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[edit] Installing the Noise Ninja Plug-in
[edit] How do I install the Plug-in version?
Detailed installation instructions with screeshots:
[edit] I'm having trouble installing the license.
Go to the Noise Ninja menu in the Plug-in or the Help menu in the Standalone and select "Install or view license" then enter your user name and key and click "Install." Make sure you are entering the user name we have provided (it is not the same as your name). Also, do not press the "Paste" button after entering your user name and keycode. The Paste button will paste whatever you have from your clipboard.
Here is a screenshot of how it should look like in the plug-in version:
Here is a screenshot of how it should look like in the standalone version:
[edit] I followed the directions and Noise Ninja is not showing up under Photoshop Filters?
- Make sure you download the Noise Ninja plug-in and not the Noise Ninja standalone application.
- If you are using a Mac and are using StuffIt and it's a version older than 8.0.2 make sure to upgrade to the latest version of StuffIt you can get the latest free version of StuffIt Expander here. If you do not upgrade StuffIt it will not uncompress the Noise Ninja plug-in correctly (the plug-in file will be missing its Photoshop plug-in icon).
- If the plug-in still does not come up start Photoshop and go to the Edit menu and select "Preferences->Plug-Ins & Scratch Disks." Then check the "Additional Plug-Ins Folder" checkbox and browse to and select the Noise Ninja plug-in folder. Then click OK to save your Photoshop preferences. Restart Photoshop and see if now it has loaded Noise Ninja.
- If you continue to have problems contact us at support. Please include what version of Photoshop you are using and whether you are a Mac or Windows user plus any additional relevant information.
[edit] I'm using Photoshop CS3 on a MacIntel and Noise Ninja is not showing up under Photoshop Filters?
First, make sure that the version you downloaded is correct and you didn't download the old PowerPC version. You can check this by looking at the Noise Ninja plug-in folder name it should be "NoiseNinjaPlugin_MacIntel" and not "NoiseNinjaPlugin_Mac." If you downloaded the wrong version remove what you have installed and then download the correct version MacIntel here
Then follow the installation instructions here
If Noise Ninja still does not start, please try the following: Start Photoshop and go to the Edit menu and select "Preferences->Plug-Ins & Scratch Disks." Then check the "Additional Plug-Ins Folder" checkbox and browse to and select the Noise Ninja plug-in folder. Then click OK to save your Photoshop preferences. Restart Photoshop and see if now it has loaded Noise Ninja.
If you continue to have problems, go to your Photoshop CS3 application folder and right click on the Adobe Photoshop CS3 application file and make sure it is not set to run under Rosetta. If it is, uncheck Rosetta and restart Photoshop CS3.
[edit] When I select Noise Ninja from the Photoshop Filter->PictureCode menu I get an error?
If you get an "Unable to load plug-in library" error message when you select Noise Ninja from the Photoshop Filter->PictureCode menu this error is normally caused by two things:
- You have more than one copy of the Noise Ninja plug-in in your Photoshop\Plug-Ins folder or any of its subfolders.
- You moved/copied only the NoiseNinja plug-in *file* instead of the entire Noise Ninja plug-in *folder* in to your Photoshop plug-ins folder.
To solve this problem, first go through the Photoshop\Plug-Ins folder and remove any Noise Ninja files or folders in that folder or any of its subfolders. Then re-install the Noise Ninja the plug-in by following these instructions:
When you are done installing the plug-in you should have a single Noise Ninja plug-in folder located in your Photoshop\Plug-Ins folder.
If you are still having problems please contact support.
[edit] I need to run Photoshop CS3 under Rosetta which version of Noise Ninja do I need?
If you need to run Photoshop CS3 under Rosetta because one or more of your plug-ins have not been updated to support running natively, then you need to download and install the PowerPC version of the Noise Ninja plug-in. This version unlike the Intel Mac version will run under Rosetta. You can download it here
[edit] I installed the Noise Ninja Standalone and it is not showing up under Photoshop Filters?
