Towards Realistic Low-Light Image Enhancement via ISP Driven Data Modeling

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Wang, Zhihua, Long, Yu, Lin, Qinghua, Zhang, Kai, Zhang, Yazhu, Fang, Yuming, Liu, Li, Cao, Xiaochun
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Wang, Zhihua
Long, Yu
Lin, Qinghua
Zhang, Kai
Zhang, Yazhu
Fang, Yuming
Liu, Li
Cao, Xiaochun
author_facet Wang, Zhihua
Long, Yu
Lin, Qinghua
Zhang, Kai
Zhang, Yazhu
Fang, Yuming
Liu, Li
Cao, Xiaochun
contents Deep neural networks (DNNs) have recently become the leading method for low-light image enhancement (LLIE). However, despite significant progress, their outputs may still exhibit issues such as amplified noise, incorrect white balance, or unnatural enhancements when deployed in real world applications. A key challenge is the lack of diverse, large scale training data that captures the complexities of low-light conditions and imaging pipelines. In this paper, we propose a novel image signal processing (ISP) driven data synthesis pipeline that addresses these challenges by generating unlimited paired training data. Specifically, our pipeline begins with easily collected high-quality normal-light images, which are first unprocessed into the RAW format using a reverse ISP. We then synthesize low-light degradations directly in the RAW domain. The resulting data is subsequently processed through a series of ISP stages, including white balance adjustment, color space conversion, tone mapping, and gamma correction, with controlled variations introduced at each stage. This broadens the degradation space and enhances the diversity of the training data, enabling the generated data to capture a wide range of degradations and the complexities inherent in the ISP pipeline. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our synthetic pipeline, we conduct extensive experiments using a vanilla UNet model consisting solely of convolutional layers, group normalization, GeLU activation, and convolutional block attention modules (CBAMs). Extensive testing across multiple datasets reveals that the vanilla UNet model trained with our data synthesis pipeline delivers high fidelity, visually appealing enhancement results, surpassing state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods both quantitatively and qualitatively.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_12204
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Towards Realistic Low-Light Image Enhancement via ISP Driven Data Modeling
Wang, Zhihua
Long, Yu
Lin, Qinghua
Zhang, Kai
Zhang, Yazhu
Fang, Yuming
Liu, Li
Cao, Xiaochun
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Multimedia
Deep neural networks (DNNs) have recently become the leading method for low-light image enhancement (LLIE). However, despite significant progress, their outputs may still exhibit issues such as amplified noise, incorrect white balance, or unnatural enhancements when deployed in real world applications. A key challenge is the lack of diverse, large scale training data that captures the complexities of low-light conditions and imaging pipelines. In this paper, we propose a novel image signal processing (ISP) driven data synthesis pipeline that addresses these challenges by generating unlimited paired training data. Specifically, our pipeline begins with easily collected high-quality normal-light images, which are first unprocessed into the RAW format using a reverse ISP. We then synthesize low-light degradations directly in the RAW domain. The resulting data is subsequently processed through a series of ISP stages, including white balance adjustment, color space conversion, tone mapping, and gamma correction, with controlled variations introduced at each stage. This broadens the degradation space and enhances the diversity of the training data, enabling the generated data to capture a wide range of degradations and the complexities inherent in the ISP pipeline. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our synthetic pipeline, we conduct extensive experiments using a vanilla UNet model consisting solely of convolutional layers, group normalization, GeLU activation, and convolutional block attention modules (CBAMs). Extensive testing across multiple datasets reveals that the vanilla UNet model trained with our data synthesis pipeline delivers high fidelity, visually appealing enhancement results, surpassing state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods both quantitatively and qualitatively.
title Towards Realistic Low-Light Image Enhancement via ISP Driven Data Modeling
topic Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Multimedia
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.12204