Participant

Question

Banding after denoise since latest update to Lightroom cloud edition on apple silicone.

Forum|Forum|1 month ago
June 20, 2026
7 replies
129 views

Using an m1 Max, didn't have this issue prior to the latest update to version 9.4

Denoise introduces banding that continues on through to exported files. Not an issue prior to the update.

johnrellis

Legend

[View this post in your web browser. It contains formatting and images that don't appear in email.]

@Joren999 I encounter the same problem. I have an example attached. Only edits I’ve done on this is blacks -61, Dehaze +84 and AI Denoise 100:

I see the artifacts too at those settings -- they’re squares about 800 pixels on a side. I also see them with these settings:

Denoise 100, Blacks -61, Clarity +50

Denoise 100, Blacks -61, B&W

I couldn’t find any combination of settings that didn’t involve Denoise and Blacks.

I assume that these were settings intended to exaggerate the visibility of the artifacts for the purposes of discussion. What were the settings you were aiming for that caused you to first notice the artifacts?

Since this is an ISO 100 image, the effects of Denoise are only visible in the sky (slightly), at 100% zoom. You could achieve the same effect on this image with a Sky mask with Texture -25, Clarity -25.

Conrad_C

Community Expert

Denoise 100, Blacks -61, Clarity +50…
…I assume that these were settings intended to exaggerate the visibility of the artifacts for the purposes of discussion. What were the settings you were aiming for that caused you to first notice the artifacts?…
…Since this is an ISO 100 image

I have a similar question: Are these settings really necessary? I mean, if there are artifacts then that could still be a legitimate bug for Adobe to fix. But, it might also be true that there could be a much better way to achieve the same edit.

If it is an ISO 100 image, Denoise should not be necessary in most cases. And if there is just a touch of noise, normal non-AI noise reduction should be enough to take care of that.

Denoise is really intended for very noisy high ISO images, such as ISO 3200 and above on current cameras. Denoise should be used sparingly, because using Denoise increases the size of the catalog’s .lrcat-data file to grow much faster than with non-AI edits.

And Dehaze is really intended for specifically removing haze, not as a basic adjustment. If there is no haze in an image, Dehaze is usually the wrong tool to apply. And when there is haze, I find that on most realistic images that are not very hazy to begin with, it should be rare to apply more than +10 to Dehaze. +100 is for if the original image is of heavy real fog or actual atmospheric haze.

So this could be a situation where two features are being applied at very high amounts to an image where maybe neither feature is appropriate to add (little noise, no haze).

If the intended look is high contrast, high saturation, then start with Profile, Whites/Blacks, the Tone Curve, Contrast, Vibrance/Saturation, then maybe Clarity, all before applying Dehaze. I do see a lot of people, especially novices, rushing to Dehaze and then wondering why the image spun out of control, when they should have started with more fundamental options first.

johnrellis

Legend

johnrellis

Legend

dj_paige

Legend

If you are using Lightroom 9.4, you are in the wrong forum. You want to post in the “Lightroom (Ecosystem) forum”, and not in the Lightroom Classic forum (since your question is clearly not about Lightroom Classic).

Joren999

Participant

Not the original poster, but I encounter the same problem. I have an example attached. Only edits I’ve done on this is blacks -61, Dehaze +84 and AI Denoise 100:

johnrellis

Legend

@Joren999, please share the original photo (not an export or screenshot). If the forum won't let you attach the file here, upload it to Wetransfer, Dropbox, Google Drive or similar free service and post the sharing link here.

Joren999

Participant

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1E1-nrLgmBDjgbnmDgQC4V7FyyoBJ--rI?usp=sharing This should work.

M

MMM PhotographyAuthor

Participant

I believe that I've figured it out. I'm not a landscapes guy, so I was just in a hurry to get them done. I used one of the recommended presets, and made minor adjustments to it. Which included adding denoise.

Once denoise was turned off, it all went back to normal, with no banding. I then reset the photo, and edited it by hand. I was unable to replicate manually. I believe the Ai Recommended presets might have a setting in them causes this. Not all presets, just some.

I came here because people on Reddit are complaining of the same issue using Classic.

alexskunz

Inspiring

I’ve tried this in Lightroom Classic on an M2 Max and don’t see any banding. I used a photograph that has plenty of empty sky (negative space) and even when I crank Dehaze to +100 there aren’t any problems.

Can you post an example photo?

Also, you mention Lightroom “cloud edition” but posted into the Lightroom Classic community. I don’t expact that to matter in this instance, but just in case...

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.