[NaClH2O]

I just got back from visiting my sister down in the Philadelphia area and spent an evening photographing the colored fountain display at Longwood Gardens. I was quite dissappointed in the results. Even tho I used a good tripod the shots were quite noisy. After seeing Peter Zack's wonderful night shots, I know that it's possible to get good noise free results. Here is a sample so you know what I'm talking about. I now realize that 400 ISO is too high, but are there any other techniques I can employ to keep noise down? Since smugmug doesn't transmit exif, here are the particulars: K10D and DA 12-24 at 24mm; f11.0; .08sec; ISO 400; tripod mounted, 2 sec shutter delay and shake reduction off; manual focus. Photo is cropped and resized but no other PP. Shot in Raw with ACR conversion.


I did notice that there was slightly less noise in the shots I took with my Sigma 17-70, but that lens is harder to focus in low light.
So is there anything I can employ to keep the noise down?

NaCl(I'm feeling like my father..."KEEP THAT NOISE DOWN!" )H2O

[ftpaddict]

Call me crazy, but.. wouldn't it be easier set the camera @ ISO 100 and open up the aperture a tad? I'm pretty positive it would get rid of most of the noise.

Just my 2c.

[Mike Cash]

Best I can do.

[Jewelltrail]

As FTPaddict says, you can drop down 2 stops to ISO 100. Then you need to make up 2 stops with a combination of slower shutter speed & larger aperture. I am not sure what you mean by .08 for shutter speed. Do you literally mean 8/100ths of a second? If so, 1/12th of a second is probably the shutter speed at which you shot, although that seems way too fast for an f11 aperture at dark. But, just to illustrate, I'll take it that you shot @ 1/12th a second.

Here is what you could have done, minimizing noise, and keeping the same exposure with the EXIF data given:

a)Select f8 and shutter speed of 1/6th iso100
or
b)Select f 5.6 and shutter speed the same as in original shot

Also, as Mike Cash has shown, you can use noise reduction software to get an even more refined image.

I often shoot in dark, using large apertures (smaller f numbers) and very slow sutter speeds. The K20 does a great job minimizing noise under these circmstances. Just practice and you will see how easy it is to do. Best of luck.

[Mike Cash]

Adjusting curves by pulling down the shadow portion a bit can also help to reduce noise in the shadows, albeit by merely blacking it out. Probably not appropriate for every image, but something to keep in mind as a trick to try.

[roentarre]

Well, it does look very good. The lighting and the noise actually render a very good image!

[Bill Stickers]

I've only ever used ACR noise reduction and have never gotten near what mike pulled off. I didn't think it was possible even with special software to get much further.

So, my question is what noise reduction software do you swear by?

[flyer]

Hey Mike,

Maybe you should give a short tutorial about noise reduction. It could help a lot of people, me included.

[Mike Cash]

It will be a very short tutorial. I just used Noiseware and used the Full Suppression option. The program is available as standalone freeware. See the feature chart on the page I linked to for limitations on the freeware version.

[NaClH2O]

As FTPaddict says, you can drop down 2 stops to ISO 100. Then you need to make up 2 stops with a combination of slower shutter speed & larger aperture. I am not sure what you mean by .08 for shutter speed. Do you literally mean 8/100ths of a second? If so, 1/12th of a second is probably the shutter speed at which you shot, although that seems way too fast for an f11 aperture at dark. But, just to illustrate, I'll take it that you shot @ 1/12th a second.

Here is what you could have done, minimizing noise, and keeping the same exposure with the EXIF data given:

a)Select f8 and shutter speed of 1/6th iso100
or
b)Select f 5.6 and shutter speed the same as in original shot

Also, as Mike Cash has shown, you can use noise reduction software to get an even more refined image.

I often shoot in dark, using large apertures (smaller f numbers) and very slow sutter speeds. The K20 does a great job minimizing noise under these circmstances. Just practice and you will see how easy it is to do. Best of luck.

The .08 was a typo should have been 0.8 ie 8/10ths of a sec, which more or less equals 1/12 of a sec. So you are correct. Many thanks for the help. Next time I'll have to shoot longer with lower ISO.

NaCl(the wealth of knowledge here is really helpful)H2O

[Marc Sabatella]

The .08 was a typo should have been 0.8 ie 8/10ths of a sec, which more or less equals 1/12 of a sec.

Actually, 8/10 of a second is a *lot* longer than 1/12 of a second - about ten times longer. 8/10 is almost a second. Long enough that perhaps the long exposure noise reduction (dark frame subtraction) should have kicked in? Or if not, maybe you'd be better off using an even longer shutter speed to take advantage of that type of NR.

Anyhow, I too would suggest lowering ISO if you re concerned with noise. But I'd also agree with the suggestion of pulling down the shadow levels in PP. Since noise is most noticeable in the shadows, and the shadows are rarely where the interesting detail is, darkening the shadows is often the simplest and most effective thing you can do to reduce the appearance of noise.

[Jewelltrail]

Mike Cash It will be a very short tutorial. I just used Noiseware and used the Full Suppression option. The program is available as standalone freeware. See the feature chart on the page I linked to for limitations on the freeware version.

There is also a "Demo" freeware, stand-alone version of "NeatImage" at the address below. It works very well. Thanks Mike, I am going to try "Noiseware" just to see how it compares to the "NeatImage" software.

Neat Image 32-bit /Win :: download

[jbinpg]

Actually, 8/10 of a second is a *lot* longer than 1/12 of a second - about ten times longer. 8/10 is almost a second. Long enough that perhaps the long exposure noise reduction (dark frame subtraction) should have kicked in? Or if not, maybe you'd be better off using an even longer shutter speed to take advantage of that type of NR.

Anyhow, I too would suggest lowering ISO if you re concerned with noise. But I'd also agree with the suggestion of pulling down the shadow levels in PP. Since noise is most noticeable in the shadows, and the shadows are rarely where the interesting detail is, darkening the shadows is often the simplest and most effective thing you can do to reduce the appearance of noise.

On my K20D, noise suppression kicks in with exposures longer than 2 seconds.

Jack

[reeftool]

It will be a very short tutorial. I just used Noiseware and used the Full Suppression option. The program is available as standalone freeware. See the feature chart on the page I linked to for limitations on the freeware version.

Thanks for the link to this site and the freeware version. I just downloaded it and will try it out. Another reason why this forum is so great and I check in nearly every day even if I only have a few minutes.