NEAT IMAGE

I am using a Panasonic DMC-FZ20 digicam and have taken some photos at
400ISO: some of these show a lot of noise.

With a noise reduction programme it looks as though the noise factor
can be virtually eliminated and I am looking at Neat Image: I am trying
the free demo versionand wish to raise the following queries:-

(a) the demo version states that with images exceeding 1024x1024 pixels
only part of the image will benefit from noise reduction. I can't
understand this as I have applied it to larger images and the whole of
the photos is impressively improved! How would the Pro version be
better I wonder?!

(b) Automatic Profile - the area selected is so small that it's
impossible to see whether it contains any detail - or noise only as
required.

I will be grateful to hear from members familiar with Neat Image
concernig these points please.

denis DeleteThis @boisclair.freeserve.co.uk wrote:
> I am using a Panasonic DMC-FZ20 digicam and have taken some photos at
> 400ISO: some of these show a lot of noise.
>
> With a noise reduction programme it looks as though the noise factor
> can be virtually eliminated and I am looking at Neat Image: I am trying
> the free demo versionand wish to raise the following queries:-
>
> (a) the demo version states that with images exceeding 1024x1024 pixels
> only part of the image will benefit from noise reduction. I can't
> understand this as I have applied it to larger images and the whole of
> the photos is impressively improved! How would the Pro version be
> better I wonder?!
>
> (b) Automatic Profile - the area selected is so small that it's
> impossible to see whether it contains any detail - or noise only as
> required.
>
> I will be grateful to hear from members familiar with Neat Image
> concernig these points please.


Hi Denis...

Can't remember how the demo is crippled, so can't comment on how or
why it's cleaning the whole image, but can touch on seeing the
ratio of noise to detail being removed...

Open your image. Click the device noise profile tab. Click the
auto profile button, wait a few seconds for it to do it's thing.

Then click the noise filter settings tab. Then the preview
button. A frame will open, showing you a tiny bit of your
picture. The bigger (pixels x pixels) your picture is, the
smaller that frame will be.

Drag that frame to a sensitive part of your pic; an eye, or
hair, or complexion or... and you'll see it's corrected,
while the area around it will not.

If that area is too tiny to be of use, then you may use your
mouse wheel to expand it up to 400%, hopefully good enough.
And pressing/holding the left button down will switch you
between the original/corrected image so you may compare while
tweaking those settings on the right hand pane.

After you're happy, click the output image tab, then click
apply. After some time, the corrected image will appear,
and you may "wheel" it smaller and larger, and left click/hold
will switch you between original/corrected views.

After you get what you like, save it

Take care.

Ken

ps. If you don't happen to have a wheel mouse, you'll see a
magnifying glass icon in the upper right, and an elevator bar
beside it that will change the mag factor.