How do you tell if your 5dIII has more noise than it should?

shaylou

shaylou

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Shayne
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Is there a way of testing the noise level of your camera. I have two 5dIII's and I haven't tested them against each other yet but they both seem to have a lot of noise. I think about it because I keep seeing people posting images bragging about the low noise they got out of there 6d's and even crop cameras from 10k to 12500 iso and it looks to me like 1600 iso. Part of me thinks they are full of it but part of me wonders if the noise levels I am getting are too high. Is there a way of testing it?

:canon::exit:
 
Are you maybe comparing a processed image against an unprocessed one? Lightroom and PS can do wonders with noise.

Maybe try the dpreview noise chart thing? You can compare 5dIII against others cameras that way and see the difference for yourself.

Here's a flickr search with a load of 5dIII photos at 12800. Even in there there are some where the noise is more apparent than others.
 
I have found if the image is exposed properly 100% it makes a massive difference to the noise if its slightly off you get a lot more noise ..... 5d3 is defo useable at 12800 and poss 25600 with work :)
 
A camera fault producing more noise would be very unusual. But of course possible. So if both your 5d111's produce the same noise it's extremely unlikely they both have the same fault. But be careful with the comparison. The amount of noise varies a lot with lighting, exposure, etc.. Note that the difference between the best noise reduction software and the worst is more than two stops of exposure/ISO.
 
I rather doubt your sensors are any different to anyone elses.
However the same is probably not true about either your exposures or processing.
both of these aspects are critical to obtain the best results.
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
I rather doubt your sensors are any different to anyone elses.
However the same is probably not true about either your exposures or processing.
both of these aspects are critical to obtain the best results.
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^^^This. Even slight under-exposure increases noise very noticeably. Try ETTR technique (expose to the right).
 
shaylou said:
Thanks everyone. I'm a little embarrassed to say this but I have been trying so hard to keep the noise/iso down I have been under exposing with the thought that I could correct the exposure in post. I see now that is a big no no.

Once again,

Thank you.
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doh!
 
shaylou said:
Thanks everyone. I'm a little embarrassed to say this but I have been trying so hard to keep the noise/iso down I have been under exposing with the thought that I could correct the exposure in post. I see now that is a big no no.

Once again,

Thank you.
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That's exactly what you don't want to do!
 
shaylou said:
I just said it was a big no no. You did see that right?
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Yes.

I did.

Why are you worrying about noise with a 5d3 anyway, you *really* need to push really silly ISOs before it's an issue.
 
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Why do defensive?
 
Why the obsession with noise? It's the image that's important. Too many people get hung up on the technical aspects.

This was taken in the dark, with the only light reflected from the town. A fisherman was feeding a seal with his mackerel bait. Taken at ISO 120k, pushed the 5d mk3 to the max. Should I worry about the noise or the image. I was amazed the camera got the image.

Turned out he was the local vet and was delighted when I sent him the images.

150116085.jpg
 
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Oh now it's an obsession. Wow one comes here to better his photography and ask a simple question that you can't figure out on your own and all of the sudden I'm obsessed. First I got some good info that was helpful and then the trolls start questioning my question and now this.

Sorry to the people that helped me with your knowledge and now get to see me defend myself. This was the one forum I always could depend on unlike the others that are full of people waiting to pounce at the first opportunity. Thanks again for your help. I'm looking forward to testing out the method you taught me.
 
shaylou said:
Oh now it's an obsession. Wow one comes here to better his photography and ask a simple question that you can't figure out on your own and all of the sudden I'm obsessed. First I got some good info that was helpful and then the trolls start questioning my question and now this.

Sorry to the people that helped me with your knowledge and now get to see me defend myself. This was the one forum I always could depend on unlike the others that are full of people waiting to pounce at the first opportunity. Thanks again for your help. I'm looking forward to testing out the method you taught me.
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Shayne, this isn't like you bud ;)

Basically, noise is related to amplification. Higher amplification - higher ISO, more gain - means more noise. It's like an audio amplifier turned up loud so you can hear it humming and buzzing during the quiet bits - and that's why it's called noise. The difference between raising ISO and brightening things in post-processing, is ISO applies gain at sensor level when the signal is analogue, before the A-D converter (analogue-to-digital) and this is much more efficient than doing it in PP.

ps For max dynamic range, always shoot Raw. If only because in-camera JPEG processing immediately cuts a stop of highlights straight off the top - gone, lost for ever.
 
HoppyUK said:
Shayne, this isn't like you bud ;)

Basically, noise is related to amplification. Higher amplification - higher ISO, more gain - means more noise. It's like an audio amplifier turned up loud so you can hear it humming and buzzing during the quiet bits - and that's why it's called noise. The difference between raising ISO and brightening things in post-processing, is ISO applies gain at sensor level when the signal is analogue, before the A-D converter (analogue-to-digital) and this is much more efficient than doing it in PP.

ps For max dynamic range, always shoot Raw. If only because in-camera JPEG processing immediately cuts a stop of highlights straight off the top - gone, lost for ever.
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Yes sir you are correct. I really don't put myself in situation where I need to push the iso but lately I found myself with no options. I went out and messed around with it and did just the opposite of what I was suppose to do and of course came back with horrible results. Knowing exactly what is happening during the process is what will stick with me and forever be held. Thanks for the details, that's exactly what I needed.

Just goes to show that no matter how much you know about photography there is always something you have not come across or learned. I think that is one if the things that I love about our hobby.
 
Shayne, go out one evening and play around with ever increasing ISOs and see at what point a properly exposed image is too noisy to be acceptable. Once you know that you can get a useable shot at 25,600 (or whatever your upper limit is), you'll know how far you can push your kit. As Byker's shot shows, even going beyond reasonable limits can get shots that serve a purpose - I doubt it'll win any prizes but it's a good photo despite the noise! Hell, back in the days of me using and developing/printing my own B&W, I used to push relatively slow films way beyond their intended speeds specifically to get huge grain (which was the analogue equivalent of noise.) If you can accept a drop in fine detail, NR software can clean up almost any image.
 
Nod said:
Shayne, go out one evening and play around with ever increasing ISOs and see at what point a properly exposed image is too noisy to be acceptable. Once you know that you can get a useable shot at 25,600 (or whatever your upper limit is), you'll know how far you can push your kit. As Byker's shot shows, even going beyond reasonable limits can get shots that serve a purpose - I doubt it'll win any prizes but it's a good photo despite the noise! Hell, back in the days of me using and developing/printing my own B&W, I used to push relatively slow films way beyond their intended speeds specifically to get huge grain (which was the analogue equivalent of noise.) If you can accept a drop in fine detail, NR software can clean up almost any image.
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That is what I plan to do. I have never really had a reason to do this until now but I did it with my last camera. Knowing the limits of your equipment is very important in my opinion.

Thanks for the advise.
 
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