Noisy photo with my D90

[stanycjw]

All senior,
Could you advise what is the best way or setting to eliminate noisy shot on D90 with lens with F4.5-5.6,
Normally if it is not a too bright day, I have to set higher ISO like 800-1600 in-order to inline with speed 1/1250 at F8 to capture a reasonable shots for moving subject. Under this condition, noise appear.

By lowering ISO to 400 and boost EV to +4 etc., for higher speed 1/1250 @ F8, is this the right or only way to go?

Is there a better way, Please advise.

Thanks.

 

[jnet6]

It is not recommended to use F4.5-5.6 lens to shoot at low light for fast moving object.
1) light is not enough to pass thru the lens, meaning @ F8 the light condition is good only for long exposure.
2) shutter speed(1/1250th) is too fast for night shoot and you basically will get "black" shot.
3) learn your basic of EV "boost", it is not magic that will enchance your camera's night performance.
4) to get a better shot, depends on your light situation... faster lens MAYBE able to help eg. F1.4 or F2 lens.
5) get a Better high ISO camera like D700/D7000 or the best D3s and couple with fast lens it will help at least @ 1/250th* (Depending on your lighting situation again)

 

[stanycjw]

@ jnet
Thanks for advise and maybe you are right for me to get D7000 or D700 to couple with my Sigma 120-400mm Lens.
As for F2.8 lens (zoom lens at 400mm is very expensive and not afforable)
I am not shooting at night, it just in day light with lousy sunshine and mostly I shoot only birds only.

Hope D7000 will help lol.

 

[jnet6]

@ jnet
Thanks for advise and maybe you are right for me to get D7000 or D700 to couple with my Sigma 120-400mm Lens.
As for F2.8 lens (zoom lens at 400mm is very expensive and not afforable)
I am not shooting at night, it just in day light with lousy sunshine and mostly I shoot only birds only.

Hope D7000 will help lol.

in that case, try expose your picture properly and you will get good pictures out of D90. noisy or not depends on how much is your cropping after good exposure.

 

[hotchoco1ate]

@Jnet6, TS is probably not referring to night shoots. If i understand him right, he is likely to be referring to an overcast day or mid afternoon.

@TS, its okay to use your F4-5.6 lens, but you dont have to use F8 under such circumstances since you dont need your own frame to be sharp. Centre sharpness is what matters for most sport shooters anyway. Shooting wide open is fine. I'll prefer a slightly soft shot than a blur shot any day.

Btw I think you misunderstood what EV does for you. For example if you are using AV mode, the settings churned out at f4 is 1/250. Using +1 EV will change the settings automatically to F4, 1/125. This is because +1 EV means the exposure is up one stop. So a slower shutter is needed to obtain more light. so +4 EV will actually give you a super over exposed image, and its unlikely that it was what you had in mind.

Being a d90 user myself, i can assure you at 1600 ISO it's still tolerable. My personal tolerance is at 2500 ISO. Higher than that the color goes all wonky. Nikon's LCD screen is somewhat "worse" than canon, in a sense it portrays a "noiser" image, but in your computer it should look fine. So either try boosting your ISO, or widen your aperture, ie lower your F number.

Keep shooting and experiment with your settings.

 

[jnet6]

One more advice on getting the "right" exposure is to override your camera settings yourself, not depending on +/-EV on Av/Tv(S).
Go full manual mode and play around, adjust the settings when you notice some changes in the lighting condition.
It is challenging and will get a sense of satisfaction when you get the photos that you want.
Shoot raw and if needed, adjust the +/- EV or curves to get the right exposure that you want.

 

[Octarine]

What kind of moving objects require 1/1250s shutter speed? Maybe this assumption is wrong already and 1/200 is sufficient?

 

[coolthought]

What kind of moving objects require 1/1250s shutter speed? Maybe this assumption is wrong already and 1/200 is sufficient?

Maybe he is freezing a flying bullet in his photo.

Shutter speed, aperture and iso are the main things you experiment with for shots like these. There are limits to what your current camera and lens can do for you. One way to overcome this is to flash it if it is possible. If it is close enough and you are allow to. Another way is with noise reduction software like noise ninja and topaz denoise. These software are quite amazing but there is a limit to what these software can do without losing too much details. I have seen what an array of strobes can do with the help of an assistant. The result is stunning quality photo of motocross race with a setting sun background.

 

[Cowseye]

Maybe he is freezing a flying bullet in his photo.

Shutter speed, aperture and iso are the main things you experiment with for shots like these. There are limits to what your current camera and lens can do for you. One way to overcome this is to flash it if it is possible. If it is close enough and you are allow to. Another way is with noise reduction software like noise ninja and topaz denoise. These software are quite amazing but there is a limit to what these software can do without losing too much details. I have seen what an array of strobes can do with the help of an assistant. The result is stunning quality photo of motocross race with a setting sun background.

Have you ever thought that birds in flight will also need such shutter speed? Even at 1/1250 sec, I dun think you can freeze a bullet.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

Have you ever thought that birds in flight will also need such shutter speed? Even at 1/1250 sec, I dun think you can freeze a bullet.

I don't think such a high shutter speed is necessary if proper panning technique is used to track the bird's movement. The wings shouldn't be flapping so quickly (unless hummingbird, perhaps).

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

One more advice on getting the "right" exposure is to override your camera settings yourself, not depending on +/-EV on Av/Tv(S).
Go full manual mode and play around, adjust the settings when you notice some changes in the lighting condition.
It is challenging and will get a sense of satisfaction when you get the photos that you want.
Shoot raw and if needed, adjust the +/- EV or curves to get the right exposure that you want.

how does adjusting the EV help in getting the right exposure if shooting in full manual mode? I mean... yes, the metering value is changed, but the exposure doesn't change.

 

[coolthought]

Have you ever thought that birds in flight will also need such shutter speed? Even at 1/1250 sec, I dun think you can freeze a bullet.

that is a joke lah.

hope ts can show us example of the photos taken.

 

[jnet6]

how does adjusting the EV help in getting the right exposure if shooting in full manual mode? I mean... yes, the metering value is changed, but the exposure doesn't change.

When did I mention to adjust +/- EV in manual mode??
Read carefully as I mention is in raw file, post processing.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

When did I mention to adjust +/- EV in manual mode??
Read carefully as I mention is in raw file, post processing.

ahhh, you mean to adjust the exposure values in the post processing stage?
ok then... misunderstood.

 

[Cowseye]

that is a joke lah.

hope ts can show us example of the photos taken.

At least I'm not joking when I said abt BIF. Recommended speed is 1/1000 as far as I was told and read about.

 

[daredevil123]

At least I'm not joking when I said abt BIF. Recommended speed is 1/1000 as far as I was told and read about.

I think really depends on the bird being shot too, whether they are in flight, or diving or just hanging out. To freeze the wings of hummingbirds, 1/2000 is good.

 

[Rashkae]

I think really depends on the bird being shot too, whether they are in flight, or diving or just hanging out. To freeze the wings of hummingbirds, 1/2000 is good.

Correct. A nice panning shot of a bird in flight, like a hawk, can be had at 1/120s or 1/200s.

Heck, my F1 panning shots are at about 1/100s only! So I don't know why TS needs 1/1250s

 

[ovaltinemilo]

i think if you are using higher ISO like >800, it's better to do your own pp...like contrast, sharpening etc...don't use in cam process.. btw, do check if 1/1250 is needed...