Noise in HDR

I dont have much to say on the subject, but besides adjustments in photomatix, what are people doing to contain the high levels of noise present in the shadow areas of HDR? Also, Keep in mind that when I encounter it, I am only exposing at the bottom 25% of the camera sensors abilities and go no more because adding an exposure any lower to a bracket series, will only add noise. I read that on another site and implemented it into my photography, but I still get lots of noise. Love it if a discussion was started!
~Terhunephoto

Hi Terhunephoto, To reduce the noise in my photos, i use “Imagenomic Noiseware” and apply right after importing in Photoshop as start of my post processing. Multiple exposures should result in lot less noise then a single file, try using a tripod when possible. Also it looks like the raw files from my Canon Powershot G9 contain considerably more noise then when i use the Nikon D300, probably because of sensor size!?

What “film” speed are you setting? Or have you left it on Auto to make up its own mind? In darker conditions it will always increase the film speed setting, which in turn will lead to more noise. IF your camera allows, set to 100 ASA/ISO or lower, and, as Wocram suggests, always use a tripod. The lower the film speed the higher the possible enlargement without graininess/noise developing.

The other thing to keep in mind is to minimize any large shadow areas. Keep bumping up your exposure and shoot until all the shadow areas are exposed to something brighter than black.
Here is the reason:
All HDR software packages average the luminosity and color data for each pixel in the image. If each pixel in each image is black, then the result will be black. If there is noise in even one of the images, that noise color will be in the final image since the noise is always something other than black. With that if all the images have noise at different pixel locations, then all the noise from each image will be pulled into the final image. By creating an exposure that brings out the shadow detail, the noise will be minimized.

Another noise reduction program is Nik Dfine. This program allows you to apply noise reduction in a just certain areas of the photo. Very handy for fixing just small areas of noise.

http://sihdr.blogspot.com/2009/09/typical-probl… will give you some tips

I want to thank Coldwaterjohn for recommending my blog. For those who are interested I have published a manifesto of HDR on that site: http://sihdr.blogspot.com/2009/09/to-my-friends…

I have found an additional way to deal with noise, particularly red fringes in the shadows. Within the Photomatix software, click on the Exposure Blending button instead of the Generate an HDR button. Exposure blending seems to eliminate the noise. Then, when you first introduce the merged file into Photoshop, use the tone mapping plug-in and then complete your editing and sharpening. Finally, compare the results from this process to the results from your HDR processing. Also, try using Topaz Adjust after you’ve completed your editing. I think you’ll like the results.

ilH2009 – what ‘tonemapping plugin’ do you refer to? I have Photomatix Pro 3.2 but it is stand alone.

I use the Photomatix Pro 3.2 plug-in. You can get it at the Photomatix website also (as a separate part from the stand-alone version).

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