help | taking photos outside at night

[MrJones]

Hi,
I know the answer is probably "no" but I'll try anyway.
I've been taking photos at a bar-mizva party last night.
it was outside in the yard but they brought extra lightning in the form of high spotlights on poles which helped light the garden and pool.
since there was no ceiling to bounce the flash off, I was left with direct flash (580EX II) which did a good job while using low shutter speed and high ISO to balance the ambient light.
I got good photos and I'm happy with how I've balanced both sorts of lightning.
the problem is I was using ISO 1600 on a 5D MK II and still got lots of noise in the dark areas of the pictures. the subjects are lit nicely and hardly suffer any visible noise but the background, the bokeh, suffered from noise.
in most of them it's not visible unless you magnify the photo to 50% or 100% but it still bothers me.
so.. after such a long story: am I missing something? is there a way to deal with it and minimize the noise in such conditions?

[SusanH1970]

I'm surprised the MKii gave you a problem at ISO 1600. That being said, try running the images through Noiseware. There's a free version of it here if you don't want to spend the money on the pro versions: Imagenomic - Imagination at Shutter Speed

[MrJones]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

I'm surprised the MKii gave you a problem at ISO 1600. That being said, try running the images through Noiseware. There's a free version of it here if you don't want to spend the money on the pro versions: Imagenomic - Imagination at Shutter Speed

Hi Susan,
I'll explain it.. it's not giving me problems at ISO 1600 and I've used it at 1600 before with no special problems (there was noise, but not as the 40D gave me).
the problem here was the combination of bad lightning, close subjects and poorly lit backgrounds.
again, the subject don't suffer from the noise, it's mostly in the background.

here is an example, the first one is the whole picture and the second one is a piece of the 100% scale:

[SusanH1970]

Gotcha. Not sure how to help in reducing the noise while shooting...sorry! Wish I could be of more help. Hopefully someone more technically inclined comes along.

[3bayjunkie]

I would just suggested PP in photoshop, paintshop pro, whatever you use. I know photoshop has gotten very good at reducing noise over the years, not sure about the others. Although, you should invest in a flash transmitter if your camera doesn't come with it built in. Nikon can use the popup flash as a transmitter, but i know for cannon you have to buy one. Its well worth the $30 or $40 to get non direct flash

[MrJones]

Originally Posted by 3bayjunkie

I would just suggested PP in photoshop, pantshop pro, whatever you use. I know photoshop has gotten very good at reducing noise over the years, not sure about the others. Although, you should invest in a flash transmitter if your camera doesn't come with it built it. Nikon can use the popup flash as a transmitter, but i know for cannon you have to buy one. Its well worth the $30 or $40 to get non direct flash

can't really see how a transmitter will help at a party. it's not like I'm going to cary with me a lightning tripod with a flash and an umbrella while I walk around the guests.
I'm using off camera flash for the more posed shoots like models, families and teens.

[3bayjunkie]

Try going here Nikon D5100 Review: 19. Compared to (JPEG): Digital Photography Review chose canon eos 5d markII. as you can see it is quite noisy in some spots with 1600 iso. however if you switch it from raw to jpg, you can see a big difference where it becomes less noisy.

[Rentham]

Originally Posted by MrJones

can't really see how a transmitter will help at a party. it's not like I'm going to cary with me a lightning tripod with a flash and an umbrella while I walk around the guests.

Of course not, that's what an assistant is for.

This is pixel peeping in it's most pointless form, IMO.

[3bayjunkie]

Originally Posted by MrJones

can't really see how a transmitter will help at a party. it's not like I'm going to cary with me a lightning tripod with a flash and an umbrella while I walk around the guests.
I'm using off camera flash for the more posed shoots like models, families and teens.

you'd be suprized the difference it makes if you just hold it at arms length away from your camera. And use a diffuser... get something like this. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...i_Softbox.html

[MrJones]

Originally Posted by Rentham

Of course not, that's what an assistant is for.

This is pixel peeping in it's most pointless form, IMO.

I agree that it's pixel peeping, I just wanted to know if there is a way around it. the pictures still came out nicely.

as for the assistant.. someone needs to pay him and some costumers don't want to give that extra cash.

Originally Posted by 3bayjunkie

you'd be suprized the difference it makes if you just hold it at arms length away from your camera. And use a diffuser... get something like this. Impact Mini Softbox 10032080 B&H Photo Video

i can see how it will make the lightning more interesting or flattering.. but how will it help with the noise issue?