noise issue

[BuddhaPi]

how can i reduce noise other than lowering the ISO or is that the main issue here... I'm not concerned with anything other than that in this sample image, as it is just that a sample of the noise..



EXIF
exposure: 1/200
Aperture: 5.6
ISO: 400
Focal Lenght: 300.0mm
Metering mode: pattern
No Flash

What other factors come into play regarding noise?? any help is appreciated.

[i speak in math]

The amplification of the signal causes noise. One large factor is the luminosity of the subjects (look up "expose to the right"). The right side of the histogram, especially the right 1/4 of it, contains most of the information of your image. The left side is the darks where not as much information reached the sensor. So, details in the left side are more noisy because the camera is amplifying details that aren't really there.

You can also just use a noise reduction program like topaz denoise, noise ninja, noiseware or any other program to reduce noise in post.

[BuddhaPi]

thanx Ispeak...amazing the things I have learned here on DPS!

[inkista]

Originally Posted by BuddhaPi

how can i reduce noise other than lowering the ISO or is that the main issue here... ...

What other factors come into play regarding noise?? any help is appreciated.

Don't crop so much? Cropping is essentially the same as magnifying the image, as each pixel makes up a larger portion of the image. Your biggest problem here is probably that you weren't using a supertele and had to crop your RSH shot down so hard. Something all of us bird photographers end up doing at one point or another.


Canon 50D. EF 400mm f/5.6L USM. iso 160. f/5.6, 1/2000s.

You can still see the noise, despite the fact that I shot at iso 160 because I've sliced away probably 3/4 of the frame.

Part of the issues with noise are which iso setting you use. And possibly not the way you think. The third-step ISO settings, the ones that come between 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 and 6400, are done in Canons by the processor. It's essentially doing the same thing you would be doing by shooting raw and then adjusting exposure in post production. If you adjust the exposure to be brighter than what you caught in camera (pushing), you'll increase noise. If you adjust the exposure to be darker than what you caught in camera (pullign), you'll decrease noise. So, it is possible to get more noise with a lower iso setting and less noise with higher ones sometimes. I've learned to turn off 1/3-stop ISO settings for this reason.

Exposure, and particularly underexposure, is always key in controlling noise. You want to "expose to the right" if you can, that is to overexpose without blowing highlights. That way, you can reduce the noise in the frame by adjusting exposure darker when in post (pulling).

Secondly, using some form of noise reduction software can help. Remember, though, you'll be walking a line between noise reduction and sharpening when you do so. The two types of processing are more or less opposites in how they treat pixels. But learning to deal with the noise in post can also help a ton.


Canon 50D. adapted C/Y Zeiss Planar 100/2. iso 3200. f/4? 1/100s. Shot RAW, processed in Lightroom.