Too much noise?

[coombzy]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...l/DSC_0010.jpg

I'm shooting a concert tonight and am admittedly panicking as low light and I are not friends. I'm currently stressing over the background in the above photo. My photos tend to be pretty grainy lately and I'm not sure if I've just hit a stupid setting or perhaps this is completely normal...

I know the ISO is 800 but at night the grain is still prominent.

Any feedback would be really appreciated!

Exif:
Camera Nikon D90
Exposure 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture f/1.8
Focal Length 85 mm
Focal Length 84.8 mm
ISO Speed 800
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash No Flash
Orientation Horizontal (normal)
X-Resolution 300 dpi
Y-Resolution 300 dpi
Software Ver.1.00
Date and Time (Modified) 2010:11:12 17:27:13
YCbCr Positioning Co-sited
Exposure Program Shutter speed priority AE
Date and Time (Original) 2010:11:12 17:27:13
Date and Time (Digitized) 2010:11:12 17:27:13
Compressed Bits Per Pixel 4
Max Aperture Value 1.7
Metering Mode Spot
Light Source Unknown
Sub Sec Time 00
Sub Sec Time Original 00
Sub Sec Time Digitized 00
Color Space sRGB
Sensing Method One-chip color area
CFAPattern [Green,Blue][Red,Green]
Custom Rendered Normal
Exposure Mode Auto
White Balance Auto
Digital Zoom Ratio 1
Focal Length In35mm Format 127 mm
Scene Capture Type Standard
Gain Control Low gain up
Contrast Normal
Saturation Normal
Sharpness Hard
Subject Distance Range Unknown
Maker Note Version 2.10
ISO 800
Quality Fine
White Balance Auto
Focus Mode AF-A
Flash Setting Normal
White Balance Fine Tune 1 0
WB_ RBLevels 1.9375 1.2421875 1 1
Program Shift 0
Exposure Difference 0
Flash Exposure Comp 0
ISOSetting 800
Image Boundary 0 0 4288 2848
Flash Exposure Bracket Value 0.0
Exposure Bracket Value 0
Crop Hi Speed Off (4352x2868 cropped to 4352x2868 at pixel 0,0)
Serial Number 5053768
Color Space sRGB
VRInfo Version 0100
Vibration Reduction Off
Active D- Lighting Auto
Picture Control Version 0100
Picture Control Name Thingsvivid-03
Picture Control Base Vivid
Picture Control Adjust Default Settings
Picture Control Quick Adjust n/a
Sharpness 8
Contrast Normal
Brightness Normal
Saturation +1
Hue Adjustment None
Filter Effect n/a
Toning Effect n/a
Toning Saturation n/a
Timezone -05:00
Daylight Savings Yes
Date Display Format D/M/Y
ISOExpansion Off
ISO2 800
ISOExpansion2 Off
Lens Type D
Lens 85mm f/1.8
Flash Mode Did Not Fire
Shooting Mode Continuous, Auto ISO
Auto Bracket Release Auto Release
Lens FStops 6.33
Shot Info Version 0213
Noise Reduction Off
WB_ RGGBLevels 2848 0 0 0
Lens Data Version 0204
Exit Pupil Position 75.9 mm
AFAperture 1.7
Focus Position 0x11
Focus Distance 1.00 m
Lens IDNumber 56
Min Focal Length 84.8 mm
Max Focal Length 84.8 mm
Max Aperture At Min Focal 1.8
Max Aperture At Max Focal 1.8
MCUVersion 55
Effective Max Aperture 1.8
Retouch History None
Image Data Size 6299978
Shutter Count 4322
Flash Info Version 0103
External Flash Firmware n/a
External Flash Flags (none)
Flash Commander Mode Off
Flash Control Mode Off
Flash Group AControl Mode Off
Flash Group BControl Mode Off
Flash Group CControl Mode Off
Flash Group AExposure Comp 0
Flash Group BExposure Comp 0
Flash Group CExposure Comp 0
Multi Exposure Version 0100
Multi Exposure Mode Off
Multi Exposure Shots 0
Multi Exposure Auto Gain Off
High ISONoise Reduction Normal
AFInfo2 Version 0100
AFArea Mode Unknown (1)
Auto Focus Unknown (2)
Primary AFPoint Center
AFPoints Used Center
File Info Version 0100
Directory Number 100
File Number 0010
Compression JPEG (old-style)
XResolution 300
YResolution 300
Resolution Unit inches
Preview Image Start 10204
Preview Image Length 23136
YCb Cr Positioning Co-sited
Compression JPEG (old-style)

[OsmosisStudios]

Impossible to tell at this size: full-size is necessary.

