Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
04-16-2011, 12:58 AM   #1
Senior Member




Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Tallinn
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 162
Basic RAW shooting advise - ISO noise.

Sorry if this sounds too basic.
Can someone explain me in few words what is the best strategy shooting in RAW with K-5 when higher ISO is needed. Whenever I have to shoot ISO 400 and up I see fair share of noise builds up - the higher I go the more noise I get.
So is it just the matter of PP the RAW reducing noise. Or is it better to try to keep the ISO low and play with stopping down (+/-) as much possible while shooting. Or shoot under exposed and correct it in PP.
I have tested and tested but I am confused still. I bet lot of this depends of circumstances but maybe these is some general approach that is the best.
I tried to make sense of *ISOless sensor* talk, but this becomes too technical for me to grasp the essence of it.

04-16-2011, 01:40 AM   #2
Veteran Member
Jimfear's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 576
Probably depends a lot on the raw converter you use. Anyhow, I've noticed when shooting at higher ISO (say 800 and up) it is best not to underexpose. Have done a few tests and seen that I get less noise when shooting correctly exposed at 3200 than when pushing the exposure up in PP from 800 or 1600.

So for a simple answer, try to keep the exposure correct if you want as little noise as possible on higher ISO pics.
04-16-2011, 02:21 AM   #3
Veteran Member
Deiberson's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2009
Photos: Albums
Posts: 734
If you're exposure is off, its best to push the histogram to the right. Its much easier to bring it back in post processing than it is to push it right.

You shouldn't be getting noise at 400 though. You shouldn't really be getting that much at 3200 either.
04-16-2011, 02:44 AM   #4
Junior Member
testdasi's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: London
Posts: 35
QuoteOriginally posted by vanakaru Quote
Sorry if this sounds too basic.
Can someone explain me in few words what is the best strategy shooting in RAW with K-5 when higher ISO is needed. Whenever I have to shoot ISO 400 and up I see fair share of noise builds up - the higher I go the more noise I get.
So is it just the matter of PP the RAW reducing noise. Or is it better to try to keep the ISO low and play with stopping down (+/-) as much possible while shooting. Or shoot under exposed and correct it in PP.
I have tested and tested but I am confused still. I bet lot of this depends of circumstances but maybe these is some general approach that is the best.
I tried to make sense of *ISOless sensor* talk, but this becomes too technical for me to grasp the essence of it.
The higher you go, the more noise you get, that's not unusual.
I'll go direct. My best strategy:
  • Use Adobe Lightroom, create presets to reduce noise for anything beyond ISO 1600.
  • Expose to the right (i.e. do not underexpose), if need to save highlight then use the Highlight correction functionality of the camera.
  • Turn on NR, it helps keep shutter speed low so that ISO is kept low as well.
  • Do not pixel peep at 100% unless necessary.


04-16-2011, 03:14 AM   #5
Veteran Member




Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Southern California
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,236
I'd say #1 is to use a fast enough shutter speed that you don't get blur from camera shake or subject motion. And using a close-to wide open aperture is a good idea if it suits your subject and composition. With a higher quality Pentax lens (such as a prime or a constant aperture zoom) 1/3 to 2/3 stop from wide open is usually still nice IQ.

Then use good Noise Reduction software in PP - Topaz Denoise is a good example of this (and their whole suite is worth considering). You may still lose some detail with higher ISO, but it doesn't have to be too bad with, for example, ISO 10,000 or less.
04-16-2011, 04:27 AM   #6
Senior Member




Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Tallinn
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 162
Original Poster
I should have mentioned that I use Photoshop CS5 RAW converter and I can get reduced noise pretty well. I just thought I should not get it much in first place with this super sensor.
DSims, this is exactly where my concern is. I do not want any motion caused blur when shooting hand held thus need to use as fast shutter as possible.
Noise is the most problematic when shooting wide open hunting for great bokeh. At least that is the project I shoot for right now. I use old manual lenses some Japanese some Russian.
So I will look into Topaz as well after I have digested the information given here and shall play some more.
04-16-2011, 07:46 AM   #7
Inactive Account




Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Michigan, USA
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 7,484
Your CS5 noise reduction is just fine for most of your K5 situations. Go ahead and try the Topaz for their 30 day trial but you may find that it isn't that great of an improvement over what you already have.

