LR 4 noise reduction and sharpening balance ISO 12,800

So I am shooting a good but of basketball in poor lighting (1/500, f2.8, ISO 12,800). I am shooting with a 1D Mark IV and was curious what the community uses for noise reduction and sharpening. I realize every shot will be different based on content, but I am interested in the average starting point.

there is no average starting point, i'd remove the noise enough that the image doesn't start getting too soft and then over sharpen and masking the sharpening to all but the major edges.

For me LR4 noise reduction with the luminance slider somewhere between 25 and 50. Much more and you get the plastic look.

THIS, free until 1/30, video training has a pretty good noise reduction explanation.

At ISO 12,800 there's only so much that NR can do. Software can't work miracles.

Based on my 1D3 at ISO 3200/6400, I'd guess Pretty low "Detail" (5-10), high "Masking" (85-95), luminance NR about 20 (or a bit more)/50/20 (guess), luminance NR about 25 or a bit higher/50

CincyTriGuy wrote in post #15525232
At ISO 12,800 there's only so much that NR can do. Software can't work miracles.

Depends on the body Not looking for miracles, just comparing workflows with others.

All I can say is that I started out with LR err'ing on the smooth side and have gradually been toning down the amout of luminance NR I use. My G9 needs more luminance NR than my 20D (almost double) and the 20D needs double to triple the amount of luminance NR that my D700 requires.

René Damkot wrote in post #15525526
Based on my 1D3 at ISO 3200/6400, I'd guess Pretty low "Detail" (5-10), high "Masking" (85-95), luminance NR about 20 (or a bit more)/50/20 (guess), luminance NR about 25 or a bit higher/50

this brings me to another question - is it possible to have NR presets in LR? i.e. when i want to work on the skin, then i'll use setting A for NR etc. i only see develop presets/adjustment presets.

You can make your own presets -- take a "master" image, give it the settings you want, then in the Presets panel click the "+" sign and you will get a dialog to choose and save your settings in the User Presets folder. Name it for your specific use, and you're good to go!

the.forumer wrote in post #15537572
this brings me to another question - is it possible to have NR presets in LR? i.e. when i want to work on the skin, then i'll use setting A for NR etc. i only see develop presets/adjustment presets.

You can also have a different NR applied for each ISO and for each camera when you import photos.

thanks!

A develop preset doesn't have to be for the entire development setup; it can be for just one small part of it or for a small number of parts.