i have a still picture saved as a Jpeg from my CCTV and i want to clean it up a bit as my cameras are not the best. Is there any software out there that is recommended for this job. It is a face im trying to identify. Is there any free software on web that i could try by any chance or any decent software that i could purchase. etc.
software for cleaning up photos.
- Thread starter mickypeee
- Start date
Sponsored Links
Scroll down this list to see if any fits the bill:
http://www.fileguru.com/apps/cctv_camera_image_enhancer
Have not tried any so cannot comment, but save a copy your original picture before trying any so that you can revert back if the software screws up.
dave
http://www.fileguru.com/apps/cctv_camera_image_enhancer
Have not tried any so cannot comment, but save a copy your original picture before trying any so that you can revert back if the software screws up.
dave
- Joined
- 27 Jan 2008
- Messages
- 23,695
- Reaction score
- 2,670
- Location
- Llanfair Caereinion, Nr Welshpool
- Country
Gimp is quite good and it has a host of tools. There are also plug-ins like UFRaw but you will not need that with Jpeg. The other free software is Picturenaut which is not going to help you with what you have now but is very good at doing HDR.
On the commercial Photoshop CS5 is really good but on expensive side but Adobe also does Elements which is a cut down version of Photoshop. There is also Paint shop pro similar to Photoshop but a lot cheaper.
Schools use both Paint shop pro and Photoshop so there is a lot of guidance on both programs and most Pros will use Photoshop and Photomatrix the latter is more for HDR.
I think Gimp is great however the guidance in comparative to Photoshop is some what lacking and it takes some time to work out how to do things.
However although there is a tool to remove noise to be honest it can only do so much and once lost very hard to get it back. Over exposure is also a problem once lost it's gone. Under exposure not so bad although it tends to get grainy you can do something with it.
I would start on a copy of course with Colours/Levels and make the image span to whole useable spectrum after that try Filters/Enhance/Un-Sharp mask try about Radius 1 and Amount 1.30 this is for gimp with Photoshop it will be completely different.
If you do use Photoshop I only have CS4 then I would try loading as a RAW file. Yes I know it is a Jpeg but the RAW part of Photoshop is amazing and using the correction brush to lift and drop the exposure levels of set areas is really good. You can do same in main program but not as easy to use.
My version of Paint shop pro is rather old version 7 and I am sure now much improved. Good cameras let you save images in RAW and the better software will allow you to work in RAW if you ever get a good camera you may want this feature.
In general its not what the software can do but how easy it can do it. OK there are some amazing features like the predictive clone stamp of CS5 but how much you would use it.
However I have take pictures in the Pub with my phone and combined them with Photoshop Panorama to very good effect.
You may also try using black and white one can bring out some bits with filters in black and white you would not believe.
The same applies to HDR you don't need a D-SLR to take HDR you can still get same results with a compact and where you have control of the focus you can even use the stack to get depth of field I did it with my microscope.
Have fun and down-load Gimp it is a really powerful tool.
On the commercial Photoshop CS5 is really good but on expensive side but Adobe also does Elements which is a cut down version of Photoshop. There is also Paint shop pro similar to Photoshop but a lot cheaper.
Schools use both Paint shop pro and Photoshop so there is a lot of guidance on both programs and most Pros will use Photoshop and Photomatrix the latter is more for HDR.
I think Gimp is great however the guidance in comparative to Photoshop is some what lacking and it takes some time to work out how to do things.
However although there is a tool to remove noise to be honest it can only do so much and once lost very hard to get it back. Over exposure is also a problem once lost it's gone. Under exposure not so bad although it tends to get grainy you can do something with it.
I would start on a copy of course with Colours/Levels and make the image span to whole useable spectrum after that try Filters/Enhance/Un-Sharp mask try about Radius 1 and Amount 1.30 this is for gimp with Photoshop it will be completely different.
If you do use Photoshop I only have CS4 then I would try loading as a RAW file. Yes I know it is a Jpeg but the RAW part of Photoshop is amazing and using the correction brush to lift and drop the exposure levels of set areas is really good. You can do same in main program but not as easy to use.
My version of Paint shop pro is rather old version 7 and I am sure now much improved. Good cameras let you save images in RAW and the better software will allow you to work in RAW if you ever get a good camera you may want this feature.
In general its not what the software can do but how easy it can do it. OK there are some amazing features like the predictive clone stamp of CS5 but how much you would use it.
However I have take pictures in the Pub with my phone and combined them with Photoshop Panorama to very good effect.
You may also try using black and white one can bring out some bits with filters in black and white you would not believe.
The same applies to HDR you don't need a D-SLR to take HDR you can still get same results with a compact and where you have control of the focus you can even use the stack to get depth of field I did it with my microscope.
Have fun and down-load Gimp it is a really powerful tool.
