I actually didn't realize it came off as being rude when I typed it out, but you're right. I guess I would have if I proofread my reply before submitting it.
I also didn't know someone in another thread asked about noise reduction, but if it was necessary for me to read another thread before replying to this one, then you should add a link.
All you can tell in those images is that the noise reduction isn't necessary in this case. Other than make the photo less sharp, the photo doesn't look less noisy because of the NR. In other cases this may be different, but I have rarely seen a photo that looks better after applying heavy NR. If there was a lot of noise originally, NR just turns the image quality into a different kind of "bad".
So many people have associated low noise with good image quality that this misconception has now become people's greatest concern. All I meant originally is that most people shouldn't need to worry about it, and just shoot. Just use the ISO required to get a good shutter speed. Nothing worse than a blurry photo.
I like the one without NR better, as the details simply look nicer. (and not smudged)
after all it's not 'bad' noise. it's fairly random and looks more like grain than digital noise. that's good.
btw: you call that 'mostly drakness'?
this is what i call mostly darkness
(obviously just a test shot to illustrate my definition)
this is at f/1.4, 1/2s and iso1600 pushed to 6400
manually focused, as there was not enough light for the af-system
handheld with elbows against window frame
The obvious amount of noise in this photo (due to increasing exposure afterwards, maybe?) doesn't really ruin it. If it was taken at ISO 200, I don't know if it would be any better. Sometimes noise adds what appears to be real detail, while at other times, the photo just looks better with noise. I know you said it was just a test shot, but the photo is actually pretty cool.
I think it would look better if the leaves were a bit more sharp (while still being blurry), and if the photo was more like noise at ISO 3200, but overall, the noise doesn't really get in the way.
Here's one I took around 2 weeks ago, I think. I was in my room at 3 AM in the morning, writing my thesis, and since I haven't used my D300 for several months now, I just decided to shoot something, so I set this up: ISO 3200 (Auto ISO), f/3.2, 1/13th seconds using a D300 and 105 mm VR macro. I also sharpened it to add more noise, and to give it an oversharpened look.