The Standalone and Plug-in are two separate programs and need to be installed separately. Likewise, the license information will also need to be entered into both programs.
[edit] How do I install both the Standalone and Plug-in versions?
If you want to use both versions, you'll need to install them both separately.
[edit] Which download is for the free version and which download is for the licensed version?
Actually, they are both the same. The software will automatically run in demo mode when a license is not entered into the program. A grid will appear over the filtered images in demo mode.
[edit] Getting started with Noise Ninja
[edit] How do I get started with Noise Ninja?
There is a user's guide available in the Noise Ninja help menu. Start by reading the 30 second and then 5 minute guide to Noise Ninja. The user's guide is also available in PDF format for printing. You can find it in the Doc sub-folder of the Noise Ninja plug-in. Also if you click on the blue circles with white question marks that are found throughout the user interface, a popup will appear with some context sensitive help. Do this on the filter settings tab and it should give you some advice on setting the sliders.
You can also click on the "What's this?" icon (a mouse pointer with a question mark found at the bottom of the user interface) and then click on a part of the user interface to get some help.
[edit] Compatibility with Noise Ninja
[edit] Is Noise Ninja compatible with OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Yes, Noise Ninja is compatible with OS X 10.5 (Leopard).
[edit] Is Noise Ninja compatible with Vista?
Yes, we have tested Noise Ninja with Vista and did not encounter any problems.
[edit] Is Noise Ninja compatible with 64 bit versions of Windows?
Yes, the 32 bit versions of Noise Ninja for Windows also work with 64 bit versions of Windows.
[edit] Is Noise Ninja compatible with Photoshop CS3 and Elements 5.0?
Yes, Noise Ninja is compatible with both Photoshop CS3 and Elements 5.0.
[edit] Is Noise Ninja compatible with the other versions of Elements and Photoshop?
Yes, Noise Ninja is compatible with Elements 2 and above. Noise Ninja may also be compatible with Elements 1, but we have no users currently using Elements 1 to verify. Noise Ninja will also work with Photoshop 6 and above on Windows and Photoshop 7 and above on Mac OS X.
[edit] Is Noise Ninja compatible with Paint Shop Pro?
Yes, the Plug-in version of Noise Ninja does work within Paint Shop Pro. Follow the same installation instructions as Photoshop's but replace all instances of Photoshop for Paint Shop Pro.
[edit] Is Noise Ninja compatible with Linux?
Yes, the standalone version of Noise Ninja is available for x86 versions of Linux.
[edit] Using Noise Ninja
[edit] Is there an upgrade fee for using Noise Ninja with Photoshop CS3?
There is no upgrade fee for CS3 if you are currently holding a Home Bundle or Pro Bundle license.
[edit] Where should Noise Ninja be used in the workflow?
It is usually best to apply noise reduction as early as is practical in the workflow. Post-processing adjustments like sharpening, contrast stretching, and color balancing can alter pixel values and noise levels in unpredictable ways. Depending on the amount of adjustment, this can make it more difficult for Noise Ninja to estimate noise levels. Sharpening, for instance, is a nonlinear operation that can significantly distort the distribution of noise values.
If your workflow requires that you use Noise Ninja after some other operations, then try to create noise profiles using calibration images that have been put through the same operations.
Running Noise Ninja early in the workflow is a good rule of thumb, but Noise Ninja can be applied at any time. Sometimes it may not be possible or practical to run Noise Ninja at an earlier point in the workflow. For example, most users are not using a RAW processor with plug-in support so they run Noise Ninja after the RAW processing step.
[edit] Do I need 8-bit or 16-bit output?
An 8-bit file represents each pixel using three 8-bit values: one each for red, green, and blue, for a total of 24 bits per pixel. A 16-bit file represents each pixel using three 16-bit values, for a total of 48 bits per pixel. In an 8-bit file, there are only 256 possible brightness levels for each color channel. In a 16-bit file, there are 65536 possible levels.
