There are technology, then there are limitations of technology, then comes people who create software that overcome the limitations of technology. Neat Image Pro Plus is one of those programs. If you're a vivid photographer, you'll sometimes notice a lot of grainy red dots on places the dots are not intended to be there, those are called "noise" in photography terms. This effect is more obvious even at low ISO 200 for digital compact cameras which most of us are using. For more about noise, please read this explaination from DPReview's Glossary [Noise]

Not only does these pictures look pixxy, but it also takes up more space as JPEG is a lossy compression format. So by smoothing up the image, you actually save up a lot of disk space. From the 1600x1200 picture size i took during the wushu competition last week, it was 900kb per file before filter, and juz around 450kb after I filter the picture through Neat Image.

There is a downside of this software...which is that you're goin to lose some minor details on your picture when u blow up the picture. But i feel that the sacrifice is worth it. I'll rather see a picture with a little less details, then a picture with so much unnessasary details.

You actually have to download the specific Noise Profile from their website so that you can get the best out of your picture. Profiles are done for each stop...meaning that the profile match of around 98% will give you the best results. But for me, i work as close as i can get => 99% match profile!!!

Click on the link on the right to reach the download page. [Download]

Here is where you can find the noise profile for your camera. [Noise Profile]

well, i do hope that you enjoy the program as much as i do.