I do not mind a bit of noise ; ) and quite often add more (gaussian, monochromatic).. I really do not see much of a problem with it, but then again, I think it suits my style at times. I guess it all depends on what you are doing with the imgae : )
It really depends on the feel you are trying to achieve. With the G series cameras, if you go beyond the lowest ISO, a noise reduction software is really handy. Here is another vote for neat image. I used the free standalone version for quite a while. I upgraded to the pro plug-in version several months ago. But really, the results are the same. The pro version allows 16bit images to be processed, and the plug-in is self-explanatory. I think the free version doesn't allow much batch processing, etc. But for the most part, the functionality is the same. I remember downloading the noise ninja free version, and I remember that it leaves a watermark. My memory could be wrong; it's been a while.

