Comparison: On1 NoNoise AI vs Topaz Denoise AI vs Lightroom Denoise AI

In this tutorial, I demo and compare Lightroom's new Denoise AI versus Topaz Labs Denoise AI and On1 NoNoise AI.

Please subscribe to my newsletter!

Check out one of my newer websites – The Best in Photography:

All of the videos in this series will be in this playlist:

You can download all of the files here:
*Please note that the file is zipped – you'll need to unzip it, AND the zipped file is HUGE. It will take a while to download.

Please help support my YouTube channel – consider purchasing my Lightroom Presets:

For more info about On1 NoNoise AI, and to download their fully working free trial, visit:
*Save 20% with Promo Code: AM20 - May not work on sale product

To get more info about Lightroom, go here:

Check out the Topaz Labs Software here:
Currently, I do not have a personal promo code to share.

Here is the list of my recommended software, along with any discount codes I might have:

Here is a list of my current cameras, lenses, etc.:

Help me help others learn photography. You can quickly offer your support here, where I receive 100% of your kind gift:

You can change the default amount to the amount you want to donate.

[AnthonyMorganti]

In this tutorial, I demo and compare Lightroom's new Denoise AI versus Topaz Labs Denoise AI and On1 NoNoise AI.

Please subscribe to my newsletter!

Check out one of my newer websites – The Best in Photography:

All of the videos in this series will be in this playlist:

The Topaz Labs Videos I mentioned in the video can be found in this playlist:

Please help support my YouTube channel – consider purchasing my Lightroom Presets:

To get more info about Lightroom, go here:

Check out the Topaz Labs Software here:
Currently, I do not have a personal promo code to share.

Here is the list of my recommended software, along with any discount codes I might have:

Here is a list of my current cameras, lenses, etc.:

Help me help others learn photography. You can quickly offer your support here, where I receive 100% of your kind gift:


You can change the default amount to the amount you want to donate.

[neilschlosser]

In my opinion, unless you are pixel peeping, the major 'denoising' apps all give acceptable results. Certainly with close analysis one is always better than the others for sure. The important difference in my opinion is the workflow impact which most reviewers never address. I find myself using ON1 mostly because I can do the noise reduction very quickly and don't have to deal with creating another file type of the same image (dng, tiff, whatever). Using the same image on my computer, internal LR denoise takes many minutes compared to seconds internally in ON1. If I'm processing noise from multiple files I just don't have the time or patience to wait for LR (not to mention the disk space required :-) The whole process of photo editing is of course very personal though - we all do whatever it takes to get our preferred results 🙂

[alandyer]

Lightroom’s DeNoise does add add sharpening - it’s contained in the Raw Details function which is turned on by default and cannot be disabled. And as others have pointed out, the default noise reduction level is 50%. 100% will certainly introduce artifacts, or produce too smooth a result.

[JosephHawkins]

I am an AstroLandscape photographer (among other landscapes) - for the night sky DXO Pure Rare - introduces weird artifacts between the stars - Lightroom is great for these photos. It appears the original image type my be better handled by different software. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THES REVIEWS!

[eartho]

Honestly, I think for a proper comparison of denoising, ALL sharpening needs to be disabled as well as any detail enhancement. Otherwise, you really can't compare the differences between the noise reduction since sharpening will produce all sorts of artifacts that have nothing to do with the NR. Also, the lens correction should definitely be disabled since that will also affect image quality. But seems that all of this is kinda moot since the external apps are changing the color of the images? Topaz really needs to be better about the round trip consistency, but seems that they've always struggled with this.

[scawhitwell]

Very informative. Thank you. The gripes about this not being a fair comparison for one reason or another strike me as silly. There is literally an infinite number of variations you worked need to test to make an exhaustive comparison. But what is clear here that on this image, at least, Lightroom is doing an excellent job and has the virtue of a) not adding sharpening to any significant degree and b) not changing image color. It is obvious that every user will have their idea of the best balance of noise reduction and sharpening, but it seems to be Lightroom has given users a very clean option of simple noise removal without any additional 'improvements'. Of course this same year on a different kind of image would be helpful, but as AM is providing raw versions of these files I think we should all be grateful that he has provided us with additional information to make our varying decisions.

[akkarparkiamopas]

I did compared 1 of my nightscape images with high iso 6400 . DXO vs Lr AI deniose

The Lr created some artifacts line on my photo but DXO had none.

So I still prefer to use DXO all day long. I just don't tick Camera module and lens collection as the sharpening process of it is way over the top and its len collection does not work well when the later post process takes place.

However, I would not make this a conclusion, I will try to experiment this when I have new photos as they might give the different result photo by photo.

[sysmanint]

Indeed, on my 2019 MacBook Pro and updated Lightroom, Lightroom DeNoise AI opens at 50!

[SilverLarry]

I usually love your tests, but your demo of the Lightroom Denoise function was quite flawed. You simply set the slider at 100% without explanation, even though when you double click the slider it defaults to 50% which Adobe confirms is indeed the default setting. 100% is almost always too extreme. Plus you never demonstrated one of the slider's best features which is to show the affect on noise live in real-time. You don't have to wait for the render to see the affect. You just simply made the decision to set it at 100% without adjusting the slider to what might have been a better setting, saying, "I'm just going to leave it at 100" because that's the position you found the slider in when you started. Sorry for the harsh criticism. I really do love your channel. I've learned so much from you.

[alaikens]

Another good tutorial. Thanks. The amount slider of LRC Denoise AI seems to be sticky from its previous use.

[wielpaquay]

Sorry Anthony but 100% denoising in LR is way to much. 50 is the default setting and from there you can try less or more…

[branchau]

Frankly I find it hard to see the differences by viewing this video. The three noise reduction applications appear satisfactory in my view. If one already has one of those, I see no compelling reason to drop it in favor of one of the two others.

[ticticboom]

I have tried Lr denoise twice now. It did a good job, but took about 15 minutes to process one image. My PC is admittedly ancient (5years old!) but Topaz gets the same result in about 90 seconds.

[marleenvandam]

I use NoNoise and very good results! it is fast as well.100 Mpxl files take 7-12 seconds!!

[ej]

Really enjoy your videos. LR video about 9 years ago that got me into photo editing...
These days I mostly use On1 RAW, but I am not too happy with the AI features. I shoot Canon and if I use NoNoise or Tack Sharp AI I cannot use any form of detail/sharpening without introducing more noise. Would be great if you could compare the AI features using CR3 files as well to see it there is a peoblem with the On1 features.
Thanks.

[vincentroy]

I’d like to see a comparison with DxO Pure Raw 3, which is the best currently.

[az]

Thanks. I did not like the red that was added in the background in On1 and Lightroom.

[BobMcClenahan]

I tried out the new Lightroom Denoise last night. I noticed it created a lot of artifacts that made humans look plasticy and hair look like it was drawn in with a pen. The noise reduction is great, but I think the AI part needs improvement.

[MarshallCant]

Is it my imagination or is there a very slight colour shift with Topaz DeNoise AI? (Or maybe just my "old" eyes 😂) Also, I wonder if Adobe has licensed Topaz Labs DeNoise AI (a common practice in the software development world)? Adobe uses the same name, which seems odd to me.

[karlgunterwunsch]

Still the idiotic 100 slider setting for Lightroom, come on, admit your error and redo the whole comparison. Or are the affiliate kickbacks too strong to give up on them?