Topaz Labs Denoise AI: Turning down the noise

Random, banding and fixed pattern noise can wreak havoc with your high-ISO digital images. How does Denoise AI address this? You will see very shortly!

I photographed this image during some challenging conditions. I was photographing at the First Annual Star Party at Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association in Goffs, CA, along the historic Route 66 in the Mojave Desert. It’s a dark sky area, and I was photographing while no moon was present in the sky. Very dark conditions.

However, there was quite a lot of contrast. I was photographing telescopes from the Las Vegas Astronomical Society which were bathed in red lights or lights from monitors. Of course, I got random noise and fixed pattern noise in my images. As it was, this was a cold February evening. During the summer, I would have gotten even more noise due to a hotter camera sensor.

Using Topaz Labs Denoise AI to reduce noise

I opened the noisy image in Denoise AI. Although I opened used Denoise AI as a plug-in via Photoshop, Denoise AI operates well as stand-alone software.

Denoise AI automatically opens with a four-panel comparison view, which I love. This enables me to see which AI model addresses the noise most effectively. Then I tweak from there if necessary.

I felt Low Light offered the best overall quality for this particular photo. But it really does help to look at the different models and adjust the settings. I hit “Apply” and several seconds later, I was finished.

I’ve blown up this view so you can really see the difference in the noise.

More words about Topaz Labs Denoise AI

I’ve written about Topaz Labs Denoise AI several times. I’ve tested it on low light high ISO settings. I have compared Topaz DeNoise AI to stacked exposures of the night sky. I’ve also written about how magical it is at eliminating noise via machine learning. To do it this quickly was not possible even a few years ago. To target noise this specifically and this well, I would have probably needed to make several passes with noise reduction software, targeting specific areas through masking or luminosity masks.

Not anymore. And as Topaz keeps applying machine learning with each version, it keeps getting better. It is still by far the best noise-reduction software I have ever used.

Tip: Speed up Topaz Labs Denoise AI

Topaz Labs Denoise AI might default to using the CPU. In preferences, switch this over to your GPU. Your processing times will reduce dramatically. Just for this tip alone, you’ve gotten your money’s worth.