Which is better? Stacking or noise reduction?

Monday 24 July 2023, 15:30 by Nando Harmsen | 4,621 views | 15 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Noise reduction is becoming increasingly advanced. With machine learning algorithms, it is possible to bring back details that are no longer visible because of noise. Is modern noise reduction technology better than stacking photos, or is stacking still the better method?

Not so long ago, Adobe added machine learning noise reduction to Lightroom. It is called AI, although I don't think this has anything to do with artificial intelligence at all. But that's beside the point.

As we all know, all this 'smart' noise reduction software turns out to work incredibly well. Some are better than others, or faster. But there is no denying that they all produce good results.

AI noise reduction in Luminar NEO is not free. You have to pay extra to have it available.
Another technique for reducing noise is stacking photos. This technique makes use of the random nature of noise. By stacking and combining multiple photos, you can filter out the noise.

This technique is widely used in astrophotography, both when photographing through a telescope and when photographing the Milky Way. This makes it possible to show plenty of detail despite the need for high ISO settings. The only problem is that it takes a lot of work.

AI noise reduction in Lightroom Classic can be slow, especially on an older computer.
The technique can also be used for photos taken with a drone. The small sensors in these devices are often sensitive to noise, so you can hardly raise the ISO. Even a small edit can create a lot of noise.

Stacking requires preparation and quite a bit of work. Not every subject is suitable for it.
Smartphones and some cameras even use this stacking technique to remove noise from a photo. This makes it possible to take reasonably good photos with a smartphone in the dark.

I wondered what works best. Modern AI noise reduction, or the old-fashioned method of stacking multiple photos? To find out, I stacked a few photos to remove the noise. I also edited one of those photos with the 'smart' noise reduction in Lightroom Classic and Luminar NEO.

Each noise reduction process used the following settings: Lightroom Classic at 66% strength, and Luminar NEO at the recommended noise reduction strength. In all cases, this was 'high'.

In a dark church in France. The photo was taken at ISO 25,600, so there is a lot of noise present.

A photo in a church

The photo above was taken handheld with a Canon EOS R5 at ISO 25,600. When taking the photo, I made a series of 14 exposures so I could stack them.

This and other photos of this church were used to explain the stacking method. I explained how stacking works in an article that you can find via this link.

A 100% view of part of the photo. Notice the difference in detail.
The noise is removed well from this photo. Details are preserved reasonably well, but the larger areas quickly become smeared, without any texture. Lightroom Classic manages to retain more detail than Luminar NEO. Stacking, however, produces the most detail.

A landscape at dusk, photographed with a drone. Even at ISO 100, a lot of noise has appeared. The edit was made to suit my own taste.

A photo with a drone

Drones are often sensitive to noise. That's why I almost always take a series of 5 photos in raw format, which I stack later.

This is an extra difficult situation because it was already getting dark and there was little light available. The photo was taken with a DJI Mavic Pro 2 at ISO 100 and 1.7 stops underexposure to retain the highlights.

A 100% enlargement of part of the photo shows how differently the noise reduction software handles detail.
Although AI noise reduction generally produces a reasonable result, close inspection still shows that detail has been lost. Luminar NEO performs much less well than Lightroom Classic in this respect. Stacking, on the other hand, preserves the most detail.

A photo of the Milky Way

A high ISO setting is desirable for photographing the Milky Way properly. Especially because you also have to take the movement of the stars into account. Very long shutter speeds are therefore not possible.

The Milky Way in all its glory, photographed in France. ISO 12,800 was used. Stacking a photo like this requires a lot of manual work.
This photo was taken with a Canon EOS 5D mark IV at ISO 12,800. The contrast was increased to taste to bring out the Milky Way more. The stack consists of 8 individual photos, with the rotation of the night sky corrected manually.

The 100% enlargement clearly shows the effect of AI noise reduction. Many stars are seen as noise and disappear.
Noise reduction results in a considerable loss of detail. Far fewer stars are visible and some areas are smeared too much. Lightroom Classic performs significantly better than Luminar NEO. Stacking produces the most detailed result.

A cautious conclusion

Noise reduction in Lightroom Classic and Luminar NEO generally performs well. You do need to watch out for loss of detail, which usually only becomes visible when you look critically at the details.

