Noise on the A850

[kuvahmagh]

All of the reviews I have read, dpreview, luminous landscape, etc claim the a850 is not so great with higher ISO shooting. I agree that when you look at 1:1 images and run programs that calculate exactly how much noise there is that it is more than other cameras. What I'm curious about is how much real users notice it when making prints and viewing the images.

Is this a real problem or are some of these reviews pixel peeping too much?

The reason I ask is because I currently use an Olympus E-410 with kit glass and have decided to upgrade my gear but am not entirely comfortable with the direction/future of Olympus (I want Full Frame). I had considered the 40D/50D or a 5D but have started to read about the 850 and am interested in that as a likely option, providing the noise is as I suspect, not quite so bad as it seems.

[bono]

The noise is there but not too bad. You can find some examples here:

JPG low-light noise: A500, A700, A900, and Dynax 7D

The 900 and the 850 have the same amount of noise, because they are the same in the sensor part and most other parts. But on 24 Megapixels you have a large image to work on so noise should not be a major problem. And the Alpha 850 is not very expensive and you can use the old Minolta AF lenses. Compared to your Olympus this is two or three steps up.

But you should think about going APS-C, too. With fullframe you need very good lenses because edge sharpness is an issue. APS-C not uses the edges of fullframe lenses which results in better edge sharpness.

[kuvahmagh]

Thank you, that was something like what I was looking for, you can see it but I agree that it isn't as bad as some reviews made it out to be which is what I figured.

As for FF vs APS-C I appreciate what your saying but at the same time I want to go full frame so I am going to have to invest in the lenses anyways so while I could get a slightly cheaper body and spend the extra money on better lenses for me it isn't that big a deal as I fully intend to spend the money, its really just a matter of when. As in everything though my options are always open until I lay my money on the counter so I could change my mind but as of right now based on that link as well as several other reviews I will likely be considering the A850 as my first choice. Thank you for your assistance.

[zappo]

I have an alpha 850 and I can tell you this is really no issue. Shots up to ISO 1600 work fine for normal print sizes, from then on it get's a little bit messy.

In PS CS5 and Lightroom 3 there is a new noise reduction filter that really does an anstonishing work, so don't mind about it.

As it is, the 5d Mark II is better in the noise department but the camera costs a lot more than the 850, so it really depends on how much you want to spend. (Btw. in my opinion the viewfinder in the 850 is a lot better than in the 5d Mark II. That's more important for me)

[zappo]

To settle this once and for all, I have a "real life" example attached. I did this shot in a gallery, ISO800, 50mm, f1.7, 1/80s. The image was processed in Lightroom with some noise reduction applied to it.

In the web-size as well as all normal print sizes you will see no noise at all.

[kuvahmagh]

Thank you, that was what I was thinking.

As to the 5d 2 price is a factor but I also like using things that aren't quite so mainstream such as Olympus. Also I don't ever think I'd use the video feature so thats not an issue and while I would like to have live view for a limited set of circumstances, thing back to the last year I can count on one hand the number of times I really used it and all of those times I could have easily used the viewfinder.

One of my biggest motivations for going to FF at this point is the view finder (among other things), I miss my old 35mm for that so it is nice to here that you consider the 850 better than the 5d2 in that department.

[zappo]

As for that I can assure you the 850 has one of the best viewfinders in the industry, this thing is simply astonishing. The 850 has a slightly less field of view (the alpha 900 shows 100% in the viewfinder), but in real life this doesn't count much. DPreview says to the viewfinder of the 900 (which is exactly the same):

And what a viewfinder it is; with 100% field of view and an incredibly bright, clear image it sets a new standard for this class of camera that I can't see being improved upon in the near future.

My personal experience is, if I have to use another camera like the 400d of my girlfriend, I'm always a little shocked how small and dark the viewfinder really is.

[kuvahmagh]

Yeah, I do notice the difference from film to the E-410, I've gotten used to it but every now and then I pull out my film gear and it is hard for a day or two after to use the 410.