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fodagrafer · Joined: 27 Mar 2008 Posts: 121

I am using a not-dirt-cheap camera with great megapixels, nice optical zoom and a pretty large radius lense. How do I get it to not make noisy photos? What do you do?

Thanks

hhltdave5 · Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 11:43 am

Noise is caused by many things mainly incorrect exposure and the size of the sensor. Cameras with smaller sensors can be more prone to noise expecially if the exposure is incorrect.

Think of it this way. A sensor can take in only so much information. When too much information is given the sensor cannot handle it and noise occurs.

If you are using a dirt cheap camera like you say you may not be able to get images of the quality needed for Shutterstock or some other stock sites. There are some Point and Shoot cameras that take remarkable images and there are those here that use them successfully. It depends on just what your camera can handle.

davidcrehner · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 4839

Sort of.

Noise is caused by errata from the sensor. These errors can be caused for a number of reasons such as overheating, boosting the gain too much on the sensor, or by making the noise more visible through poor exposure.

Smaller sensors and sensors with high megapixel counts tend to have more noise, and sensors that combine both properties are the worst of all. In the end, it comes down to pixel density, not just size or pixel count alone. This is because the smaller the sensor elements (and small sensors, and sensors with millions and millions of elements packed on, will have small pixels) the more power/boost must be given to the pixel to get it to record light accurately. This power and resulting heat cause errors from the pixel elements. Not to mention, as they get smaller and more packed together, they can start to interfere with each other.

Now, things you can control. As you boost the ISO, you get more noise. Period. There are some tricks of exposure you can use to limit how visible this noise gets. The fastest shutterspeed you can manage will limit the amount of time the sensor is capturing light, and will limit the noise that is allowed to accrue. With longer shutterspeeds, the sensor heats up, and noise is more apparent. Also, if you underexpose, noise becomes more visible in dark shadows. If you've got a point and shoot, try to limit the use of the LCD on the back. When you use the LCD, the sensor is active, which means it is heating up and can be more prone to creating noise. If your camera has an optical viewfinder, use it instead. I've even read that using LiveView can cause some extra noise as the sensor is used continuously and heats up. Haven't tested this myself, though.

The best way to avoid noise is to LIGHT THE SCENE properly, choose the lowest ISO, and get the fastest shutter speed you can manage.

That being said, there are cameras out there that will STILL have noise if you follow all this.

pancaketom · Joined: 21 Nov 2006 Posts: 211

also, some subjects show noise more clearly. If you have a busy scene - autumn leaves or wild clothing pattern, the noise in the scene will be harder to see as noise (who is to say that slightly lighter or darker pixel isn't supposed to be slightly lighter or darker). Compare that with a deep blue sky. Everyone knows a blue sky is supposed to be smooth, so any variation jumps out at you. Also due to the logarithmic nature of sensors and light levels, there is less information in darker regions of an image, so a slight variation will be more obvious. On a plus note, if you have a huge expanse of clear sky, it is fairly easy to reduce the noise in that area in post processing.

What that means practically, is you can get away with higher ISO in busy scenes than with smooth gradients, and one must be especially wary with dark areas of an image with smooth gradients. Also the common advice to "shoot to the right" - try to get your original image as bright as possible without blowing the highlights. More information is recorded in a small bright gradient than in a small dark gradient.

I also found moving from a P&S to a DSLR made a huge difference.

davidcrehner · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 4839

Very true, and important to add. Thanks.

sltanjm · Joined: 15 Nov 2008 Posts: 4

hey, i just joined , so i am active in the forum, even before i am allowed to upload my photos.
noise is the bane of all digital photographers and of course those who want to work with SS.
are you shooting in jpegs? if you shoot in RAW,
you will find a great improvement, and shoot in ISO no higher than 200.
if your camera is 12, 14 MP or higher, you can afford to shoot higher ISO , but to be safe, esp if you want to pass SS , try not to.

hey, who am i to advise you? you're already with SS,
and i am waiting for my first 10 approval, lol.

rinder99 · Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:53 am

I've never shot raw for 38cents and never will. Noise is user error. Unless you got some Piece of crap P&S. Noise should and is a thing of the past with the newist Equipment and the knowledge to use them correctly. my D3 is noiseless and acceptable at 6400 ISO. Trouble is ya gotta learn Exposure.....Always something.

No Magic bullet here Im afraid. YOU have to do the work.Send me your camera, I'll take some shots and send it back. guarantee no noise.

davidcrehner · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 4839

So misleading. Careful, newbies.

hospitalera · Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 10:10 am

davidcrehner · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 4839

Not to mention that EVERY review of the D3 I found online (just searched) said that ISO 3200 was the turning point for "acceptable" noise on the D3. That ISO 6400 is indeed quite noisy.

felix_casio · Joined: 16 Jul 2006 Posts: 1774 Location: www.felixtm.com

fodagrafer · Joined: 27 Mar 2008 Posts: 121

Thanks for the hints... will experiment

rinder99 · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 6:03 pm

davidcrehner · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 4839

"Noise is a thing of the past," "noise is user error," and "D3 is noiseless at ISO 6400" are all misleading, and you know it Laurin. Unless by "user error" you meant "took your ISO off 100", and by "D3 is noiseless at ISO 6400" you meant "doesn't look so terribly, horribly awful.

But then, I guess those statements don't win you workshop clientele, huh? ;-)

Whatever. You've never come clean before, so why would I expect you to do so now?

rinder99 · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 6:06 pm