In real life there is no grain! So if you want the most realistic
looking photographs, grain must be eliminated.
To me, noise/grain is an unnatural artifact and is very undesireable 99.9% of the time.
Aha! The key there is the "if" in your statement. It's really all about what you want to get out of your images. It's like comparing a Rembrandt portrait, with it's beautifully smooth tonal gradations and luminous details, to a Van Gogh, where the huge colorful brushstrokes make the image work. Some would say that the the Rembrandt is more "realistic" than the Van Gogh. But is it better?
--Mark
