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A thread started by @Zenon and replies by @Jim Wilde showed I didn't really understand how Enhance Raw Details and Denoise handled develop settings. I didn't find a satisfactory explanation, so I did some careful experiments and found some surprising behavior. My understanding could still have errors, so slings and arrows appreciated.
Summary
- Raw Details and Denoise generate the pixels of the DNG from the underlying raw file, ignoring all develop settings that have been applied to the raw, including Sharpening and Manual Noise Reduction.
- After generating the pixels of the DNG, Raw Details and Denoise copy all Develop settings from the raw to the DNG, with one exception: Denoise doesn't copy Manual Noise Reduction settings (though Raw Details does). I think copying Sharpening is wrong and will continually trip up users -- see below.
- The Reset command does something unexpected and probably never wanted: It resets Sharpening and Manual Noise Reduction sliders to the raw defaults, not 0. I think this will also trip up users -- see below.
Summary of the behavior I observed:
Sharpening Copied to the DNG
Raw Details and Denoise copy Sharpening to the DNG, which I don't think most users will want. Camera manufacturers, Adobe, and users have chosen their default Sharpening based on the typical visual detail recorded by cameras in their raws. But Raw Details (which is invoked by Denoise) sharpens the image (that's the whole point), so why would Sharpening settings chosen for the raw be appropriate for the DNG? Denoise doesn't copy Manual Noise Reduction settings, so why does it copy Sharpening?
Reset to Raw Defaults
The Reset command normally makes a photo look just as it was when it was first imported. But Reset of a Denoise DNG can make it look much different than when it was created. This happens because Reset restores the raw defaults for a photo, and those raw defaults may have non-zero settings for Manual Noise Reduction, while Denoise set those settings to zero. I don't think I'll be the only user confused by this.
Consider this use case:
- A user sets the raw defaults for their Nikon Z 6 II to Camera Settings. For an ISO 1440 photo, the Nikon Z 6 II embeds non-zero settings for Manual Noise Reduction, which LR uses for the raw defaults (Luminance = 47, Detail = 75, Contrast = 0, Color = 10, Deteail = 50, Smoothness = 50).
- The user runs Denoise, which sets the Manual Noise Reduction settings to 0.
- After some initial editing of the DNG, the user wants to start over and clicks Reset. Oops, the Manual Noise Reduction settings are set to the raw defaults set by the camera, and the DNG now looks significantly different than when it was first created. That's certainly not what most users would expect Reset to do.
Here's an example. On the left is the DNG after it was first created, and on the right after clicking Reset:
Summary
- Raw Details and Denoise generate the pixels of the DNG from the underlying raw file, ignoring all develop settings that have been applied to the raw, including Sharpening and Manual Noise Reduction.
- After generating the pixels of the DNG, Raw Details and Denoise copy all Develop settings from the raw to the DNG, with one exception: Denoise doesn't copy Manual Noise Reduction settings (though Raw Details does). I think copying Sharpening is wrong and will continually trip up users -- see below.
- The Reset command does something unexpected and probably never wanted: It resets Sharpening and Manual Noise Reduction sliders to the raw defaults, not 0. I think this will also trip up users -- see below.
Summary of the behavior I observed:
Sharpening Copied to the DNG
Raw Details and Denoise copy Sharpening to the DNG, which I don't think most users will want. Camera manufacturers, Adobe, and users have chosen their default Sharpening based on the typical visual detail recorded by cameras in their raws. But Raw Details (which is invoked by Denoise) sharpens the image (that's the whole point), so why would Sharpening settings chosen for the raw be appropriate for the DNG? Denoise doesn't copy Manual Noise Reduction settings, so why does it copy Sharpening?
Reset to Raw Defaults
The Reset command normally makes a photo look just as it was when it was first imported. But Reset of a Denoise DNG can make it look much different than when it was created. This happens because Reset restores the raw defaults for a photo, and those raw defaults may have non-zero settings for Manual Noise Reduction, while Denoise set those settings to zero. I don't think I'll be the only user confused by this.
Consider this use case:
- A user sets the raw defaults for their Nikon Z 6 II to Camera Settings. For an ISO 1440 photo, the Nikon Z 6 II embeds non-zero settings for Manual Noise Reduction, which LR uses for the raw defaults (Luminance = 47, Detail = 75, Contrast = 0, Color = 10, Deteail = 50, Smoothness = 50).
- The user runs Denoise, which sets the Manual Noise Reduction settings to 0.
- After some initial editing of the DNG, the user wants to start over and clicks Reset. Oops, the Manual Noise Reduction settings are set to the raw defaults set by the camera, and the DNG now looks significantly different than when it was first created. That's certainly not what most users would expect Reset to do.
Here's an example. On the left is the DNG after it was first created, and on the right after clicking Reset:
)soon.