Booted Cat
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When I prepared for BPOTY 2023 last December, I tried Lightroom CC (7-day trial) and DarkTable (said to be the free software alternative to Lightroom; still installed on my computer) to see if they can recover blown highlights better than NX Studio while still maintaining a good overall look. I didn't try the noise reduction features in these programs as NR has not been my concern.I probably didn't write clearly - I meant separate DeNoising software like PureRaw 2 or Topaz DeNoise, etc. I found TDN to be far superior to the NR you get inside processing software - to my knowledge all or almost all software from Lightroom to NXStudio to FastStone, etc., all provide a Noise Reduction tool - whether they stand up to someone's standards for noise reduction would be on an individual thing.I tried all the NR options in NX Studio and they all introduced some smearing. So I always uncheck Noise Reduction in NX Studio for all shots.You're all set BC - I'll just add don't forget the noise in the background - its not just feather noise. Absolutely agree from my limited experience the amount of noise can vary depending on shooting conditions and processing. All that matters is what you are happy with.Some noise reduction options simply smear feather detail more or less, which is not acceptable for me. Also, when there is noise in feathers, it gives me a sense of "detail" which makes me feel good; in other words, I can't distinguish detail from noise in feathers, so I'd like to keep them both...NX Studio is nice software for NIkon users, no doubt about it. I liked it because it was user friendly and had some nice tools. Its the nature of all software - there is no perfect one for everyone. You loose some tools or features, and you can gain some tools or features.Third-party software may do noise reduction more intelligently than Nikon's native NX Studio, but you also lose an important feature with them - Active D-Lighting. It's such a magical touch, like wasabi, that adds vividness, brightness, contrast and a sense of 3D to an subject. Many people tried to reproduce the effects of ADL with other software but failed.I don't know about you, but as far as I can tell when you repost images here there is always some degree of compression - the image on your PC will look a little different when posted here. Or it can look a bit different.The first shot has a blurry tail and lower back. Initially I thought it was because I focused near the bird head instead of at the body center, but now I'm more inclined to WPMChan's opinion that the bird tail has motion blur.
The second shot has both a sharp head and tail, but the head is not as sharp as that in the first shot. I'm almost sure this is a motion blur problem. The head is not as sharp as some of my finest shots.
About noise: The second shot happened to use -1.0EV while the first was -0.3EV because I used a [-1.0, -1.7, -0.3] exposure bracket to prevent white neck overexposure. So, the second shot has more noise than the first if we use Active D-Lighting in NX Studio to brighten them up to the same brightness level.
It's also important to note that if you use Shadow Protection instead of Active D-Lighting to brighten up dark parts, Shadow Protection will result in less noise. This is because Active D-Lighting adds or keeps more contrast, and more contrast leads to more noise.
Highlight Protection and Shadow Protection may be used to prevent the white neck from overexposure and to recover more detail on the white neck. Professional photographers would tell you a photo should never has a plain white portion (with the exception of the sun).
Here is the Google Drive link for the RAW for you RAW and post-processing junkies
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14v3k6FfOHrQ8djyzyoyMTUVqu4b08Iw8?usp=share_link
The file on goggle drive is not the RAW file - it was a JPG.
I reduced the noise first - I think there is a clear difference. One of the best things I've done is invest in noise reduction software - user friendly. I'm a beginner only had it a couple of months.
Editing - the only thing I did to it was fix the small amount of blown out white on the neck. The white on the chin was not blown out.
My processing methods/steps is to hopefully do as little as possible - this one as noted before looked fine, except for the noise. I didn't see the blown out white with my eye - the software ID'd it and I could turn the highlights down on just that small patch of white on the neck. My software is Luminar Neo - not as sophisticated and high end as some such as DXO, Photoshop, etc. But then again I'm not convinced I'm getting the best out of Neo yet.
Ev
Topaz DeNoise is not end all software - it does what it advertises very well, is user friendly, and reasonable enough in cost. I'm curious did you use the native NX-Studio Noise reduction tool on these Kingfishers? Noise doesn't bother many people and are happy to ignore it. I really didn't get what a problem noise was for my photos until I started looking closely at them (expanding to 100%) and was shocked. I didn't like it at all.
I remember I tried all those noise reduction options in NX Studio but ultimately decided that no NR is the best option for me.
The amount of noise can vary depending on your shooting conditions and also on your post-processing. One example is that a higher amount of Active D-Lighting in NX Studio to brighten dark parts of a high-contrast photo (such as a kingfisher facing direct sunlight and having a dark back) can introduce more noise in shadows and blow out highlights (e.g. white hair on the neck shone upon by direct sunlight). In such a case, using more Shadow Protection and less or no Active D-Lighting can reduce both noise and overexposure.
I'd be curious to know what Noise Reduction software you tried that caused some smearing? I wouldn't like that either.