16-bit files hold up better to subsequent image adjustments like contrast stretching or color balancing. 8-bit images will tend to show obvious posterization artifacts even after modest adjustments. Dark shadows, for instance, have very few bits of useful information in an 8-bit file, so they exhibit visible steps in color values when they are lightened. Gradient areas of the same color can also show banding or steps after adjustments.
So, if you expect to make substantial adjustments to images after filtering them with Noise Ninja, then 16-bit output is recommended. However, if you only intend to make minor adjustments before printing or displaying the images, then 8-bit output will probably be adequate. Professional workflows typically use 16-bit files because it allows fine control over tonality and color with less risk of introducing objectionable artifacts.
Internally, Noise Ninja processes all images at 16 bits or 32 bits per channel, in both the Home and Pro editions. Conversion to 8 bits only happens when you save the file to disk.
[edit] Is there a PDF manual, how do I print out the user's guide?
A PDF version of the user's guide for easy printing can be found in the doc sub-folder of the main Noise Ninja folder.
- You can also download the Noise Ninja Plug-In PDF user guide here.
- Download the Noise Ninja Standalone PDF user guide here.
[edit] Is there a PDF manual available in my language?
An unofficial Spanish translation of the PDF version of the Noise Ninja Plug-In user's guide is available.
You can download the translation here.
Our thanks and appreciation go out to Matías Medina Fernández for making this available to other Noise Ninja users.
[edit] Is there a Plug-in version for Aperture and Lightroom?
There is an Aperture plug-in in development but it has not yet been released.
Lightroom does not provide plug-in support for third party vendors. We will consider adding the plug-in version as soon as Adobe provides that ability.
You can use the Noise Ninja standalone and Photoshop plug-in with both Aperture and Lightroom using their support for editing with external applications. See the relevant FAQ entries on how to set this up.
[edit] How can I use the Noise Ninja plug-in or standalone with Aperture?
Aperture automatically supports Photoshop integration. Have Aperture open your image in Photoshop and then run the Noise Ninja plug-in and save the results. If you wish to use the Noise Ninja standalone application with Aperture you need to configure the Noise Ninja standalone application as an external image editor:
- Go to the Aperture Preferences menu.
- Select the Noise Ninja standalone application as an "external image editor" and select TIFF as the "external editor file format."
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- Right click on an image in Aperture and select "Open with external editor" to launch Noise Ninja.
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- Process the results in Noise Ninja and then save the file (do not save as a new file).
- By default Noise Ninja standalone application will execute a "save as" the first time you save a file. This is meant as an extra precaution against overwriting originals, but can be disabled in the Noise Ninja preferences.
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[edit] How can I use the Noise Ninja plug-in or standalone with Lightroom?
Lightroom automatically supports Photoshop integration. Have Lightroom open your image in Photoshop and then run the Noise Ninja plug-in and save the results. If you wish to use the Noise Ninja standalone application with Lightroom you need to configure the Noise Ninja standalone application as an external image editor. Here is an article that explains how to do this step by step.
Special Note: By default the Noise Ninja standalone application will execute a "save as" the first time you save a file. This is meant as an extra precaution against overwriting originals, but can be disabled in the Noise Ninja preferences.
[edit] What kind of file format do I need to use Noise Ninja?
If you use the Noise Ninja Standalone, the file must be in either JPEG or uncompressed TIFF format. You will need to convert to one of these two formats if your image is in a different format.
For the Noise Ninja Plug-in, it can read any file format supported by the host application. So if you are using the Noise Ninja Plug-in with Photoshop, you can work with JPEG, TIFF, RAW, PNG, PSD, BMP, etc.
[edit] Why is the menu in Photoshop grayed out?
The PictureCode menu in the Filters menu will be grayed out (as well as most other plug-in/filters) if you do not have an image opened and selected in Photoshop or PSP. You cannot run Noise Ninja without first selecting the image you want to work with.
The grayed out PictureCode menu could also mean that the image you are working with is not in RGB Color mode. Photoshop and PSP automatically disables any plug-ins in the Filter menu that do not support the image mode you are working with. Try going to the Image menu and selecting Mode-RGB Color.
