an already noisy image (particularly noticeable in the sky). Is this what you are referring to?