Should I use in-camera high-ISO noise reduction when shooting RAW?
Asked 4/20/2011
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I shoot RAW and usually handle adjustments later in Aperture or similar software. Is in-camera high-ISO noise reduction useful for RAW files, or can I safely leave it off and do any needed noise reduction in post? I know long-exposure noise reduction is different because it uses a dark frame; I’m asking specifically about the separate high-ISO noise reduction setting.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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If you shoot in RAW, the in-camera noise reduction probably does not take effect, and if it did, it is really reducing the value of RAW on your camera. When you shoot RAW, you really just want the original output from the sensor with as few modifications applied as possible...none at best. You have far more control over noise during post processing, and far better algorithms at your fingertips to combat that noise with the more powerful software you can run on your computer.
I would recommend you keep your RAW images as bare-bones and neutral as possible, giving you maximum capability in post processing. Noise reduction, highlight tone curves, and other such features should generally be disabled when shooting RAW. Additionally, its normally (but not always, sometimes you may wish to choose alternatives) best to use AWB and the standard or neutral tone curve/picture setting of your camera to produce as "original" an output image as you can.
Dark frames are a slightly different matter than your average noise reduction. They can be useful when you are doing very long exposures, such as during astrophotography. You should enable Long-Exposure NR/Dark Frames on an as-needed basis when the shoot actually calls for it.
Originally by user124. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user124
15y ago
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If you shoot RAW, it usually makes sense to leave high-ISO noise reduction off or low and handle noise later in post-processing. RAW is meant to preserve the sensor data as neutrally as possible, and desktop software generally gives you more control and often better noise-reduction algorithms than the camera does.
On many cameras, high-ISO noise reduction mainly affects JPEGs, and may have little or no effect on RAW data. If a camera does apply it to RAW, that reduces some of the flexibility that makes RAW valuable in the first place.
So for RAW shooters, the usual advice is to keep in-camera processing minimal: disable or reduce noise reduction, tone tweaks, and similar settings unless you have a specific reason to use them. Then apply noise reduction selectively on the computer only when an image actually needs it.
Long-exposure noise reduction is the exception you already noted, since it captures a second dark frame and can’t be recreated afterward in the same way.
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