Also, be sure that you are not in adjustment layer mode. Photoshop filters only work under image layers.
[edit] Why is the plug-in window blank or not displaying the image?
Make sure you have an image layer selected in Photoshop before starting the Noise Ninja plug-in. If you have a non-image layer, say an adjustment layer, selected when you start the Noise Ninja plug-in you will not see your image displayed. Also make sure the image is in RGB Color mode, you can change this in the Photoshop Image->Mode menu.
[edit] Why is the last filter command not working in Photoshop?
The problem is that Photoshop uses two different mechanisms for the Last Filter command -- sometimes it uses the scripting system (as though it were an action) and sometimes it uses normal invocation (as though the user launched the plug-in). However, there is no way for the Plug-in to detect which mechanism is being used (more precisely, there is no way for the plug-in to determine whether the action mechanism is being used for an action or for the Last Filter command. The Photoshop developer documentation even states this.) For most Plug-ins, it doesn't make a difference, because they behave identically under both scenarios. But Noise Ninja behaves differently when it is invoked as an action than it does when it is invoked normally (i.e. the application of policies to determine parameter settings in an action). In addition to that problem, if you have a Home license, every time the last filter command is used , it translates into an action instead of a regular call to the Plug-in. Noise Ninja will add grid lines in this case since action support is disabled if you don't have a Pro license. All this means is that the Last Filter command can't be used reliably with Noise Ninja. So far we haven't been able to figure out a fix for this.
If you want to apply the same settings to multiple images, one work-around is simply to record an action and then invoke it for each image, but to do this you will need a Pro license to enable Photoshop action support.
[edit] How do I use the Noise Brush over a large area?
If you want to run noise reduction on just one area of the image (i.e., the sky). First, make a selection in Photoshop of just the sky and then start the Noise Ninja Plug-in. Noise Ninja will recognize the selection you made in Photoshop and removes the noise only in that section.
[edit] How do I move rapidly around the Plug-in's preview window?
Here is a tip you may find useful when using the noise brush: While brushing in the preview image window, hold down the spacebar to pan the contents of the preview window and let go of the spacebar to return to the noise brush. This will make it easier to brush regions that are larger than the preview window.
[edit] How do I adjust the filter settings in Noise Ninja?
Here is a simple strategy for adjusting the Luminance sliders that usually yields good results:
- Set the Luminance Strength slider all the way to the right
- Set the Luminance Smoothness slider to the lowest level that results in a smooth area without obvious speckling. It helps to start with the maximum setting and then lowering the smoothness setting until you begin to observe some speckling.
- Reduce the Luminance Strength slider until you like the balance between noise reduction and detail preservation.
[edit] How do I batch process in the Plug-in?
Here is a short tutorial on how to use Photoshop actions and Noise Ninja to batch process a bunch of images for noise removal:
- Open a sample image to use to record your Noise Ninja Photoshop action.
- Go to the Photoshop window menu and make sure you have the actions panel selected.
- On the actions panel click on the 'Create new action icon.' It is to the left of the small trash can icon.
- Give your action a name and select the action set you want to add it to. You can create action sets to organize your actions.
- Click the record button to begin recording your action.
- Go to the Photoshop filter menu and start the Noise Ninja plug-in.
- Go to the Noise Ninja actions tab and take a look at the profile and filter policy that will be used for this action. Defaults are what you usually want. Click on the tabs help icon for more details.
- Go to the Filters menu and ajust the sliders.
- Click on the Noise Ninja Ok button to filter the image.
- Select 'Save As...' from the Photoshop File menu and save your filtered image to a temporary location.
- Click on the 'stop recording' icon on the actions panel.
- You have now recorded your first Noise Ninja action. To run this action on a folder of images, go to the Photoshop File menu and select Automate->Batch...
- In the batch dialog make sure that your new Noise Ninja action is selected. Then choose your input and output folders. Make sure you choose a different output folder than the input so you don't accidentally overwrite any files.
