Topaz DeNoise 5.1 Review

Although newer cameras are getting ever more impressive image quality at high ISO levels, there still comes a time where the noise level is just too much and you need to do something about it.

The obvious way to reduce noise in your images is to use the lowest ISO setting available on your camera but sometimes you just can't make the trade-off in shutter speed and/or aperture and you need to raise the ISO in order to get the shot. Currently, I mostly shoot with the canon eos 5d Mark III which has really good noise management built in but the noise is clearly visible when shooting above ISO 3200 (and, depending on the shot, at ISO 1600 also).

With ISO in the range 1600 – 6400 I'll usually look to manage the noise within Lightroom but often for ISO above 6400 I'll reach for a plugin. Because of the simple interface, the plugin I usually reach for is Topaz DeNoise 5.1.

Topaz DeNoise 5.1 Upgrade

Curiously, I previously had Topaz DeNoise 5.0.1 and whenever I would look for an upgrade it would tell me that I was on the latest version but that was not the case. At the time of writing, the current version is Topaz DeNoise 5.1.0. If you already have Topaz DeNoise 5.0.1 you can download the new version from the TopazLabs website and it will install over the version 5.0.1.

Topaz DeNoise 5.1.0 brings changes in the user interface but it's immediately usable for users of the prior version while the UI re-design brings a more common feel to the recent releases of other products in the Topaz plugin lineup. Essentially, presets are in a panel to the left, the preview panel appears in the middle, and the tools for fine adjustments or manual control sit in a dock on the right.

Topaz DeNoise 5.1 Plugin

Topaz DeNoise 5.1, like the other Topaz Labs products can be used as a plugin for certain image processing applications or stand-alone through the Topaz Labs photoFXlab product ($79.99 at time of writing). For Adobe photoshop, once installed, the plugin is available through the ‘Filter' menu. For Adobe Lightroom 4 and 5 (and Aperture and iPhoto) you need to first install the free Fusion Express 2 software as an external editing software to host the plugin. Alternatively, you can buy photoFXlab as a stand-alone editing software to host your Topaz Labs products.

Topaz DeNoise 5.1 Workflow

There are lots of great photographers out there with Workflow recommendations. I follow many of them, which means, outside of a few standard processing blocks, I like to mix-and-match and vary things up. My major blocks have me doing preliminary processing in Lightroom before moving over to photoshop for finishing (by way of Photomatix for most of my HDRs). If I can reasonably control the noise natively in Lightroom I'll do that in my preliminary processing but if that's not working for me, I'll address noise management in photoshop through Topaz DeNoise 5.1.

The huge advantage of doing noise management in Photoshop is that through layers and masks I can affect noise control to differing degrees in different parts of the image.

Let's Look at an Example.

Here's an image I took on a recent trip to Death Valley, in California. It's of the entrance to a disused and abandoned mine at Leadfield. Being too lazy to hike back to my car for a speedlite, I just decided to whack up the ISO to 25600 and add one a further +3EV to capture as much light as I could while retaining a reasonable aperture for reasonable depth of field.

And here's a view of the EXIF data to show the ISO 25600 setting:

Topaz DeNoise 5.1 User Interface

Below is a screenshot of the Topaz DeNoise 5.1 user interface illustrating the simple, right-to-left layout of the screen.

Now I'll usually start by working through the presets to see what I like. I may or may not then refine the adjustments using the tools on the right. It's important to make any adjustments while viewing the image at 100% so you can check for halos and other artifacts. Also, pay attention to the progress bar at the bottom of the preview panel in the center of the screen as it may take several seconds to process the image depending upon the image file size and the processor and memory of your machine.

Below, I'll show three different presets so you can compare the effect of each:

Topaz DeNoise 5.1 RAW Moderate

Topaz DeNoise 5.1 RAW Stronger

Topaz DeNoise 5.1 RAW Strongest

After reviewing these three presets, I decided to go with the RAW Stronger preset as I felt that the RAW Strongest was softening the image too much for my intended use.

Comparing Before and After Topaz DeNoise 5.1

So here's my BEFORE image:

And here's my AFTER image:

And here's a comparison image where the top half of the image shows the AFTER and the bottom half shows the BEFORE:

As you can clearly see, the noise has been well managed and the detail remains in the wood grain and the rocks after the de-noise operation.

Summary

I like the improvements in the Topaz DeNoise 5.1 User Interface, making it more harmonious with the other products in the Topaz suite. I think it's also easier to use than the 5.0 version. I've not checked to see if there were any modifications made under the hood but I suspect not since this is just a .1 release rather than a full version increase.

I also think that this plugin saves me time in my own workflow and gives me more control that I can get just using Lightroom. Also, using the product in a Photoshop layered workflow gives me even more creative control.

On the value side, at the time of writing, it's regular retail is $79.99 but you can save 15% by using the coupon code rdavisphoto when you buy through this link. Also you can look out for periodic sales and promotions that provide greater discounts.

Like all Topaz Labs products, there's a 30-day Free Trial of the full functionality, more than enough time to give it a thorough test drive so you can buy with confidence. Topaz even offers a double guarantee because if you change your mind within 30 days after your purchase, they'll give you a complete refund!

Get a 15% discount on your purchase or upgrade of any Topaz product when you enter discount code rdavisphoto at checkout. Click on the banner below for this offer.