An apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to receive a digital image comprising a current pixel and a plurality of nearby pixels, determine a pixel intensity of the current pixel, wherein the pixel intensity comprises a noise component, and reduce the noise component by applying a bilateral filter as a combination of a domain filter and a range filter on the current pixel, wherein the domain filter is dependent on the pixel intensity and geometric closeness between the current pixel and the nearby pixels, and wherein the range filter is dependent on the pixel intensity and photometric similarity between the current pixel and the nearby pixels.