While image noise isn’t the visual pain in the neck it once used to be, high-ISO files still inevitably require noise-reduction processing. For many years, Adobe’s noise reduction in Lightroom and Camera Raw was widely considered by photographers to offer the best approach, in terms of suppressing noise without destroying detail and giving an unnatural-looking result. More recently, though, it has been comprehensively overtaken by AI-powered noise-reduction algorithms, notably Topaz Denoise AI and DxO’s DeepPRIME (as used by its PureRAW and PhotoLab software).
Now Adobe has fought back, with its own AI-based Denoise algorithm introduced in Camera Raw 15.3 and Lightroom Classic 12.3. In this comparison, I took a selection of high-ISO files and put them through the three programs to see which delivered the best results.
Adobe Denoise
Adobe’s Denoise tool works with raw files created by cameras with Bayer and Fujifilm X-Trans sensors. However, TIFFs, JPEGs and previously edited DNGs won’t benefit. Treated files are saved as DNGs only.
Denoise sits in the Detail palettes in Lightroom Classic and Adobe Camera Raw, just like the original manual noise-reduction feature (which is still available, and much quicker to apply and process). Denoise can also be accessed by right-clicking on the image and selecting Enhance, or in Lightroom via the top menu, Photo>Enhance. Whichever path you take, a preview window appears with the settings retained from any previous editing session.
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