Noise on Images - Help Needed!

[RedJet]

I have taken a series of photos on my Canon 60D that I was initially pleased with. However, on closer inspection when I enlarged the images there was a large amount of noise which is very frustrating.. I have attached one of the images as an example zoomed in and out.

I have a real passion for photography, but have never got the hang of the technical side - not for the want of trying! I wondered if this was an issue that could be avoided and explained in laymen's terms?

Thank you!

 

[Ysarex]

I have taken a series of photos on my Canon 60D that I was initially pleased with. However, on closer inspection when I enlarged the images there was a large amount of noise which is very frustrating.. I have attached one of the images as an example zoomed in and out.

I have a real passion for photography, but have never got the hang of the technical side - not for the want of trying! I wondered if this was an issue that could be avoided and explained in laymen's terms?

Thank you!

That is not a lot of noise. To tell you more we need more info about the photo. Is your camera original a JPEG file or a CR2 file. The photo you posted has the EXIF data removed so we can't determine things like the ISO you used etc. Any chance you can post here or maybe on dropbox the camera original and you'll get a better answer.

Joe

 

[CdTSnap]

It's a 60D, every camera has its limit. Doesn't look that bad


Sent from my iPhone using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app

 

[Derrel]

You obviously never used a Nikon D1 or any other ancient d-slr....your 60D's sky tones look quite acceptable. As far as noise: keep ISO levels lowish; expose amply well; process the images carefully, and avoid "salvaging" bad exposures that have a lot of noise in the shadows.

I am familiar with the 60D's performance at ISO levels above 200; it's not a state of the art sensor, but it's also not horrific until it gets to ISO 1,000 and above; then there seems to be plenty of noise. As member CdTSNap wrote, "It's a 60D, every camera has its limit. Doesn't look that bad".

 

[RedJet]

I have taken a series of photos on my Canon 60D that I was initially pleased with. However, on closer inspection when I enlarged the images there was a large amount of noise which is very frustrating.. I have attached one of the images as an example zoomed in and out.

I have a real passion for photography, but have never got the hang of the technical side - not for the want of trying! I wondered if this was an issue that could be avoided and explained in laymen's terms?

Thank you!

That is not a lot of noise. To tell you more we need more info about the photo. Is your camera original a JPEG file or a CR2 file. The photo you posted has the EXIF data removed so we can't determine things like the ISO you used etc. Any chance you can post here or maybe on dropbox the camera original and you'll get a better answer.

Joe

Hi Joe

Thanks for your reply. I have attached an image showing the photo properties:

 

[goodguy]

Keep ISO always as low as possible and you will have less noise in your pictures.
Canon 60D has a very old sensor in it so it tend to get noisy in lower ISO compared to modern sensor like in the Canon 80D or Nikon D7200
If this is an issue for you then maybe its time to upgrade.

 

[Ysarex]

I have taken a series of photos on my Canon 60D that I was initially pleased with. However, on closer inspection when I enlarged the images there was a large amount of noise which is very frustrating.. I have attached one of the images as an example zoomed in and out.

I have a real passion for photography, but have never got the hang of the technical side - not for the want of trying! I wondered if this was an issue that could be avoided and explained in laymen's terms?

Thank you!

That is not a lot of noise. To tell you more we need more info about the photo. Is your camera original a JPEG file or a CR2 file. The photo you posted has the EXIF data removed so we can't determine things like the ISO you used etc. Any chance you can post here or maybe on dropbox the camera original and you'll get a better answer.

Joe

Hi Joe

Thanks for your reply. I have attached an image showing the photo properties:
View attachment 138092

That helps. Now we know where you had the camera ISO set. As others have noted the camera is somewhat older tech. The noise you see appears normal for base ISO on that camera. There are processing issues with the image (eg. unmitigated CA is visible in the photo) and I'm going to assume what you've got here is a JPEG created by the camera. You can get better results from the camera by processing the photo yourself -- you set the camera to save CR2 files and then learn to do the processing manually. This would give you the option to hand tailor the noise processing.

Noise in a digital photo comes from multiple sources and we live with it as a characteristic of the medium. You blew that image way up to make the noise visible. Our goal should be to render the noise not distracting when the photo is seen at size -- relax, you're good. In your photo the noise isn't an issue. Sometimes noise can look good in a photo and photographers will actually take steps to create it. You may find this surprising but my standard processing includes the addition of a slight amount of noise. Noise and fine detail in a photo are linked. The processes that suppress noise also tend to suppress fine detail. And then there's another complication which is noise that results from image compression when we create JPEG files. Adding uniform noise can suppress JPEG artifacts.

I took your enlarged sample and placed it on a sky from one of my photos. Then I went back and re-processed my photo to remove the noise I had added so you see three squares. As you can see my preferred processing is closer to the noise in your sample than it is to the noiseless option. What you're seeing and complaining about I'm purposefully adding ;-)

If you start saving and processing your camera's CR2 files you can get lower noise levels, but I'm going to again repeat that what you're seeing is normal and you shouldn't get worked up about it.

Joe

 

[RedJet]

Thank you all so much for your help with this issue - much appreciated!

 

[RedJet]

Thank you very much Joe that is a big help! I am going to give editing the raw image a go and see if that will reduce the noise. I guess JPEG has always been the go-to format for me!