The price of removing noise through software, almost completely, is a smeared appearance in many cases. This gives the photo a very artificial look.

Stacking manages to preserve much more detail in all cases. At first glance, it may seem to contain a little more noise, but that slight presence of noise gives the photo more dynamism and realism.

I can't say how this works with other noise reduction software. I don't have this software available. In the case of Lightroom Classic and Luminar NEO, it is clear to me. Stacking photos produces a nicer result.

Of course, stacking is not always possible, especially with moving subjects. That's why I think AI noise reduction is and will remain very useful, as long as you use it with care.

Do you use noise reduction software? If so, which one do you use and how do you like it? Have you ever compared it extensively and critically with other software? Let us know in a comment below this post.

Share: WhatsApp Facebook

About the author

Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.

New update for Lightroom Classic enables AI noise reduction
by Nando Harmsen
Should you apply AI noise reduction in Lightroom Classic before or after editing?
by Nando Harmsen
Does Lightroom make Photoshop redundant?
by Nando Harmsen
Not enough depth of field in your landscape? Use focus stacking.
by Nando Harmsen
Removing noise? Use it in moderation
by Nando Harmsen
Wanneer Lightroom en Photoshop niet meer samenwerken
by Nando Harmsen

Show every article in Tips and tricks

home

15 comments

jaak wrote on Tuesday 25 July 2023 at 11:41 | reply
Persoonlijk gebruik ik nu altijd TOPAZ AI voor oa ruisreductie, en vind de resultaten beter dan deze van PhotoShop. Geen ervaring met LRC noch Luminar.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 25 July 2023 at 12:07 | reply
Nando, zou je voor het stacken de incamera focusstack van de Canon Eos R7 kunnen gebruiken om ruis te onderdrukken?
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 25 July 2023 at 12:14 | reply
Focusstack is heel wat anders dan een serie van exact dezelfde foto's maken. Met focusstack is je scherpstelpunt bij elke foto anders. Daarbij voegt Canon de foto's niet samen, dat moet je in de computer doen.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 25 July 2023 at 13:01 | reply
Nando, dan zou je je toch eens beter moeten informeren. De Canon Eos R7 voegt de RAW-bestanden wel samen tot één foto in JPG. Het enige wat wel juist is, de focus wordt bij elke foto verlegd. Maar via de instellingen kan je het verleggen van de focus beïnvloeden.
Het samenvoegen hoef je dus niet met de computer te doen.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 25 July 2023 at 13:19 | reply
Dan zal ik dat morgen of overmorgen eens bekijken, want dat wist ik inderdaad niet.
Maar ja, een jpeg is natuurlijk niet wat je wilt hebben, en de controle over de belichting, samenvoeging met focusbreathing en dat soort dingen heb je in de camera niet.
Anyway... focusstacking heeft in ieder geval niets met stacking voor ruisreductie te maken.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 25 July 2023 at 13:41 | reply
Nando, al is het eindresultaat in de R7 een samengestelde foto in JPG, toch heb je ook nog alle RAW-bestanden waaruit die JPG is opgebouwd. Je kan daar dan alsnog op de computer mee aan de slag.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Nando wrote on Wednesday 26 July 2023 at 20:31 | reply
Ik heb nu gekeken naar de EOS R10, en inderdaad, depth mapping is beschikbaar. Dat wist ik niet. Helaas met de EOS R5 niet beschikbaar, maar wel met een R50 en blijkbaar de R7 ook. Ik hoorde dat de R3 deze via firmware update ook heeft gekregen. Dan zal de R6II het ook wel hebben. Van de andere kant, zo'n gemis is het voor mij niet; ik zou dat toch nooit in de camera zelf doen.
Het is in ieder geval een goede ontwikkeling dat deze nu ook in een selectie Canon camera's beschikbaar is.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

