Adobe Camera Raw Enhance Details + AI Denoise: Works Great on older files eg Leica M9
Related: Adobe, Adobe Camera Raw, Adobe Camera Raw AI Denoise, Adobe Camera Raw Enhance Details, Artificial Intelligence, Leica, Leica M, Leica M9, noise, rangefinder
Exciting for photographers in general, the Leica M9 advanced the state of the art to a compelling resolution of 18 megapixels, at a time when Nikon was at 12 megapixels (Nikon D3s) and the 12.7MP for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. It was a no-brainer for high-resolution fans like me.
Yet while that 18MP seemed huge in 2009, here in 2023 it will not even fill a 6K display; see OWC Blog: The Golden Age of Photography is Now (and Tomorrow): A Visual Retrospective on How We Got There.
The M9’s files tended to be noisy, particularly in the outer zones at wider apertures, even at base ISO. But the promise of raw DNG captures and better and better raw-file conversion has long been a reason to shoot RAW instead of JPEG.
How well does Adobe Camera Raw Enhance Details + AI Denoise work on Leica M9 files?
Really well—you just got a camera upgrade for photos you shot 14 years ago (2009)!
Below, this image had its lateral chromatic aberration corrected, micro contrast enhanced via Enhance Details, and sensor chroma noise greatly reduced without loss of any sharpness (AI Denoise = 20, a setting of 10 is my default but this image was extra noisy).
M9 Digital Camera + Summilux-M 24mm f/1.4 ASPH
ENV: Puppy DOme, altitude 8100 ft / 2469 m, 42°F / 5°C
RAW: Enhance Details, LACA corrected, vignetting corrected, AI Denoise 20
[low-res image for bot]
Below, this image had its color fringing corrected, micro contrast enhanced, etc. Leica M9 18 megapixels never looked that good before. The image detail remains competitive with many modern cameras up to 24 megapixels.
M9 Digital Camera + Leica 24mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH
ENV: Tenaya Canyon, altitude 7800 ft / 2377 m, 65°F / 18°C
RAW: LACA corrected, AI Denoise 10
[low-res image for bot]