ISO 20,000 (CS5 ACR)



ISO 12,800



Unless your scene IS to the right (exposure-wise) I would forget about ETTR and expose for the middle.



04-16-2011, 08:00 AM   #8
Veteran Member
JohnBee's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Newrfoundland
Photos: Albums
Posts: 4,667
You've described quite a few conditions in your initial post and so I don't think it would be possible to address them all in one comment.
However... in a nutshell, the general idea, when shooting raw is to shoot with as low ISO as possible(whenever possible) and work with the files afterward.

However, as you yourself may have noticed, there are so many factors that can come into play, that it may seem impossible to address them all.
Though one simple formular, is to aim for as high as shutter speed as possible whilst maintaining as low an ISO sensitivity as possible - confused yet?

Anyways, on the issue of noise, I think you've hit it on the nail.
And that is where we'd shoot RAW and deal with noise in post processing(development stages) afterward.
And with today's tools(Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom), there is little that can't be negotiated in terms of noise reduction.
And things only seem to get better with every developing version of software we see. And so RAW seems to be a very good investment.

PS. I've seen ISO51200 from the K-5 that can were every-bit as impressive as ISO3200 ones

K-5, RAW/DNG, RPP, Topaz Denoise 5, ISO51200

Image courtesy of dgais

Last edited by JohnBee; 04-16-2011 at 09:20 PM.
04-16-2011, 08:50 AM   #9
Veteran Member




Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 6,617
QuoteOriginally posted by vanakaru Quote
Sorry if this sounds too basic.
Can someone explain me in few words what is the best strategy shooting in RAW with K-5 when higher ISO is needed. Whenever I have to shoot ISO 400 and up I see fair share of noise builds up - the higher I go the more noise I get.
So is it just the matter of PP the RAW reducing noise. Or is it better to try to keep the ISO low and play with stopping down (+/-) as much possible while shooting. Or shoot under exposed and correct it in PP.
I have tested and tested but I am confused still. I bet lot of this depends of circumstances but maybe these is some general approach that is the best.
I tried to make sense of *ISOless sensor* talk, but this becomes too technical for me to grasp the essence of it.
If you are seeing noticeable noise from the K-5 at ISO 400 then something wrong. Are you viewing the files at 200%?
Even the K-7 produces good files at 400 when properly exposed.
04-16-2011, 09:22 PM   #10
Veteran Member
JohnBee's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Newrfoundland
Photos: Albums
Posts: 4,667
Dang! I just erceived a notice from dgais that the file I posted was actually a 12800 image.

I've since updated with the proper image/sensitivity. - thx
04-17-2011, 02:49 AM   #11
Junior Member
testdasi's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: London
Posts: 35
Another example of ISO 12800 with proper exposure and Topaz Denoise.
QuoteQuote:
Exposure 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 35 mm
ISO Speed 12800

04-17-2011, 08:09 AM   #12
Veteran Member
JohnBee's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Newrfoundland
Photos: Albums
Posts: 4,667
QuoteOriginally posted by testdasi Quote
Another example of ISO 12800 with proper exposure and Topaz Denoise.
Looks great!
Have you considered posting this in the high ISO forum?
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
camera, dslr, iso, k-5, k-5 ii, k-5 iis, k5, noise, pentax k-5, pp
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Pentax K10D long exposure noise reduction when shooting RAW? Robert S Donovan Pentax DSLR Discussion 30 08-19-2013 11:42 AM
K-X shows more noise when shooting RAW than JPG??? crossover37 Pentax DSLR Discussion 11 04-20-2010 12:46 PM
Shooting Raw with K7 improves noise? harleynitelite Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 2 03-08-2010 11:15 AM
High ISO Noise Reduction on K20D - Does it do anything in RAW? ksignorini Pentax DSLR Discussion 4 07-23-2008 03:53 AM
How to reduce high ISO noise while shooting PentaxPoke Pentax DSLR Discussion 21 05-17-2008 07:17 AM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:22 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top