# RAW photos have noise after import into lightroom



## iliketoshoot11 (Jul 22, 2014)

After I import my RAW files into Lightroom to develop them I notice there is some noise in the photos when I view them at a 1:1 zoom. Maybe there is some sharpening applied to the RAW files when I import them into Lightroom? I don't notice this noise when I view the original photo on my hard drive using Windows Photo Viewer. I've attached a photo for reference. 

I don't like the idea of lightroom applying things to my photos without me knowing so I'd like to turn it off where it is happening if possible

Thanks!


----------



## Jim Wilde (Jul 22, 2014)

Hi, welcome to the forum.

The problem here is that you're not comparing like with like....in Lightroom you are viewing the Raw file after it has been converted by Lightroom's raw converter, and which has had a small amount of capture sharpening applied (to compensate for the natural softening in the raw conversion process), but has had no noise reduction applied. In Windows Photo Viewer you are not looking at the raw file (WPV doesn't do raw conversion), instead you are looking at the Jpeg preview which is included by the camera inside the raw file. That Jpeg preview would be the result of the camera's raw conversion, during which it would have applied whatever camera settings were in force at the time of the shooting, and more than likely that would have included both sharpening AND noise reduction (Lightroom ignores such camera settings when it converts the raw files).

If you don't like Lightroom doing anything to your images without you knowing, you can apply the "Zeroed" preset during (or after) import....as it's name suggests it will zero all sliders. But you're still likely to be seeing the noise even with the capture sharpening turned off.


----------



## ande8150 (Jul 23, 2014)

To add to Jim's answer, Lightroom is doing very little to your photo. It was your camera that added noise reduction to the jpg embedded in the raw file.   Adding noise reduction in Lightroom will reduce the noise in your picture. Lightroom hasn't added noise, it just hasn't removed it yet.   Being able to control the settings in Lightroom (like noise reduction, sharpening, exposure adjustments, etc) is what gives you much greater flexibility with the picture than what your camera produces as a jpg.


----------



## iliketoshoot11 (Jul 23, 2014)

Thanks Jim and ande8150 your answers make sense I completely forgot that the RAW file has a JPEG preview inside of it and it makes sense that WPV displays that JPEG preview.

I'll mess around with the sharpening settings and the "Zeroed" preset.

Thanks!


----------