- Make sure you have Override Action "Save As" commands checked, otherwise Photoshop may prompt you with a file save options dialog for each file it processes.
- Click Ok to start running the batch job.
This is just a basic example. You can build a more complicated action that involves multiple steps and not with just Noise Ninja. For example you could record a save as after running Noise Ninja to convert the input files into a different output image format.
[edit] How can I use Noise Ninja to touch up skin?
One way to do this is with the Noise Ninja plug-in for Photoshop. Open the image with skin you want to touch up in Photoshop. Then duplicate the image layer and run Noise Ninja on the duplicate layer paying special attention to the skin in the image and adjusting the filter settings accordingly. After running Noise Ninja on the duplicate layer your Photoshop file should have two layers one the Noise Ninja filtered image and the other the unfiltered original image. The background layer should be the original image and the Noise Ninja filtered layer should be above that. Next with the Noise Ninja layer selected, select the Photoshop menu option Layer -> Layer Mask -> Hide All. Now paint with a white brush on the Noise Ninja layer to reveal the Noise Ninja skin layer. To hide the Noise Ninja skin layer brush in black anywhere you brushed in white. To blend the two layers brush in gray the closer to white you brush in the more the Noise Ninja skin layer will show through.
[edit] Ordering Noise Ninja and Licenses
[edit] Which version should I buy?
The Standalone licenses are not for the Photoshop Plug-in but for a separate standalone application that works only with JPEG and uncompressed TIFF files.
The Bundle licenses are for the Photoshop Plug-in but will also allow you to also use the Standalone application, hence the term bundle.
The Professional licenses enable 16-bit processing, multi-processor support, Photoshop smart filter support, and batch processing (Photoshop action support in the Plug-in).
The Home licenses offer only 8-bit processing, single-processor support, have no Photoshop smart filter support, and do not support batch processing (no Photoshop action support).
Multi-processor support is only important if you have a computer that has more than one processor or core, for example a Dual G5 Mac or Core 2 Duo. With a multi-processor/multi-core computer and multi-processor support Noise Ninja will run faster.
Batch processing of course can save you time if you have a lot of images to work with. And Photoshop action support can be useful if you like to build complicated actions to automate your workflow. Photoshop smart filter support is a new way of using Photoshop actions that is only available with Photoshop CS3 or above.
[edit] Do I need 8-bit or 16-bit output?
An 8-bit file represents each pixel using three 8-bit values: one each for red, green, and blue, for a total of 24 bits per pixel. A 16-bit file represents each pixel using three 16-bit values, for a total of 48 bits per pixel. In an 8-bit file, there are only 256 possible brightness levels for each color channel. In a 16-bit file, there are 65536 possible levels.
16-bit files hold up better to subsequent image adjustments like contrast stretching or color balancing. 8-bit images will tend to show obvious posterization artifacts even after modest adjustments. Dark shadows, for instance, have very few bits of useful information in an 8-bit file, so they exhibit visible steps in color values when they are lightened. Gradient areas of the same color can also show banding or steps after adjustments.
So, if you expect to make substantial adjustments to images after filtering them with Noise Ninja, then 16-bit output is recommended. However, if you only intend to make minor adjustments before printing or displaying the images, then 8-bit output will probably be adequate. Professional workflows typically use 16-bit files because it allows fine control over tonality and color with less risk of introducing objectionable artifacts.
Internally, Noise Ninja processes all images at 16 bits or 32 bits per channel, in both the Home and Pro editions. Conversion to 8 bits only happens when the results are saved.
[edit] I have a Noise Ninja Standalone license and want to use the Plug-in, what should I do?
The plug-in version of Noise Ninja requires a Home Bundle or Pro Bundle license. You can upgrade from the standalone version for $10. Please use our online upgrade page. You will need to enter a valid Noise Ninja standalone license to upgrade. You can retrieve your current license from the “Install or view license” menu entry in the Noise Ninja Standalone Help menu.
[edit] I purchased a license for Noise Ninja 1. Do I need to purchase a new license for Noise Ninja 2?
