Noiseware CE (Community Edition) is a free program that can remove or greatly reduce noise from digital images while keeping the details. It is different from most image processing software that employ simple methods such as median filters in that it employs a sophisticated yet fast algorithm that uses the “adaptive noise profile capability” and sharpening function to deliver excellent and quick results.
Image noise is a kind of grainy look/degradation that can be found on images which significantly reduces their quality, and is often the result of under-exposure (i.e. not enough light) when the image is taken. The good news is: NoisewareCE can deal with this problem extremely well.
There has been a proliferation of programs that manipulate, fix, sharpen, focus, and perform many other such optimizations and enhancements to images, so much so that when I come across image-fixing programs these days I largely gloss over them unless they have something that stands out. I am not an expert on image filters and this is somewhat unfamiliar territory, but what drew me to this program was (a) the promise of a sophisticated filtering technology that is apart from what you usually get with most programs, and 
(b) the image gallery of results displayed on the developer’s website (see here, and here; click on the before and after tags under each picture for a comparison). Also see a couple of before-and-afters that I made myself.
More info on this program:
- How to use: simply load your image and process. Typically the only decision you will need to make is to choose a pre-defined filter from the filters list. Once processed you can save the resulting image, by default it will save under the same name and append “_filtered” to the name.
- Filter pre-sets: include default, landscape, night scene, portrait, film grain effect, and a handful of others. If you do not feel like messing with these, go with the default filter. (Note: the paid version offers the ability to tweak and save custom filters).
- Image comparisons: once processed, you can click on the image to show what it looked like before processing, and depress to see the new version. This can give you an excellent sense of the changes that occurred and the improvement in image quality.
- Formats supported: JPEG, PNG, BMP, and TIFF.
Differences between free and paid versions: there are a number of paid versions of this plus a couple of photoshop plugins. Differences include: the ability to processes multiple images in batch in the paid version, a “self learning” noise profile builder tool, the ability to create custom filters, and other minor differences (go here for a comparison). Honestly the only feature that I would want is the batch conversion feature. I might also add that the free edition features a splash screen that feels somewhat like a nag screen, but I’m willing to live with it and it’s really isn’t that annoying.
The verdict: this is a great program and a powerful addition to your arsenal of image-fixing tools. You will be looking at your image collection differently (forgive the pun) knowing that many of the images with blemishes and imperfections can be fixed quickly and easily. This program is especially useful when it comes to portraits/faces, as grainy images tend to accentuate skin imperfections, and NoisewareCE is very effective in cleaning these up.
Version Tested: 2.6
Compatibility: Windows XP/Vista, 256MB RAM, 10MB HDD.
Go to the download page to get the latest version (approx 1.9 megs); choose “Community Edition” for the free version. Also visit the program home page.
Posts on other sites that you may like:
Be careful with noise reduction. The first temptation is usually to use too much smoothing. Look at the hood of your son’s jacket in the sample pictures. Notice how smooth it looks? The texture is gone. In the samples on the web site, the faces of the girls loose a lot of texture. To my eyes, all the samples look too smooth, like plastic, not natural surfaces. To oversimplify (smooth?), short video segments could be processed into still images by properly applying the time dimension to help account for rounding errors. Look, again, at your son’s hood. See the false color? The goal should be to reduce the color aberrations and grain without destroying the real textures.
@Fred,
I see what you’re saying. It will often boil down to a trade off between grainy detail and possible plastic looking smooth surfaces.
Going back to the 3 faces on the developer’s site, the one on top, to my eyes, looks very plastic, to the extent that I wonder whether the original was the better picture. The two faces below it, though, are clearly better images, despite (or because of) the loss of detail.
But the real reason I am inlcined to use this tool and sacrifice some detail is that it allows you to use pictures in projects that otherwise you would not be able to use (i.e. on websites or even in print). A grainy picture on a website is not a good idea, while the processed, cleaned up version in many (most?) cases will be perfectly useable.
Thanks again for your informative feedback!
the girls faces are not samples for the ‘noiseware’ tool but for the ‘portraiture’ plugin…
Extremely good software. It’s more advanced that the median filters used in most photo manipulation software, and it lets you salvage those “wedding photos inside the church without a professional flash” chores…
Definitely worth using, and the price is terrific!
This program is Amazing!
You would not believe how much I tried to get rid of the distortion image noise in the photos (because of using ISO 400) which I kept the camera on for to long, causing image noise. I tried Photoshop and other popular programs, but this program beats it all off with a stick!
Thank you for this program whoever made it! A+++.
FYI: Registerware.