In the end, it looks like Neat Video and Denoiser II are both excellent at reducing noise, especially within the kinds of noisy situations you'll most find yourself in. However, if your budget is a little bit tighter, the plug-ins Ryan Connolly compares, Neat Video and Denoiser II, are still extremely adept at clearing up artifacts and are both about $100 (Neat Video offers a $50 option, but you'll be missing some Pro features and will only be able to process HDV 720p-size video). We've talked quite a bit about the Dark Energy plug-in, which, if you've got $200 to spend, is probably one of the more powerful denoisers out there at that price point. There are several noise reducers out there that clean up your image pretty damn well. This is why these denoisers can be so important to have in your editing toolbox. Now, of course you want to do everything you can to ensure that your footage is as crisp and clear as possible before you shoot - avoiding low light situations, choosing lower ISO settings when possible, using lenses with larger apertures, even keeping your camera within its optimal shooting temperature - but sometimes noise is unavoidable.

Red giant denoiser plugin