I have been looking through some of my picture @ 100% and Im noticing noise in any dark area. I am shooting RAW with the Nikon D50 at the lowest ISO (200). I know that the D50 isn't the best on the market, but it's suppose to be at good as the D70 when it comes to noise and I have seen some great clean shots from the D70.
What I was wondering is could I be at fault here, could the wrong exposure be causing the noise problem? Am I expecting to much from digital, my camera? Could I be having a problem with the sensor?
Any help would be appreciated.
Edit: Added a link to a crop right out of camera to show what I mean
Setting for this shot 1/400 F8 ISO 400 Center meter
Posted by Jerry Greer on June 25, 2006 at 11:11 PM
Sorry to say, it's Nikon. I've been working on images from a photographer that is supplying images for a book that I'm publishing and they are from a D2X. All of the dark areas have noise! Dark blue skies as well as shadows have the noise. I do have to say, it's much less than with scanned 35mm film. BTW, the D200 has made a big step in noise reduction but it’s still there in the shadows. Also, if you have a few hundred $$$$ to spend, CaptureOne Pro is one of the best RAW processors for reducing noise. Again, the big problem is that the program is expensive.
Posted by Richard Wong on June 25, 2006 at 11:14 PM
From the D70 shots I've seen, the noise seems pretty bad in the dark areas. I'd guess the D50 should be similar to that performance. The D200 at ISO 200 also has more luminance noise than Canon from what I've seen of my uncle's images.
btw, you're asking about ISO 200 performance and yet posted a ISO 400 image. What's up with that?
ok so I just looked at link. It doesn't look bad, I didn't notice any color splotches but a lot of the luminance noise. Not a big deal in my opinion as it looks sort of like grain. I don't think there's a lot to complain about.
Posted by David Redding on June 26, 2006 at 12:06 AM
Rich- The reason I said ISO 200 and posted a picture taken at 400 is because I have this problem at 200 as well. I just showed this same picture to a few other D50 owners and they said that this is bad for the setting compared to what they get.
I'm thinking I will send the camera in to Nikon to get the free cleaning and get them to test the sensor for errors or something, the only thing is that if I do that I'll be without my only camera for the whole summer
Hi David,
I think that there is nothing wrong with your camera. The dark areas have always more noise than brighter areas. Moreover, you underexpose a photo and correct it with Photoshop, you increase noise.
It comes in Mac and Windows versions, and the 'Pro' version includes a PS plugin, so it's very handy.
-PB
Posted by David Redding on June 28, 2006 at 12:02 AM
Preston,
I am currently using Noise Ninja, but find if the noise is to bad (Like Ive been having) I have to sacrifice a lot of detail using NN. Is Neat the same?
It really sounds as though you are under exposing the image then correcting the exposure with PS. Is this the case? If so, this is where the noise is coming from.
I am not familiar with Noise Ninja, but I would assume that it performs similarly to Neat Image. I think the folks who are saying you might be underexposing and then adding noise when correcting for it might be the issue.
You might try running a test using a full-scale subject and exposure compensation for each shot in a series. You will then be able to tell if you have been under-exposing.
There is another solution besides using noise reduction software: Bracket a few shots and blend your exposures to remove the noise altogether. Now, obviously that won't work for quick snaps, sports photography, or other moving subjects. But this solution works exceedingly well for landscape photography (even for scenes that incorporate some motion, such as moving foliage, water, etc.). All my shots are blended this way (I use custom scripts/actions developed by my husband: www.farrarfocus.com/ffdd), have full dynamic range, and are virtually noise-free.
Discussion
10 repliesWhat I was wondering is could I be at fault here, could the wrong exposure be causing the noise problem? Am I expecting to much from digital, my camera? Could I be having a problem with the sensor?
Any help would be appreciated.
Edit: Added a link to a crop right out of camera to show what I mean
Setting for this shot 1/400 F8 ISO 400 Center meter
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2/trogman/Web%20Display/rockclimbingStorybrookGardens.jpg
btw, you're asking about ISO 200 performance and yet posted a ISO 400 image. What's up with that?
ok so I just looked at link. It doesn't look bad, I didn't notice any color splotches but a lot of the luminance noise. Not a big deal in my opinion as it looks sort of like grain. I don't think there's a lot to complain about.
I'm thinking I will send the camera in to Nikon to get the free cleaning and get them to test the sensor for errors or something, the only thing is that if I do that I'll be without my only camera for the whole summer
I think that there is nothing wrong with your camera. The dark areas have always more noise than brighter areas. Moreover, you underexpose a photo and correct it with Photoshop, you increase noise.
There is a nice program called Neat Image. It is a noise reduction application that is highly configurable and easy to use.
Neat Image
It comes in Mac and Windows versions, and the 'Pro' version includes a PS plugin, so it's very handy.
-PB
I am currently using Noise Ninja, but find if the noise is to bad (Like Ive been having) I have to sacrifice a lot of detail using NN. Is Neat the same?
I am not familiar with Noise Ninja, but I would assume that it performs similarly to Neat Image. I think the folks who are saying you might be underexposing and then adding noise when correcting for it might be the issue.
You might try running a test using a full-scale subject and exposure compensation for each shot in a series. You will then be able to tell if you have been under-exposing.
-PB
Whatever solution you choose, good luck!