E-3 noise level
- Thread starter kongming
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Possible Solutions:
1. Noise reduction software
2. Change back to Nikon (best if D700)
3. Change to Canon (5D)
4. Lower one's expectations
5. Try using both Nikon and Olympus system (what your money can afford), see which you like better
6. Try using film ISO800 negative films, maybe even ISO400 films, you will appreciate your Olympus gear more
Is it because of the noise level your pictures become beautiful?
1. Noise reduction software
2. Change back to Nikon (best if D700)
3. Change to Canon (5D)
4. Lower one's expectations
5. Try using both Nikon and Olympus system (what your money can afford), see which you like better
6. Try using film ISO800 negative films, maybe even ISO400 films, you will appreciate your Olympus gear more
Is it because of the noise level your pictures become beautiful?
lol I'm a Samsung compact user as well as e410. I have no hard requirement for noise.
Yet, t'was once I caught a nicely sharp shot of a bee mid-flight with the compact's super macro at iso400, and ppl say "ooh it's so noisy". Now that really pissed me off. Hence I stopped posting photos here for a long time.
Olympus is surely one of the noisier ones, but I'm sure you bought it for other reasons too.
Yet, t'was once I caught a nicely sharp shot of a bee mid-flight with the compact's super macro at iso400, and ppl say "ooh it's so noisy". Now that really pissed me off. Hence I stopped posting photos here for a long time.
Olympus is surely one of the noisier ones, but I'm sure you bought it for other reasons too.
That would definitely piss me off too. Catching a perfect moment, only to realise that people are complaining because of it's noise. Who cares about noise if you missed that perfect shot?
If you really feel the need to use ISO>800, then use the D80 :think:
For other purposes, e.g. shooting in the rain, you can always fall back to the E3. Or when the need for AF speed is important ... or you need you upgrade to good and decently priced lens. Or for whenever you feel like it :lovegrin:
You ask them to produce the same picture with less noise if they complain about it. :bsmilie:
easy to criticise
Personally...
To my untrained eyes... I'm pretty happy with what I get out of my E3...
Or I maybe just can't be bothered with this ISO issue.:dunno:
Here's 2 pics @ ISO1000.
Convert from RAW->Jpg
Don't think I did any adjustment. If have also it's to increase Exposure by +0.25 in RAW.
I'm just happy that I can capture these pics...:sweatsm:
Great shots ..... luv the violinist's expression in #2 ..... now I can even imagine the noisy rubbing of his violin against his cheeks ..... 
I find the noise in the 2 photos quite ok... it is not the main subject... actually Noise Ninja removes the noise very well. If not Neat Image also ok, but not as nice...
It is worse if the noise is in your subject. Like let's say a car is black, & you just see the noise is in the main subject of the photo... i have an example.
But i can blame it on the grass patch infront, just say that the black new car is very shiny, those are all reflections... :bsmilie:
Honestly, this pic is from my E-3's first outing... when i saw it back at home, i was a bit disappointed that the cam that i just bought for over $2000, at only ISO800, the black is so noisy... :thumbsd:
It is worse if the noise is in your subject. Like let's say a car is black, & you just see the noise is in the main subject of the photo... i have an example.
But i can blame it on the grass patch infront, just say that the black new car is very shiny, those are all reflections... :bsmilie:
Honestly, this pic is from my E-3's first outing... when i saw it back at home, i was a bit disappointed that the cam that i just bought for over $2000, at only ISO800, the black is so noisy... :thumbsd:
bousozoku
Senior Member
The noise looks very film-like in nature, so I would be pleased with it. When the others go wrong, it's just ugly. However, the threshold for the others is quite a bit higher. I can imagine someone taking photos with 35mm film cameras and comparing them and finding that your camera did a better job but maybe that's just my being hopeful.
In that case, those are quite amazing photos.
the noise in the GT-R is not obvious to me at all.
but the earlier 2 pics on the dancers and violinists/guitarist has noise, which is very normal under those lighting conditions.
I think Oly's noise on par w canon woh.
but please don't say those are film-like noise. i think many here in clubsnap do not even have the experience of shooting at least 25 roles of film. how would they know what is film noise?
fyi. high iso films tend to be more grainy. they are not noise!
but the earlier 2 pics on the dancers and violinists/guitarist has noise, which is very normal under those lighting conditions.
