7d noise reduction strategies (with samples)

Really enjoying my 7d but the weather has been horrible so I've been stuck in the apartment mostly...so been experimenting. Over the past couple weeks I've been playing occasionally with making photoshop actions to do noise reduction, one each for 3200, 6400, and 12800...I don't think the actions are nearly good enough to share but I do think I've gotten them to a place where I'm very happy with them. The idea being to try to get the images to look as pleasing as possible without destroying *too much* detail in the process. Now, I'm not really very knowledgeable about this kind of thing, I don't understand how to use rawnalyze or any of that kind of thing, etc, etc, I'm just an average user. I wanted to go over the strategy I was using to reduce noise, share results, and see if anyone else that is more experienced had any input or ideas. I know there are a lot of really smart people here. ^_^ Anyway, here's the strategy I've been using:

1. Convert the raw image in DPP with the faithful picture style. Sharpening and noise reduction all at 0 but everything else at defaults. For some reason faithful seems to produce a much more pleasing result than neutral when all is said and done. That could just be my personal preference though. Weird, I know. I've just been using srgb, no fancy color space or anything--that didn't seem to make any difference to me!

2. Open image in photoshop cs4 and run it through neat image using a good quality profile (one for 3200, one for 6400, one for 12800). Preset settings are set to reduce 100% of the color noise, very low frequency on, and the luminance NR is set to between 35 and 50%. The profiles are about 96% quality and result in a 95-100% match.

3. At this point the image looks okay but has white specks everywhere at 6400 and 12800, and a few at 3200. Dust and scratches fixes that easily. A little stronger for 12800, mild for 6400, very weak for 3200.

4. Split the image into a new layer and select the color range of the annoying yellowish-reddish SPLOTCHES that appear at high iso. I couldn't find a better way to get rid of these, so don't laugh--it seems to work very well: Throw the image into LAB mode and do a major surface blur on the AB channels only in the selection. Yes, surface blur. Now, it won't completely eliminate them but it makes them significantly less visible and much less annoying. I'd imagine if an image had a ton of detail in the same color range this could pose a problem however I haven't managed to come across anything yet. The closest thing I had was a cardboard box and this didn't seem to hurt it at all!

5. If you've used your 7d much you'll notice that the green channel is much cleaner and is also devoid of any blotches. So just merge the red and blue stuff from the top layer down, no need to hurt that green channel data.

6. Again, the green channel is a lot cleaner than the others and seems to carry the detail so: do an edge sharpening using the green channel info. Then, instead of what the tutorials for doing this on the net might say, once you've done the find edges use "minimum" set to something really low, instead of "maximum". That kills all the noise edges that might have crept in.

Anyway, that's the basic "idea" for what I've been doing. If anyone has better ideas, or other ideas for removing color blotches, etc, or any theories or whatever to share please do. Now, some examples. Instead of my poor cat I just downloaded the imaging resource raw files to use as an example for a change. 100% crops. In order from: 3200, 6400, 12800. You'll notice in the 12800 file there's a chroma blotch or two that neat image didn't catch. Whoops.

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/png'

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/png'

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/png'

One more image then I will leave you poor folks alone! Iso 3200 crop:

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/png'

Good work. Tho wrong forum I guess, and it'll be moved in a while.

I do second that observation that the green channel is a lot cleaner than the red and blue channel. I think Red channel is probably usually the noisiest.

Love your cat btw.

Fantastic! -good work! will try your technique! just got the 7D, and I'm loving it

This camera is **** when it comes to noise. I just got it and I'm disgusted actually. Your post is nice and all but for someone who shoots 600+ images a event that's just too much workflow just for noise alone.

With an automated workflow, it isn't that bad to develop a CS action that cleans up channel by channel. The same applies to prior bodies too, and exposing to the right a little helps the 7D noise profile even more still with no apparent banding.

AzzKicker wrote in post #9170598
This camera is **** when it comes to noise. I just got it and I'm disgusted actually. Your post is nice and all but for someone who shoots 600+ images a event that's just too much workflow just for noise alone.

I've never seen a comparison that shows more noise than a **D camera on the 7D. So what are you comparing this to that the noise is ****?

AzzKicker wrote in post #9170598
This camera is **** when it comes to noise. I just got it and I'm disgusted actually. Your post is nice and all but for someone who shoots 600+ images a event that's just too much workflow just for noise alone.

You've posted similar comments in different threads, apparently based on one or two days of using the 7D. Your comments would carry a lot more credibility if you demonstrated that you had used the camera extensively enough to know how to use it well - so far there's no evidence of that.

stsva wrote in post #9170880
You've posted similar comments in different threads, apparently based on one or two days of using the 7D. Your comments would carry a lot more credibility if you demonstrated that you had used the camera extensively enough to know how to use it well - so far there's no evidence of that.

I've used a DRebel,20D,30D,40D,1DI​I,1D3, and now 7D. I think I know enough about Canon cameras to know after a day of shooting that the ISO or IQ sucks on one. Yes its good, but the 7D requires just way more PP than the others straight out of Camera. I shouldn't have to do 10-15min of simple PP for each image I take just to make it look OK.

I mean the camera as whole as far as features, build etc is great. It just lacks in noise and IQ. Which is what a camera is for lol.

AzzKicker wrote in post #9170963
I've used a DRebel,20D,30D,40D,1DI​I,1D3, and now 7D. I think I know enough about Canon cameras to know after a day of shooting that the ISO or IQ sucks on one. Yes its good, but the 7D requires just way more PP than the others straight out of Camera. I shouldn't have to do 10-15min of simple PP for each image I take just to make it look OK.

I mean the camera as whole as far as features, build etc is great. It just lacks in noise and IQ. Which is what a camera is for lol.

