Nonparametric noise estimation method for raw images

Optimal denoising works at best on raw images (the image formed at the output of the focal plane, at the CCD or CMOS detector), which display a white signal-dependent noise. The noise model of the raw image is characterized by a function that given the intensity of a pixel in the noisy image returns the corresponding standard deviation; the plot of this function is the noise curve. This paper develops a nonparametric approach estimating the noise curve directly from a single raw image. An extensive cross-validation procedure is described to compare this new method with state-of-the-art parametric methods and with laboratory calibration methods giving a reliable ground truth, even for nonlinear detectors.