P: Ability to add Noise in Gradient Overlays

I'm really sorry I even bothered posting here.

Hmm, yes, I did. You can't really compare dithering and added noise if you increase the contrast.

Did you miss the part where I said I increased the contrast dramatically to show the difference?

Dithering shouldn't be that visible - the whole point is to break up small differences in values and simulate a more continuous tone on a quantized device.

Your version adds quite a lot of noise, which might be needed for a device that could only reproduce 32 levels of gray (cheap cellphones, maybe?). But it is so noisy that it no longer looks like a clean gradient on a normal 8 bit display.

Thanks for the reply!

I understand that dithering is a form of adding noise. I meant that when I hit the dither button, I can't really tell much difference. It makes the bands sometimes have an uneven, wavy like look but it doesn't really blend the colors together as well as fine noise from the Add Noise filter. I actually made a sample to illustrate what I perceive as the difference. The top is a plain gradient, the middle is dithered, and the bottom is with add noise (0.3) applied. Then I increased the contrast so that the effect can be more easily seen. None of these gradients looked awful on screen at 1:1 but the one with add noise applied was noticeably a bit better than the other two, which were pretty much indiscernible from one another. A separate layer effect for noise would certainly be welcome but I'm not entirely sure if it would work the same or not.

Sample:

Dithering is adding noise, is what was requested, and removes most banding.

Adding more visible noise would need a different request, and a better explanation. But I think there is already a request for an "add noise" layer style.

Turning dithering on isn't really the same as adding noise. I would like to see a slider for noise as there is in the shadow layer effects. As it is now, I have to rasterize my shapes (or convert to smart objects) in order apply the noise filter and create a light gradation that exhibits no banding.

Woo-hooo! Thanks Jeff!

Either would be an improvement.

Both would be a dream.

If I had to pick one or the other, it would be noise.
Simply because dithering is either on or off and not user controllable beyond that.

Thanks Chris!