It seems like your real complaint is that it takes more work to get the best image quality out of the 7D compared to some other cameras. Posting statements that its image quality or noise is "****" doesn't seem to contribute a whole lot to discussions of the camera when your real complaint is about the extra time/work it takes you to get better image quality.

AzzKicker wrote in post #9170963
I've used a DRebel,20D,30D,40D,1DI​I,1D3, and now 7D. I think I know enough about Canon cameras to know after a day of shooting that the ISO or IQ sucks on one. Yes its good, but the 7D requires just way more PP than the others straight out of Camera. I shouldn't have to do 10-15min of simple PP for each image I take just to make it look OK.

I mean the camera as whole as far as features, build etc is great. It just lacks in noise and IQ. Which is what a camera is for lol.

Well, I've owned the 1DMKIII for a couple of years, and have a 5DMKII as well and I can tell you that the 7D's IQ doesn't "suck". I think that's being overly dramatic.

10-15min of simple PP? Again, overly dramatic.

I might agree with the noise part. Yes, it can be noisier at lower ISO's, but high ISO noise is hardly a problem. In fact, it's a strength of this camera, and running NR via a PS action takes 5 seconds. Honestly, I never found myself doing anything above and beyond what I do with files from my other cameras.

You just tweak your work flow and move on...

nicksan wrote in post #9170996
Well, I've owned the 1DMKIII for a couple of years, and have a 5DMKII as well and I can tell you that the 7D's IQ doesn't "suck". I think that's being overly dramatic.

10-15min of simple PP? Again, overly dramatic.

I might agree with the noise part. Yes, it can be noisier at lower ISO's, but high ISO noise is hardly a problem. In fact, it's a strength of this camera, and running NR via a PS action takes 5 seconds. Honestly, I never found myself doing anything above and beyond what I do with files from my other cameras.

You just tweak your work flow and move on...

Exactly, I run one or two custom actions I have developed in CS3 and viola, done. I run the same types of actions on previous bodies, they just have varying values and maybe a few different steps, but still just an action or two.

The only two things I have noticed about processing on the 7D vs 40D/50D is slightly different noise removal parameters/steps and more sharpening.

The same exact thing happened between the 30D and 40D transition in regards to sharpening. There were hundreds of "the 40D focus and IQ stink" threads when it came out, then it was discovered you had to USM more, and now people tout the virtues of the 40D. The 7D will follow the same path, a year from now the 7D will be looked at very favorably, even more so than it is now, provided no major QA issue rears its head as the 7D ages.

Yeah---I don't get the IQ complaints either. I don't think anything up to and including iso 3200 really needs any extra NR other than turning up a little chroma NR in DPP as needed. However, I wanted to see just how good I could get 3200 shots and while doing so see what I could do with 6400 and 12800. While 12800 remains a "use as a last resort" setting, 6400 is quite useable for normal viewing sizes and 3200 turns out downright great.

And yes the 7d does sometimes give a tiny bit of luminance "grain" at low iso if viewing the image at 100%. This is to be expected with the higher resolution of the sensor, you know that even if the sensor introduced no noise at all there would still be some of this shot "noise" because of the properties of light itself, right? If that bothers you drag the luminance noise slider to "2" or whatever the default is, or something like 5 in adobe camera raw, and it gets rid of it. Me, I'd rather keep the finest detail and the more natural looking image.

If you feel like pixel peeping and then comparing the 7d to say, your 40d, first resize the images to both be the same. Upsample the 40d image to 18mp or downsize the 7d image to 10mp. In either case the 7d image will look far, far , superior.

Have to agree with this the 7D images are the noisiest I have seen from a canon camera the image quality is no where near as good as the 1d MK111, I have also owned 10D, 20D, 40D and 1D MK11 all had better IQ than this. As far as IQ goes canon have taken a backward step with this camera. Why should we have to use NR especially at low ISOs. The luminance noise levels at huge. Shame because the rest of the camera is excellent.

AzzKicker wrote in post #9170963
I've used a DRebel,20D,30D,40D,1DI​I,1D3, and now 7D. I think I know enough about Canon cameras to know after a day of shooting that the ISO or IQ sucks on one. Yes its good, but the 7D requires just way more PP than the others straight out of Camera. I shouldn't have to do 10-15min of simple PP for each image I take just to make it look OK.

I mean the camera as whole as far as features, build etc is great. It just lacks in noise and IQ. Which is what a camera is for lol.

Bobbster wrote in post #9363395
Have to agree with this the 7D images are the noisiest I have seen from a canon camera the image quality is no where near as good as the 1d MK111, I have also owned 10D, 20D, 40D and 1D MK11 all had better IQ than this. As far as IQ goes canon have taken a backward step with this camera. Why should we have to use NR especially at low ISOs. The luminance noise levels at huge. Shame because the rest of the camera is excellent.

So have I, in fact I have had multiple 30Ds, 40Ds, and 50Ds, along with a MKIII, as have many others here that will chime in yet again. I disagree with your emotionally extreme assessments, like "no where near as good" and "noisiest I have seen from a canon camera" and "a backward step". Is there a tiny bit of noise at lower ISOs? Yes if you shoot like you do on the other cameras, but if you know your tools and how to handle them, you can alleviate that quickly, and then move on to enjoy the feature sets, AF and high ISO performance.

This is where the learning curve really lies with the 7D, too many people just think they can take this camera and shoot it like they did the xxD line. Take some time, learn the settings to make the IQ shine and enjoy life.

Since the title for this thread has "(samples)" in it, how about a few folks that are adamant about the horrible quality of the 7D IQ post examples of side-by-side comparisons, others may be able to help or shed some light on the situation? It may be you have a dud and should return it while it is under your store's return policy, or exchange it.