[autofocus]

noise seemed acceptable...was easily corrected in Topaz

[jdepould]

Check your ADL setting ... something something d lighting or some such. Whatever, it brightens shadows, which can lead to noise.

[coombzy]

Thank you for your replies! I turned off ADL that night and managed to get away with this:



My sharpness was too high in the custom profile so I hope that will help eliminate future blow outs.

[ElCapitan]

I, as I am sure others here will agree, that having noise in a photo is better than the photo being blurry. I've shot several concerts, and though I have had good lighting on the subject, there can be a good deal of noise in the background, especially where there is only partial light. I find this completely acceptable, and as long as the subject looks good, I am happy.I shoot with a 5D MkII with a 24-70 f/2.8L lens always set to 2.8 when I shoot shows.

[inkista]

Coincidentally:

LensRentals.com - Concert Shooting Basics

[ElCapitan]

Nice article on shooting shows, but there is one part that I am not so sure about. They say to use IS/VR. If you are using a fast shutter speed, then you would not want to use IS/VR. Secondly, IS/VR is for getting rid of camera shake, not stoping the motion of the subject... or am I wrong in this thinking? I though IS/VR was only meant to be used shooting slow or still subjects and particularly when zoomed in.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by ElCapitan

Nice article on shooting shows, but there is one part that I am not so sure about. They say to use IS/VR. If you are using a fast shutter speed, then you would not want to use IS/VR.

Why? The main problem with IS/VR is using it on a tripod. With a faster shutter speed, VR/IS may not be necessary, but it's unlikely to hurt the image by introducing blur/shake into the image.

Secondly, IS/VR is for getting rid of camera shake, not stoping the motion of the subject... or am I wrong in this thinking? I though IS/VR was only meant to be used shooting slow or still subjects and particularly when zoomed in.

Your thinking is right. But not all slower shutter speeds are necessarily going to result in subject motion blur. With the zooming in/longer lenses, the rule of thumb is that you want the shutter speed to be at or above 1/focal_length. If you're shooting with a 200mm lens, say, then IS/VR simply helps you shoot below 1/200s. 1/100s may still be plenty fast enough to freeze the action, depending on how fast your subject is moving.

You will also note that farther down in the article, they do stress that you don't want to use too slow of a shutter speed, though. But IS/VR can still give you an extra margin to work with, shutter-speed wise.

[ElCapitan]

Originally Posted by inkista

Why? The main problem with IS/VR is using it on a tripod. With a faster shutter speed, VR/IS may not be necessary, but it's unlikely to hurt the image by introducing blur/shake into the image.

I've heard that the problem with using IS/VR with a fast shutter speed is not that it add blur or hurts the image, but there is a little time (fractions of a second really) for the camera/lens to make it's proper adjustments for camera shake. Might not seem that long but long enough to miss the perfect shot. Just what I've heard though.

Originally Posted by inkista

Your thinking is right. But not all slower shutter speeds are necessarily going to result in subject motion blur. With the zooming in/longer lenses, the rule of thumb is that you want the shutter speed to be at or above 1/focal_length. If you're shooting with a 200mm lens, say, then IS/VR simply helps you shoot below 1/200s. 1/100s may still be plenty fast enough to freeze the action, depending on how fast your subject is moving.

Guess that depends exactly what you are shooting. Sports and even some shows, you aren't going to want anything slower than 1/500. That was my point, as landscape and some wildlife or portraiture would be fine at slower shutter speeds.