What’s Your Preference?

frnak · #1 (**permalink**) 07-08-2010, 01:14 AM

I'm sorry if this is in the wrong category...

I shot this in sunlight with a Canon 500D 28-105mm f3.5-4.5. Also with highlight tone priority turned on and ISO at the lowest (200)

Unfortunately, I've noticed that a lot of my shots are grainy at such low ISO. Can anyone tell me if it's the 500D or the lens? Or is it suppose to be like that? Here's the image for proof.

sk66 · #2 (**permalink**) 07-08-2010, 01:49 AM

You are a victim of "pixel peeping"...blow anything up large enough and it will appear "grainy".

OsmosisStudios · #3 (**permalink**) 07-08-2010, 02:48 AM

Well, you've got some pretty rough CA, and the lens clearly isnt resolving at the sensor's level (the lens is soft). But there is some grain there: there always will be.

Sidenote: Is that the Chateau Laurier?

frnak · #4 (**permalink**) 07-08-2010, 03:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Well, you've got some pretty rough CA, and the lens clearly isnt resolving at the sensor's level (the lens is soft). But there is some grain there: there always will be.

Sidenote: Is that the Chateau Laurier?

Yep. Taken on Canada Day!

BCampbell · #5 (**permalink**) 07-08-2010, 03:17 PM

This is probably due to the lens, that is not a bad lens but not excellent. If you want to go a step better in that general focal range, you could look into the 24-105 f/4L or maybe the 28-135 3.5-4.5 IS.

One important question is what aperture you were shooting at. Very wide or very narrow apertures can give you a hit to sharpness.

Those crops do seem to have a lot of luminance noise though, which makes me wonder how they were processed. Are you shooting JPG or RAW? Did you boost brightness in processing? It almost looks like it was pushed by a stop or so in post.

In the end, sk66 has it right; you'll find errors at 100% no matter what camera and lens you use. You have to decide if this works for your purposes; It's fine for displaying on the web, and you could easily print that to 8x12".

Vagebond · #6 (**permalink**) 07-08-2010, 03:38 PM

According to my 450D's manual, the "auto lighting optimizer", which is switched on by default, can cause noise. I haven't regretted switching it off. It might be worth a little testing.