Low-Light Challenge

[BillClark]

Shooting a dance competition this weekend and I know I could use a faster lens for this type of event, but right now I am forced to shoot at 1600ISO.

Question is, does the noise distract too much from this shot?



When reviewing these at 1:1, the noise is everywhere, even after Lightroom cleanup.

Other thoughts?

Nikon D300
1/400 at f/4.5
1600ISO
(+5 EV)

[Jim Bryant]

The answer is: Would the parents be happy with grainy shots of their kids? You might want to think about renting a 70-200mmf2.8 lens so that you can shoot at ISO 800 instead.

Originally Posted by BillClark

Shooting a dance competition this weekend and I know I could use a faster lens for this type of event, but right now I am forced to shoot at 1600ISO.

Question is, does the noise distract too much from this shot?



When reviewing these at 1:1, the noise is everywhere, even after Lightroom cleanup.

Other thoughts?

Nikon D300
1/400 at f/4.5
1600ISO
(+5 EV)

[mdruziak]

Lightroom 2 does a very good job removing noise from my Canon 40D images that are shot at 1600 and 3200 as long as they are not underexposed.

However, you may want to check out Noiseware and NeatImage. They both have trial versions and do a great job at removing noise.

[BillClark]

Thanks.
I was already looking at lens rental for the next one. I can get pretty close to the stage, so telephoto isn't as important, so I was actually looking for a faster lens with a shorter focal length. Anything 55mm-135mm would be ideal.

I ran this through Lightroom 2 already, and it is much better than were it started. I will try out those two programs as well.

Thanks again
Bill

[ARKreations]

I've shot a lot of dance with my D80 at ISO 800. I started with a 70-300VR and upgraded to an 80-200 f/2.8. With the 70-300, I couldn't get enough exposure to maintain a fast enough shutter, so they were typically dark and often very noisy. But the PS noise filter was marginally adequate. Noise Ninja also does a great job in its own right. But the f/2.8 lens makes all the difference. I have a friend who shoots at ISO 1600-2500 with his D300 and an 80-200 f/2.8 and there is no noticable noise in his shots. You should have no problem shooting ISO 1600 with a D300, but a faster lens would help a lot. You might consider the 50mm f/1.8.

I've also found that when viewing on screen that noise seems to be a lot more pronounced than what appears in a print. So try printing it at a decent lab and see what it looks like.

BTW: You'd love the Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 from that vantage point...

[smc1377]

I've shot tens of thousands of dance competition photos (maybe even over a hundred thousand?) and I can tell you that I've not yet heard one parent complain about noise. They care about capturing the dance techniques at their extremes, like the peak of their jump.

[BillClark]

I did try my 50mm f/1.8 and I was able to shoot at ISO800 1/500, but I could not get the close ups I wanted, so I went back to the 70-300

smc - What lens and ISO do you usually shoot with? Some of my shots came out decent, but I am a perfectionist, and when I look at 1:1 I don't like what I see. Granted parents aren't looking at that, but it still bugs me.

If you are interested, my shots are at http://www.definingshots.com/hof2009

[ARKreations]

Those really aren't bad for those settings. I'd try running them through Noise Ninja and I think you'd be pleasantly surprised.

For comparison, I shot this one with my D80 and 70-300 and only applied the noise filter from PSE6. There was no visible noise in the print.

[Jim Bryant]

Originally Posted by krossk

Those really aren't bad for those settings. I'd try running them through Noise Ninja and I think you'd be pleasantly surprised.

For comparison, I shot this one with my D80 and 70-300 and only applied the noise filter from PSE6. There was no visible noise in the print.

Noise Ninja is the plugin I use...that'll work. You could probably test drive it free for 30 days too.

[BillClark]

Started playing with Noise Ninja and it does do a nice job, but way too many settings for me to take in at once. I'll have to play a bit.

Definitely will be getting (renting in all likelihood) the f/2.8 lens for the next one.

Thanks for all the help.

Bill