Noise Ninja 2 Standalone is a free upgrade for customers who purchased a license for Noise Ninja 1. Send us an email to request a new keycode.
[edit] How do I place an order for an upgrade?
You can place an upgrade for the difference in price. To upgrade, use our online upgrade page. You will need to enter a valid Noise Ninja 2 license. (If you have a Noise Ninja 1 license, contact us for a Noise Ninja 2 Standalone license.)
[edit] I had a problem placing my order. What should I do?
National and international orders via the website are handled by SWREG, our e-commerce provider located in Britain. If there is a problem with payment (for instance, your credit card is rejected for some reason, or you were inappropriately charged VAT), it is usually best to contact SWREG first. If you are unable to achieve a satisfactory resolution of the problem with SWREG, then please contact PictureCode directly.
[edit] I don't want to place an order over the Internet? What can I do?
You can also purchase a license key by mail or fax. If that doesn't work for you please contact us.
[edit] What should I do if I don't want to download the software over the Internet or my computer is not hooked up to the Internet?
The Noise Ninja software is also available on a CD. You will need to select both the license and the CD along with the appropriate shipping charges on the order form. The license will be emailed to you (unless you are an EU customer) and the CD will be mailed out by US Priority or Air Mail for international orders.
[edit] There's an update to Noise Ninja. Do I need to purchase another license for the latest update?
All 2.x.x licenses are valid for any 2.x.x version. Only when we make a release with a new major version number, for example going from 2.x.x to 3.x.x, will there be an upgrade fee.
[edit] I changed my computer platform. Do I need to order another license?
No, all Noise Ninja license are cross-platform (Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux) so you do not need to make an additional purchase—download the version you need and use your license to unlock the software.
[edit] On how may computers can I install Noise Ninja with one license?
You may install and use your License on one computer at home, one computer at work, and one portable computer, if and only if no more than one person uses the License at any time. So, a family member or coworker can use the same License on one of your computers, but only when nobody else is using the License on any other computer. If more than one person wishes to use the activated features of the Software simultaneously, then a different License must be purchased for each person.
[edit] What if I lost my license?
Contact us for a copy of your license and include the name and email address that you placed your order under.
[edit] What kind of license do I need to use with Bibble?
You can use any of our Noise Ninja licenses to enable the “registered” Noise Ninja features in Bibble. The basic Noise Ninja features in Bibble Pro are available even without a Noise Ninja license.
The licenses are all the same when it comes to Bibble, but they enable different options in the Noise Ninja Standalone and Plug-in from PictureCode.
For example, if you want to use the Noise Ninja Plug-in for Photoshop and Photoshop compatible Plug-in hosts and enable 16-bit support in the Pllug-in you would need a Pro Bundle license. If you only needed the Noise Ninja Standalone and 8-bit support then a Home standalone license would suffice. But either of these licenses would work the same when it comes to Noise Ninja functionality in Bibble Pro.
[edit] Is there a student discount?
Yes, fill out the order form and send/fax it to us with a copy of your student ID.
[edit] How do I order a CD?
On the order page, select the CD and the appropriate shipping charges. Be sure to also order a license since the license key will unlock the software. The license will be emailed to you and the CD will be sent out by US Priority for domestic shipping and Air Mail for foreign delivery.
[edit] Profiles
[edit] Do you have a profile for camera XYZ?
Current profiles are listed on the profiles download page. If your camera is not listed there, it is easy to create your own profiles, and it only takes a few minutes once you understand the process. Instructions are in the Help file and in this FAQ.
[edit] How do I create my own profiles with the Plug-in?
First, take a picture of the Noise Ninja calibration chart with your camera at each ISO setting. You can get the calibration chart here. It is also available in the Noise Ninja Plug-in folder. You can take shots of a printed chart (print does not need to be color managed) or you can take shots of the chart displayed on your screen. Make sure to take the shot out of focus so no paper dot patterns or monitor dot patterns show up. Make sure each shot is well exposed and that the chart fills the frame (it is ok for the gray borders of the chart to be in the frame).
