DPP4 noise reduction isn't the greatest

[lolson1512]

There are many elements of Canon's DPP4 that I love - especially when you are starting with a RAW file. You can do so many adjustments to your images. But, the noise reduction feature is not the greatest, in my opinion. When I try to reduce noise, say, in my night sky images, it seems to 'smooth over' other items in the photo a bit too much. (Ex - trees) Does this happen to anyone else?  In this photo I still ended up with the horizontal lines in the sky even though I thought I had plenty of light in the M50 Pancake lens. I may have to just suck it up and pay for a decent editor. Thanks for any info or opinions!

[shadowsports · Accepted solution]

Greetings and Welcome.

I see the softness, but your image looks very nice. Your camera has a limit of the DR its capable of capturing and there is only so much bumping your ISO can do.  Its APS-C has smaller photosites packed a little more closely together and thus less light gathering capability.  If you enjoy night time photography, a body with a full frame sensor could help.

For more denoise capability in post, take a look at Topaz Photo AI or DxO PhotoLab (my favorite).  DPP is my faithful back up when I'm on the road.  

[shadowsports · Accepted solution]

Greetings and Welcome.

I see the softness, but your image looks very nice. Your camera has a limit of the DR its capable of capturing and there is only so much bumping your ISO can do.  Its APS-C has smaller photosites packed a little more closely together and thus less light gathering capability.  If you enjoy night time photography, a body with a full frame sensor could help.

For more denoise capability in post, take a look at Topaz Photo AI or DxO PhotoLab (my favorite).  DPP is my faithful back up when I'm on the road.  

[lolson1512]

Thank you, all good information. I am learning more and more that a full frame camera is the better way to go, I will also check out that DxO. Appreciate it very much!

[p4pictures · Accepted solution]

Also worth a try is the Denoise function in the latest versions of Adobe Camera RAW in both Lightroom and Photoshop. I have found this works remarkably well if you are already a Lightroom or Photoshop user. 

[justadude]

While DDP4 is a nice editor, I agree about the noise reduction not being the best - as well as a couple other features.  The newest Lightroom Denoise features offer quite a bit of control.  I find it to be the best option for noise on night sky photography.  

The downside of course is that it is a subscription plan (vs. DDP4 for free), but if you go for the $9.99/month Photographers Plan you get both Lightroom and Photoshop... as well as Camera Raw, Bridge, and Premier Rush.