I think Oly's noise on par w canon woh.
but please don't say those are film-like noise. i think many here in clubsnap do not even have the experience of shooting at least 25 roles of film. how would they know what is film noise?
fyi. high iso films tend to be more grainy. they are not noise!
This is a trade-off that users must be aware of because the MOS sensor is smaller than conventional APS-C sensors and hence more noise.
I don't have time to do a A-B with film at the moment, but if there is one of you who can kindly shoot (same subject) with ISO400, ISO 800 on film (colour or BW) and then shoot one in your E-System camera and put all three side by side for comparison, I think it will all make sense to a lot of people... this whole noise issue, film issue, whatever issue should be resolved by seeing the photos.
And also, I am personally getting tired of the talk on noise.
1. What good is a noise-less image if the noise suppression is taking away the details?
2. There are many elements that makes up a good photo, and the harping on noise is the least of the worry of the photographer. Light up your subject properly, and at high ISO setting on E-System, or a point and shoot for that matter, the image will look good and noise will be suppressed with a well lit and well exposed image.
3. If you are a paparazzi (a real working one, not stealing a shot on a cute girl on the street) then noise is the LEAST of your problems, the image that counts. You STILL will get paid for the shot of getting the image of your subject.
4. If you want to be lazy or circumstances means that you cannot get your light properly set up to shoot your subject... then too bad... no one can help you...
Photography is about CAPTURING LIGHT. And therefore lighting is the most important factor in photography. If you are forced in a situation where flashes are disallowed, I think the place calls for no photography. You should not be shooting in the first place. If not, then there are flash guns out there to solve lighting issue.
The art of photography is essential in photography, not the gear. In the old days when we had film with ISO as low as 25, we simply don't shoot in poorly lit places. Else we change cameras and load high ISO film which grains would be something we have to live with. In digital, you get noise.
The noise is there, and there are software that you can use to suppress or minimise noise, I don't understand why all the talk about something that one cannot change... might be a little more time invested in post processing or lighting up the subject. Let's change our mindset to become better photographers and not blame the sensors instead. Else, like some of them has already mentioned, change system or buy another system that is suited for that task.
For what the E-System can do, make full use of it and take better pictures, and not pinpoint the short comings which I think can be solved with planning the shots. The last time we had an outing to shoot in low light situations, those who were there were forced to use various methods to overcome the extremely low light situations and more work was done in post to make sure the image captured was treated in post to suppress or remove excessive noise and I hope you remember the lessons learnt. There were quite a number of impressive images shot, from the Shenton Way outing to the Haji Lane outing... some of you produced some really impressive shots... so what is the complaint? (Heck, at the Haji Lane outing, I was only armed with a Sony Ericcson K800i camera phone to push my own photography skill and experiment with shooting with a crap camera!)
Think photography, and think as a photographer handling the camera, and everything will come to pass... and your shooting skills will improve.
Personally, I will still not use another system known for low noise (note : PERSONAL) because the lens resolution and the "flatness" of the image in low light shots. This is the LAW of physics. Light your subject well, and/or improve your Photoshop/RAW image processing skills is the answer. Not better (if there is such a thing) gear to improve your image. That is the root where the saying "at the end of the day it is the one using the camera to take the shot, the camera cannot shoot for you" comes about.
Think photography, if you are a photographer.
Last night at our kopi session, we had a discussion on this and was glad to see the response and the fire in the eyes of some of you guys, when we decided to focus on photography and become better photographers. I think that is the way to go. For those who wants to understand better post processing skills, let's discuss this once again when we have more meet up. If you are interested, let's look for a place where there are computers set up with Photoshop and we can then have small workshops. Bring your images on CD/Thumbdrives and we can experiment and work together to work on better processing to improve on the image. This whole sensor discussion sometimes makes me feel if I am in a photography forum, or am I in the wrong forums for sensor designers/makers.
I would love to talk about the art of photography more, instead of talking about the gear. It is good to discuss enough to understand how to better handle the gear, but there must be a line drawn before we head towards gear-whoring. Gear whoring will never make one a better photographer.
Maybe our next outing should be at a good bookstore where we can look at photography books on the art of photography and not the technical aspects of things. I think many here has already understand the functionality of your camera system, but it is about using your gear to capture beautiful images.