Next, do the following for each calibration shot using the Noise Ninja Plug-in:
- Open a shot of the chart in Noise Ninja. (If you shoot RAW then you will first have to develop the RAW file.)
- Click on the Profile chart button on the Profile tab.
- Click on the Annotations tab to annotate your profile.
- Click on the Clear button and then the Auto fill button on the annotations tab to have Noise Ninja annotate the profile based on the images EXIF data.
- Click on the Save profile button (blue disk icon) or select Save profile from the Profiles menu (accept the default location and name for the profile).
After you have saved all your profiles, do the following to setup automatic profile loading:
- Go to the Noise Ninja menu and select Preferences.
- On the profiles tab set the Profile policy to "Auto-load profile based on EXIF."
- Set the Fallback policy to "Invoke automatic profiler."
- Click OK to save your preferences, they will take effect next time you start the plug-in.
For additional instructions see the user guide section "Profiling your camera or scanner". Please contact us if you need clarification.
If you want to share your profiles with the community you can upload your calibration shots to our website.
You can also use this to send the calibration shots to us and have us generate the profiles for you or validate that you did everything right.
Remember, you can also use Noise Ninja without a camera profile by using the automatic profiler instead of camera profiles.
[edit] How do I create my own profiles for the Standalone?
First, take a picture of the Noise Ninja calibration chart with your camera at each ISO setting. You can get the calibration chart here. It is also available in the Noise Ninja application folder. You can take shots of a printed chart (print does not need to be color managed) or you can take shots of the chart displayed on your screen. Make sure you take the shot out of focus so no paper dot patterns or monitor dot patterns show up. Make sure each shot is well exposed and that the chart fills the frame (it is ok for the gray borders of the chart to be in the frame).
Next, do the following for each calibration shot using the Noise Ninja standalone:
- Open a profile chart shot to generate a camera profile from in Noise Ninja. Inspect the shot for correctness. Check the image info viewer to make sure the image's meta data is available.
- Switch to the Noise profiler tab and click the Profile Chart button to profile the chart.
- Click the annotations editor button to bring up the profile annotations editor. First click the Clear button to clear any old annotations. Then click the Auto fill button to fill in the annotations from the chart image's meta data. Fill in any additional annotations that were left empty by the Auto fill button (this is optional). Then click Ok to accept the changes.
- Click the save profile button and accept the default folder location and profile file name.
- Repeat steps one through four with the remaining profile chart shots.
For additional instructions see the user guide section "Profiling your camera or scanner", please contact us if you need clarification.
If you want to share your profiles with the community you can upload your calibration shots to our website. You can also use this to send the calibration shots to us and have us generate the profiles for you or validate that you did everything right.
Remember, you can also use Noise Ninja without a camera profile by using the automatic profiler instead of camera profiles.
[edit] How do I install the camera profiles that I downloaded for the Plug-in?
- Uncompress the profiles you downloaded from our website.
- Select "Install profiles" from the Plug-in's Profiles menu.
- Browse to and select the folder that has the profiles you wish to install.
- Noise Ninja will then install the profiles and give you a list of the profiles that it has installed.
- Now you can setup Noise Ninja to auto-load the profiles you have just installed.
- Go to the Noise Ninja menu and select Preferences.
- Set the Profile policy to "Auto-load profile based on EXIF"
- Set the Fallback policy to "Invoke automatic profiler" then click OK.
Now every time you start the Noise Ninja plug-in with a new image, Noise Ninja will look at the image's EXIF data to see what settings it was taken under (Camera, ISO, etc) and then look for the best matching camera profile that closely matches those settings and loads it for you. Noise Ninja will display a message explaining which profile was loaded just above the folder and diskette icons at the bottom of the plug-in interface.
You can also manually choose a profile at any time by selecting Load profile and filter settings from the profiles menu or clicking on the folder icon at the bottom of the plug-in, and then browsing to and selecting the profile you wish to use.
