P: Enhance: Denoise, Super Resolution, Raw Details (CR & LrClassic)

Thanks for getting this over to LRc....really been waiting for it.

is the a KB shortcut to start the AI Denoise, like 'Enhance' did?  Also, once 'Denoise' is check, are there KB shortcuts for the slider?

Enhancing (Super Resolution) a JPEG file using ACR and the "New AI Features and Settings Panel" creates an invisible .acr file with the enhance settings. Opening this enhanced JPEG and saving over the old file doesn't delete the .acr file which will in turn add a lot of unneeded data on the hard drive.

1. Enable Technology Previews->New AI Features and Settings Panel in Camera RAW

2. Right-click a JPEG file in Bridge and Open in Camera RAW

3. Check the Super Resolution box

4. Open the processed JPEG into Photoshop

5. Save As and replace the old JPEG on disk

Expected: .acr file is deleted

Actual: .acr file remains on disk

The new JPEG has the enhanced resolution and doesn't rely on the .acr file, the Camera RAW settings badge in Bridge is no longer shown, and the JPEG will open directly into photoshop instead of Camera RAW. The .acr file is no longer of any use but takes up significant disk space, as much or more than the actual JPEG. Being invisible, it will not show up by default in Bridge or Finder/Explorer.

Clarification on using the Technology Preview-

With this disabled, Camera RAW and Lightroom Classic can apply Super Resolution to PSD files. In LrC, just right-click an imported PSD. In ACR, File->Open, select the PSD file, and change format to Camera RAW to open into ACR, then Enhance.

With the Preview turned on, Enhance is not available for PSD files so ACR cannot apply Super Resolution.

I assume this is by design. Is this correct and will ACR (and presumably LrC) add this capability in the future, once this is a release feature and not a Preview? If not, please consider retaining the old Enhance method so we don't lose a feature.

And yes this is useful. When working with older, low-resolution, noisy RAW files, applying Denoise and then Super Resolution actually works well.

Version: Camera Raw 17.0
Platform: PC Windows 11
Reproduce Issue by: Simply add some masking and apply denoise, try to change the masking

The new denoise feature is certainly a step forward with its adjustable levels, but I’ve encountered a frustrating drawback. Whenever I use the denoise function, it prompts me to "Update AI Settings," which takes an unnecessarily long time. Worse, it often disrupts my brush edits and mask settings in the process.

When editing over 100 photos, even minor adjustments to masks, brushes, or denoise settings trigger long waiting times—sometimes up to 10 minutes for a batch to process. Despite using a Dell XPS 17 with an RTX 3060, which isn’t top-of-the-line but fairly capable, these delays are difficult to manage.

My current workaround is reverting to Camera Raw 16.5, where I can apply denoise to all photos at once, export the DNG files, and work on them without delays. However, this limits access to the generative expand feature, making it a trade-off.

It would be incredibly helpful to have the option to enable or disable the adjustable denoise level feature (allow people to create static dng files instead of noise sliders), offering flexibility for different workflows.

Best regards,

Matt

On my Windows 11 system I see some strange CPU usage with Denoise AI in ACR 17, but waited for an update before commenting. Now with ACR Version 7.0.1.2048 I still see strange and excessive CPU usage.

My workflow: I open a virgin Canon CR2 in ACR via Bridge and just tick Denoise. I get the normal "Enhance" progress window, and see some expected CPU in the Windows Task Manager. Takes about 5 seconds, and I see a denoised image preview. All seems good. But then I notice the CPU takes off, climbs to +95%, and stays there for 30 to 40 seconds before dropping back to idle.

I click "Done" in ACR and get the xmp and acr sidecars. Now, when I reopen the image in ACR I see the same strange CPU behavior. Ramps up to +95% for 30 to 40 seconds while I just watch without doing anything. If I open the image via Photoshop instead of Bridge I see the same thing.

If I open the virgin file via Photoshop, click Denoise, and then click Open as fast as possible after the Enhance window closes, I quickly (2 secs) get a proper denoised image in Photoshop, and the CPU quickly drops to idle. That seems to indicate that the 30-40 seconds of high CPU is not really doing anything! I get the same denoised image whether I let the CPU run or not. I got suspicious ACR was phoning home, maybe uploading stuff. So I disconnected my system from the Internet. I still get the high CPU session when air gapped.

Also, when I host ACR in Bridge and open a denoised image into Photoshop, I have a 25 second delay before the image appears. If I host ACR in Photoshop and open, there is no delay. Image opens in about 2 seconds. So, I've been dragging and dropping from Bridge to Photoshop to avoid the long delay.

I often use the denoise functionality, it saved some of my photos and I love it. 

But I often apply it to a lot of photos simultaneously, sometime more than a hundred, and I leave it to calculate in the background.

With the new way it works, it opens a window (like applying smart masks) and I have to wait until it finishes. And that totally destroys my workflow! The window is locked in the foreground, and I can't open any other window of any other app to work on non-camera raw stuff. That's so inefficient, and I hate the way this works! Please, PLEASE change that!!!!

Posted this in the Photoshop forum, but probably better suited to this thread. I've been having an issue with AI Enhance Denoise settings "sticking" when applying via ACR on a DNG opened as a Smart Object in Photoshop. It seems to just discard the AI Enhance Denoise entirely whenever I reopen the smart object in ACR via PS.

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Further experimentation indicates that this freezing of Photoshop issue only occurs when Camera Raw is hosted by Bridge.

If hosted by Photoshop then Open and Open Object work correctly after Denoise or Super Resolution is applied using the new parametric adjustment.

Camera Raw 17.0.0.2043 on Windows 11

An observation:

New AI Features and Settings Panel checked.

Open existing DNG file in Camera Raw.

Apply Denoise as standard edit feature (new).

Resulting file causes Photoshop 26.0.0 to crash when selecting Open Object orOpen from Camera Raw.

When noise reduction is performed manually or the older method of applying Denoise and producing a new -Enhanced-NR.dng file , the file opens correctly in Photoshop.

The same applies to Raw Details and Super Resoltion processes.