Trying to analyze those new *.acr files that Denoise Ai creates,

[Redcrown]

I'm finishing up processing of several hundred images from 2 recent events. Raw thru ACR under Bridge to Photoshop on Windows 11, using the most recent versions of things Adobe with the "new" Denoise AI. I then took a more thorough look at these new *.acr files that show up.

I've got 162 of them for a total of 1.2 Gigabytes. The smallest is 28 KB, the biggest 16,569 KB. I've poked and hammered on several images and the initial *.acr file size never changes. So, they vary by image but not by what's done to the image. From this, I suspect the *.acr files contain a "noise map" made from the base Bayer mosaic.

I've tested and verified several times now that I can delete these *.acr files with no ill affects. But if I reopen the raw, make any minor change, Adobe recreates the *.acr file (which I can redelete). However, if I do these steps: (1) Process an image in Bridge/ACR with some Denoise, get a *.acr file, but delete that *.acr file, then (2) Open the image again in Bridge/ACR and go directly to Photoshop, no changes. I get a properly denoised image in Photoshop, but the *.acr file is NOT recreated.

If I do the same, but drag and drop the raw into Photoshop, so Photoshop is hosting ACR instead of Bridge, I get the same properly denoised image, but I also get a recreated *.acr file. So this, and some other performance factors, depend on whether ACR is hosted in Bridge or Photoshop.

I also suspect all this is a bit academic. I bet a patch release comes soon that changes everything.

 

[Zeee]

Thanks for the interesting information. Yes a patch and adding non destructive Denoise to LrC would be most wolcome.

 

[LarryRC]

So it takes some time forACR to run the denoise algorithm. Once you have done that and deletethe .acrfiledoesit seem to take that same time when the .acr is recreated?

 

[HarwoodF]

For what it's worth, I've never gotten any *.acr files from Denoise AI. I wonder if that's because I convert raw to DNG before going into ACR.

 

[Redcrown]

For what it's worth, I've never gotten any *.acr files from Denoise AI. I wonder if that's because I convert raw to DNG before going into ACR.

Probably. Check the size of the dng before and after doing denoise. I bet it's bigger by about the amount of the acr.

 

[Redcrown]

So it takes some time forACR to run the denoise algorithm. Once you have done that and deletethe .acrfiledoesit seem to take that same time when the .acr is recreated?

The *.acr files are created or recreated only when you exit ACR by clicking Done or Open. You can clearly see the results of the Denoise while in ACR before Done/Open creates the *.acr. So, it's obviously held in memory and dumped to disk on exit. No time difference.

 

[HarwoodF]

For what it's worth, I've never gotten any *.acr files from Denoise AI. I wonder if that's because I convert raw to DNG before going into ACR.

Probably. Check the size of the dng before and after doing denoise. I bet it's bigger by about the amount of the acr.

Right. I meant that I don't get any separate *.acr files. I assume that, like .xmp files, they are stored inside the dng.

 

[davinci953]

I'm finishing up processing of several hundred images from 2 recent events. Raw thru ACR under Bridge to Photoshop on Windows 11, using the most recent versions of things Adobe with the "new" Denoise AI. I then took a more thorough look at these new *.acr files that show up.

I've got 162 of them for a total of 1.2 Gigabytes. The smallest is 28 KB, the biggest 16,569 KB. I've poked and hammered on several images and the initial *.acr file size never changes. So, they vary by image but not by what's done to the image. From this, I suspect the *.acr files contain a "noise map" made from the base Bayer mosaic.

I've tested and verified several times now that I can delete these *.acr files with no ill affects. But if I reopen the raw, make any minor change, Adobe recreates the *.acr file (which I can redelete). However, if I do these steps: (1) Process an image in Bridge/ACR with some Denoise, get a *.acr file, but delete that *.acr file, then (2) Open the image again in Bridge/ACR and go directly to Photoshop, no changes. I get a properly denoised image in Photoshop, but the *.acr file is NOT recreated.

If I do the same, but drag and drop the raw into Photoshop, so Photoshop is hosting ACR instead of Bridge, I get the same properly denoised image, but I also get a recreated *.acr file. So this, and some other performance factors, depend on whether ACR is hosted in Bridge or Photoshop.

I also suspect all this is a bit academic. I bet a patch release comes soon that changes everything.

It seems that the .acr files aren't new and don't only get created when applying denoise. See Rikk Flohr's comment in the following thread from 2022.

Loading…

community.adobe.com

 

[Zeee]

Bit of an old thread but I somehow stumbled on it. I don't use ACR/PS but I tried something.

Original folder



I dragged a RAW file into PS which opened in ACR

I applied Denoise AI and the xmp and acr files were created



I opened the file in PS as Smart Object.

Then I deleted and permanently trashed the xmp and acr files

I went back into ACR and applied 100% NR and pressed OK

Back in PS



Then I opened the file back in ACR and applied 0% NR and pressed OK

Back in PS



I checked the file size itself and the folder it was in and they were the same size. It appears once the initial Denoise AI is applied you don't need those files anymore as long as you stay in PS. I repeated this on a second file to be sure and it worked.

I never saved anything when I used PS except for the final Jpegs or the occasional TIFFS. This was before Denoise AI was around. I guess of you batch process a set of files and once you open them in PS as Smart objects you can delete the xmp and acr files. Easy to do if you use the OS and sort by name first.

--
The Golden Grift

 

[Zeee]

I tried it again this morning with a new RAW file. I followed that process and I was able to repeat it. This last test was to see if file itself increased in size. I copied and renamed it - base file. I then applied Denoise AI to the original RAW, opened it as a Smart Object, deleted the xmp and acr files and opened/closed ACR several times to tweak Denoise AI.

There was no file size difference between the RAW file I worked on and the untouched base file. So there is no requirement to tax storage space. If you don't open as a Smart Object it doesn't matter anyway because you can't go back into ACR. Whatever Denoise AI setting you selected is permanent. I don't know how it works but if you open the file as Smart Object and even deleting the xmp and acr files you can still go back into ACR to tweak.

As I stated earlier it is easy to get rid of the xmp and acr files. I'm on a Mac so I just sort by name which separates them from the original RAW files and drag them into the trash. Only takes a few seconds. It would be a small inconvenience to see the full file with NR applied and be able to fine tune as many times as I like. But that is just me.

I haven't used ACR/PS in quite a while so I'm not familiar with it. In Preferences I tried to see if I could shut xmp file creation off. I can do that with LrC.

Any input from others is welcome.

--
The Golden Grift