[edit] How do I install the profiles I downloaded for the Standalone?
- Go to the File menu and select "Install profiles."
- Browse to and select the folder that has the profiles you wish to install.
- Noise Ninja will then install the profiles and give you a list of the profiles that it has installed.
[edit] Why are my profiles not matching the ISO?
Noise Ninja does not match profiles based on only the ISO of the image. It also looks at other fields such as mega pixels and sharpness. So for example if you have an image that has ISO 400 with no sharpening and the profile was ISO 400 and medium sharpening the match is not perfect and because sharpening tends to increase noise the profile loader might instead pick a profile with ISO 350 and medium sharpening. Another issue is if you crop your images before running Noise Ninja the profiler will think that they have been down sampled (which lowers noise) and pick a profile with a lower ISO.
If the problem is being caused by cropping then do the following:
- If you are using the Plug-in, go to the Profile menu and select "Set auto-load criteria" and change mega pixels from "Soft Match" to "Ignore."
- If you are using the Standalone go to the Edit menu select "Preferences" then on the "Profiles" tab click "Set match criteria..." and then change mega pixels from "Soft Match" to "Ignore."
If it is not due to cropping issues but is due to Noise Ninja compensating for setting differences you can either use the profiles Noise Ninja selects or avoid this situation by creating profiles with the same settings that you normally use for your images.
[edit] Error messages
[edit] What does the error “Unable to load Plug-in Library” mean?
This is normally caused by one of the following:
- You have more than one copy of the Noise Ninja Plug-in in your Photoshop\Plug-ins folder or any of its subfolders.
- You moved/copied only the NoiseNinja.8bf plug-in file instead of the entire Noise Ninja Plug-in folder into your Photoshop Plug-ins folder.
To solve this problem, first go through the Photoshop\Plug-ins folder and remove any Noise Ninja files or folders in that folder or any of its subfolders. Then re-install the Noise Ninja plug-in. Be sure to follow the installation instructions on the download pages.
- Noise Ninja plug-in download page
- Mac OS X plug-in install instructions
- Windows plug-in install instructions
When you have finished installing the plug-in you should have a single Noise Ninja plug-in folder located in your Photoshop\Plug-Ins folder.
[edit] Error installing profiles: "Profile installation error. Unable to create directory" or "Permissions error"
If you get an error while installing your profiles, this error usually means Noise Ninja is not able to write into the current Noise Profiles folder. To fix this problem, choose a different location for your profiles and pick a place that you know has adequate space and the right permissions. A good place is usually your Documents or My Documents folder. To do this, select "Preferences" from the Noise Ninja menu. Then on the Profiles tab, click the Browse button to change the Root directory used by Noise Ninja to look for Profiles. Then select a new empty Profiles folder that you can create anywhere. Here is an example of what it should look like:
You cannot simply move the profiles to your Noise Profiles folder since Noise Ninja not only installs them but also puts them in a specific folder structure based on each profile annotations.
[edit] What is "Unsupported RGB pixel format"?
This usually means that you have saved the image with extra channels (such as selections). If you save the image with just RGB channels then Noise Ninja should not have any problems opening it.
If you use Photoshop, an alternative is to use the Noise Ninja PhotoShop Plug-in. The Plug-in is available at [www.picturecode.com/nn_plugin.htm] With the Plug-in, you can operate on individual layers or channels and it will also work even if there are extra alpha channels.
[edit] What is "Licensed for the wrong product"?
This error occurs when you attempt to use a Standalone license in the Plug-in version. You can upgrade to the Bundle version which allows the use of both the Standalone and Plug-in versions for the difference in price which is $10. [Upgrade link: http://picturecode.com/upgrade.php ]
[edit] What is "Profile installation error. Invalid or corrupted noise profile"?
This means that you need to install the latest version of Noise Ninja. The older versions of Noise Ninja are no longer compatible with the profiles that are posted on the profile page. We do allow multiple installations, so download another version and use your existing license to unlock the software. [Download link: http://picturecode.com/download.htm]
