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Enhanced Denoise

Victor
  • Updated

Capture One 16.8 introduces Enhanced Denoise, a built-in noise reduction feature designed to produce clean, natural-looking results at high ISO without over-processing. The denoising is calculated once per image in the background and reused across all variants, making it both efficient and consistent.

Note: Enhanced Denoise works with Bayer-pattern RAW files only.

 

Contents

How Enhanced Denoise works

Enhanced Denoise is enabled using the Apply Enhanced Denoise toggle in the Noise Reduction tool panel. When turned on, Capture One generates a denoised sidecar file in the background and does not block your workflow, allowing you to continue editing and culling while processing completes, as long as system resources allow.. This means the denoising is computed only once, even if the image has multiple variants.

Processing progress is shown in the Activity dialog with a dedicated entry and progress bar. A label is also displayed in the Viewer until the denoised result is ready.

Colour noise is suppressed automatically, and hot pixels are removed as part of the process.

The Impact slider controls how much luminance noise is blended back into the image. The default value of 50 is set deliberately to preserve a natural look. Increasing the value produces a cleaner result, while reducing it reintroduces fine, achromatic grain for a more film-like appearance without restoring coloured noise.

If the camera applies RAW‑level corrections that affect only parts of the image—such as in‑camera vignette or shading compensation—the noise pattern can become uneven and lead to unexpected results. For best results, disable these corrections in camera (for example, vignette compensation or Sony shading compensation), so Enhanced Denoise can work on a consistent noise profile across the entire image.

How to apply Enhanced Denoise

  1. Select a supported RAW image.
  2. Open the Noise Reduction tool panel.
  3. Enable Apply Enhanced Denoise.
  4. Wait for processing to complete, using the Activity dialog or the Viewer label as a reference.
  5. Adjust the Impact slider to balance cleanliness and natural grain.
Note: Enhanced Denoise can be applied while shooting tethered, i.e. when using Next Capture Adjustments. However, because it is a heavy background process, it runs asynchronously and does not block capture or image display.

FAQ

When does Enhanced Denoise work best?

Enhanced Denoise has the most visible impact on images shot at ISO 3200 and above. At lower ISO values, the standard Noise Reduction sliders are recommended.

I have a Fujifilm camera and Enhanced Denoise is greyed out for me. What can I do?

Enhanced Denoise currently supports Bayer sensors only. Support for Fujifilm X‑Trans cameras is planned for the future. Make sure to check the Known limitations section below for the full list of unsupported file formats. 

Is Enhanced Denoise recalculated for every variant?

No. The denoised result is generated once and reused for all variants of the same image.

Can I see when Enhanced Denoise is processing?

Yes. Progress is visible in the Activity dialog with a dedicated entry and progress bar. A label is also shown in the Viewer until processing is complete.

Does Enhanced Denoise affect colour noise?

Colour noise is removed automatically. The Impact slider controls luminance noise only.

Can I use Enhanced Denoise while shooting tethered?

Yes, but it is best applied after capture, as it runs efficiently in the background and is designed to keep tethered workflows responsive and uninterrupted while images continue flowing into Capture One.

Is Enhanced Denoise applied when exporting to DNG?

No. When exporting to DNG, the export succeeds, but Enhanced Denoise is not applied to the output.

Known limitations

  • Works on Bayer-pattern RAW files only.
  • Not supported formats include JPEG, PNG, TIFF, PSD, Fujifilm X-Trans, monochrome RAW, Canon or Nikon SRAW/MRAW, iPhone ProRAW, or linear RGB DNG files.
  • Some cameras apply in-camera noise reduction or lens corrections that can reduce denoising effectiveness or leave parts of the image noisier.
  • Enhanced Denoise is best applied after capture rather than as a Next Capture Adjustment, as it runs efficiently in the background and allows Capture One to keep images flowing smoothly during tethered shooting, even when using "When Fully Ready".
  • Long-exposure noise, edge noise, and repeating stripe noise may not be fully removed.
  • DNG export based features, like Panorama stitching, HDR merge, do not support Enhanced Denoise.

 

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