Depends what exactly you're trying to "clean up". Given that it's a still from a CCTV film, there might be quite a bit of noise or speckling on the image. If that's the case you could try Noise Ninja (not free) or Noiseware Community Edition (free). I've used both and find that Noiseware CE does a good job, especially given the price 
Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Gimp, they're all good a what they do. Question is, is what they do what you need.....?
Try posting the pic, you might get some more specific answers.
Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Gimp, they're all good a what they do. Question is, is what they do what you need.....?
Try posting the pic, you might get some more specific answers.
Sponsored Links
yeah its a still from a mving pic. saved as a jpeg file. I don't really want to post the pic on here as im using it for evidence and don't want to show it to the world if you know what i mean.
If it's for a prosecution, surely the police can do it for the case.
well the police arn't involved otherwise yeah im sure they would have the software to do this. It is for other reasons.
I'm sure that if you were planning to involve the police then you would have plastered your property with the obligatory signs telling everyone that they're being filmed.....
Not sure if you can do it on this forum, but if you want you could email the photo to me and I'd have a go at cleaning it for you. Promise I won't tell anyone....
Not sure if you can do it on this forum, but if you want you could email the photo to me and I'd have a go at cleaning it for you. Promise I won't tell anyone....
Remember though that a computer cannot invent data that simply isnt there.. All this "magnify that blurry section of this mobile phone photo, and enhance it to be a pixel perfect shot that the hubble telescope would be proud of" tosh that you see in the movies is just that: tosh
- Joined
- 27 Jan 2008
- Messages
- 23,695
- Reaction score
- 2,670
- Location
- Llanfair Caereinion, Nr Welshpool
- Country
I would agree. Most noise reduction looks for pixels that very different from neighbouring ones and also adds some blur.
To make out details we would in fact do opposite and use un-sharp mask.
Using levels we can brighten up an image and use the full dynamic range that our VDU or printer can handle and this can help.
But still rubbish in means rubbish out.
There is also the Meta data to consider. When we load a picture into Photoshop or any other program it amends the meta data file and if I was presented with an image that says IMGP7093.PEF type Camera Raw image Application K10D Ver 1.31 then I would believe what I see but change from PEF to Jpeg then I would be wanting to be sure it has not been doctored.
I know there are special rules as to using pictures as evidence and I would be wary of altering the image in any way.
We have all seen Jurassic Park and we all know what can be done so I think one has to be very careful.
I would guess to alter a picture for use as evidence one would need some form of accreditation or licensing to ensure it was not doctored.
Should be saving as a tiff far more data in a tiff, though if you are trying to identify someone it's pointless trying to alter the image as you would need to know who it was in order to correct it without distorting the image even more.
I will never understand why people install CCTV to monitor property and other valuables, and then use the cheapest cr4p going.
Even news bulletins and newspapers show grainy pictures of people that the police want to interview but even the persons mother would not recognise them from the picture.
The satellite pictures that Google use on Google Earth can show the white lines down the middle of the road proving that cameras can pick out things.
If your valuables are worth getting a CCTV system to protect them, then get a decent one that will take recognition video, even in the dark, of any intruders.
Even news bulletins and newspapers show grainy pictures of people that the police want to interview but even the persons mother would not recognise them from the picture.
The satellite pictures that Google use on Google Earth can show the white lines down the middle of the road proving that cameras can pick out things.
If your valuables are worth getting a CCTV system to protect them, then get a decent one that will take recognition video, even in the dark, of any intruders.
- Joined
- 27 Jan 2008
- Messages
- 23,695
- Reaction score
- 2,670
- Location
- Llanfair Caereinion, Nr Welshpool
- Country
One has to consider digital and optical zoom. I have been in many a security hut where using the zoom they could read a number plate at 500 yards and ask the owner to move it. Spiders webs permitting.
But same cameras feed to a VCR and to work out who people were at 100 yards was impossible as it needed the optical zoom.
Take a 10m picture with wide angle lens (16mm) and at 100 yards it is impossible to recognise a face. But with a 400mm telephoto you can see the black head on side of his nose.
And a 10m picture takes up a lot of room. With moving pictures that is really OTT. However with moving pictures if the subject has not moved you may be able to stack the images to make a better still.
However there is a big difference between good enough to prove it is some one and good enough to make one believe it likely some one. And in the main it produces leads rather than identifying.
But same cameras feed to a VCR and to work out who people were at 100 yards was impossible as it needed the optical zoom.
Take a 10m picture with wide angle lens (16mm) and at 100 yards it is impossible to recognise a face. But with a 400mm telephoto you can see the black head on side of his nose.
And a 10m picture takes up a lot of room. With moving pictures that is really OTT. However with moving pictures if the subject has not moved you may be able to stack the images to make a better still.
However there is a big difference between good enough to prove it is some one and good enough to make one believe it likely some one. And in the main it produces leads rather than identifying.
Sponsored Links