guest wrote on Wednesday 26 July 2023 at 20:03 | reply
Dag Nando, interessant artikel. De stacking voor sterrenfotografie heb ik nog niet gebruikt. Ik ben benieuwd hoe je handmatig de rotatie van de sterrenhemel corrigeert.
Wat betreft noise cancelling is Topaz inderdaad mijn favoriet.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Nando wrote on Wednesday 26 July 2023 at 20:25 | reply
Dat is eenvoudig om te vertellen. Kijk op mijn (eigen) site naar het volgende artikel. Lezen kost wat tijd, om het zelf te gaan doen kost heel veel tijd.
https://www.nandoonline.com/sterrenfotografie-zonder-ruis/
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Paul eos wrote on Wednesday 26 July 2023 at 21:33 | reply
Dag Nando, bedoel je dat stacking in je R5 niet gaat?
Op mijn R5 alvast wel, onder het camera menu nr 5 =>Scherpst.bracket. Hier kan je de camera tot 99 foto's achter elkaar laten maken, ook in raw. Dan kan je kiezen om ze in je camera direct te stacken naar één jpeg of met een ander stacking programma. Dat werkt super goed en zeer snel, ik doe dat regelmatig. Enkel het scherpstelpunt tussen je foto's moet je wat gevoelsmatig instellen maar met een beetje ervaring leert het snel.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Nando wrote on Wednesday 26 July 2023 at 23:27 | reply
Ik kan wel focus bracketing doen, maar niet samenvoegen. Depth mapping heet dat.
Kan jij met jouw R5 wel depth mapping doen? Bij mij zit die optie niet in het menu.
Dat is vreemd. Ik heb de laatste firmware versie erin staan, maar ik kan alleen de focus stacking doen, maar niet samenvoegen.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Paul eos wrote on Thursday 27 July 2023 at 07:54 | reply
Dag Nando, gelijk heb je want ik het direct uitgetest. De optie om de R5 foto's in camera te laten samenvoegen zit er inderdaad niet op, ik heb firmware versie 1.8.1.
Ik heb ook een R6 mk II en daar zit wel de optie "diepte samenstelling" in of uit op. Daarom dacht ik dat het op de R5 ook ging.
Ik gebruik die depth mapping in camera nooit omdat ik liever de raw files eerst bewerk en dan pas samenvoeg. In LRc gaat dat heel snel omdat je maar één raw file hoeft te bewerken en dan de andere raw files kan laten synchroniseren.
Tegenwoordig gebruik ik c raw, gebruikt veel minder geheugen en ik zie geen verschil met raw formaat. Heb jij hier ervaring mee, misschien eens in een andere rubriek bespreken?
Alvast bedankt voor je leerrijke tips en uitleg!
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Nando wrote on Friday 28 July 2023 at 09:47 | reply
Nou, gelukkig maar. Dan ben ik niet helemaal gek geworden
hahaha
Maar tegelijkertijd jammer dat de EOS R5 zo achter blijft met opties die via firmware toegevoegd worden.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Christiaan wrote on Thursday 27 July 2023 at 09:42 | reply
Misschien handig om het explicit ISO stacking te noemen, wat dus iets anders is dan focus stacking wat in de reacties aangehaald wordt. Leuke van ISO stacking is dat je ook gewoon uit de hand kunt schieten. Er zit dan wel wat verschil in de beelden maar een Photoshop of Affinity Photo kan deze goed uitlijnen.

Heb het zelf maar een paar keer ter test toegepast maar was blij verrast met de resultaten. Je kunt het, net als bij focus stacking, niet op ieder onderwerp toepassen natuurlijk.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Nando wrote on Friday 28 July 2023 at 09:49 | reply
De benaming ISO stacking geeft meer verwarring, in mijn opinie. Dat impliceert namelijk dat er foto's met meerdere ISO waarden samengevoegd worden. Net als bij focus stacking meerdere focuspunten gebruikt worden.
Deze manier van stacking is stapelen van exact dezelfde foto's.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Have your say

Please note: Articles older than a week can only be commented on by signed-in visitors.
Would you still like to comment? sign in or create a free account.

Become a better photographer every week

A practical photography tip in your inbox every week.
39,193 photography enthusiasts already receive the tips! More about the weekly mail. Or keep up to date via Facebook. Sign-up secured with Google reCaptcha.

Elja Trum

Photofacts; everything to do with photography!

Would you like to take better photos and keep up with what is happening in photography? Photofacts publishes articles that teach you something about photography — from a product announcement to a practical shooting tip or a look at a website. Photofacts covers photography every day and is a hobby project of Elja Trum's that got out of hand. The articles are written by a team of volunteer authors. If you would enjoy writing one or more articles for Photofacts, do get in touch.More about Photofacts

Photofacts is made possible in part by