I am hoping to organise a small exhibition for this community at the end of the year, regardless of systems used, digital or analog. We will decide on the format and how to go about organising this and the costs involved in our next kopi session. Those interested might want to join us.
And also, I am personally getting tired of the talk on noise.
1. What good is a noise-less image if the noise suppression is taking away the details?
2. There are many elements that makes up a good photo, and the harping on noise is the least of the worry of the photographer. Light up your subject properly, and at high ISO setting on E-System, or a point and shoot for that matter, the image will look good and noise will be suppressed with a well lit and well exposed image.
3. If you are a paparazzi (a real working one, not stealing a shot on a cute girl on the street) then noise is the LEAST of your problems, the image that counts. You STILL will get paid for the shot of getting the image of your subject.
4. If you want to be lazy or circumstances means that you cannot get your light properly set up to shoot your subject... then too bad... no one can help you...
Photography is about CAPTURING LIGHT. And therefore lighting is the most important factor in photography. If you are forced in a situation where flashes are disallowed, I think the place calls for no photography. You should not be shooting in the first place. If not, then there are flash guns out there to solve lighting issue.
The art of photography is essential in photography, not the gear. In the old days when we had film with ISO as low as 25, we simply don't shoot in poorly lit places. Else we change cameras and load high ISO film which grains would be something we have to live with. In digital, you get noise.
The noise is there, and there are software that you can use to suppress or minimise noise, I don't understand why all the talk about something that one cannot change... might be a little more time invested in post processing or lighting up the subject. Let's change our mindset to become better photographers and not blame the sensors instead. Else, like some of them has already mentioned, change system or buy another system that is suited for that task.
For what the E-System can do, make full use of it and take better pictures, and not pinpoint the short comings which I think can be solved with planning the shots. The last time we had an outing to shoot in low light situations, those who were there were forced to use various methods to overcome the extremely low light situations and more work was done in post to make sure the image captured was treated in post to suppress or remove excessive noise and I hope you remember the lessons learnt. There were quite a number of impressive images shot, from the Shenton Way outing to the Haji Lane outing... some of you produced some really impressive shots... so what is the complaint? (Heck, at the Haji Lane outing, I was only armed with a Sony Ericcson K800i camera phone to push my own photography skill and experiment with shooting with a crap camera!)
Think photography, and think as a photographer handling the camera, and everything will come to pass... and your shooting skills will improve.
Personally, I will still not use another system known for low noise (note : PERSONAL) because the lens resolution and the "flatness" of the image in low light shots. This is the LAW of physics. Light your subject well, and/or improve your Photoshop/RAW image processing skills is the answer. Not better (if there is such a thing) gear to improve your image. That is the root where the saying "at the end of the day it is the one using the camera to take the shot, the camera cannot shoot for you" comes about.
Think photography, if you are a photographer.
Last night at our kopi session, we had a discussion on this and was glad to see the response and the fire in the eyes of some of you guys, when we decided to focus on photography and become better photographers. I think that is the way to go. For those who wants to understand better post processing skills, let's discuss this once again when we have more meet up. If you are interested, let's look for a place where there are computers set up with Photoshop and we can then have small workshops. Bring your images on CD/Thumbdrives and we can experiment and work together to work on better processing to improve on the image. This whole sensor discussion sometimes makes me feel if I am in a photography forum, or am I in the wrong forums for sensor designers/makers.
I would love to talk about the art of photography more, instead of talking about the gear. It is good to discuss enough to understand how to better handle the gear, but there must be a line drawn before we head towards gear-whoring. Gear whoring will never make one a better photographer.
Maybe our next outing should be at a good bookstore where we can look at photography books on the art of photography and not the technical aspects of things. I think many here has already understand the functionality of your camera system, but it is about using your gear to capture beautiful images.
I am hoping to organise a small exhibition for this community at the end of the year, regardless of systems used, digital or analog. We will decide on the format and how to go about organising this and the costs involved in our next kopi session. Those interested might want to join us.
Last edited:
bousozoku
Senior Member
I didn't say film-like noise. I said that the noise was film-like.
When I started photography, ISO 400 was high speed film. ISO 1000 and 1600 film was much worse than the worst dSLRs now. E-3, E-420, and E-520 all give noise that is like film. Truthfully, even the best film I've seen never became as sharp as the best digital equipment.
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