Reducing noise on action shots

[Zada]

When taking action shots of my horses, I seem to be getting a lot of noise in them, and I'm not sure why? I understand that the fast shutter speed has something to do with it. Here is what happens :

I cropped it so you could see better. Any suggestions or tips on how to change that? I would appreciate it!!

Merry Christmas!

 

[JerryPH]

I think you are confusing noise and motion blur. Up the ISO and up your shutter speed or lower the aperture and up the shutter speed.

 

[Alex_B]

this image was not posted in a resolution to decide if it is noisy or not.

it was shot at f/8, 1/1250 second and ISO 400 so I suspect also in high-res there would not be much motion blur. But ISO 400 will mean some noise given the small sensor of your camera.

 

[Alex_B]

it seems not very sharp, that might be due to the noise, or some artefacts from reducing the size without re-sharpening.


To reduce noise, I would recommend Neat Image or noise ninja, with a preference on the former. both cost money though.

 

[JerryPH]

I did not look at the EXIF before (I should make it a habit, though), but at F8 and 1/1250th is definately fast enough. This is a day shot, so that alone reduces noise. I don't see a lot of contrast on the black horse (could that be what they are talking about?).

If thats it, its more caused by picture downsizing than anything else other than that ISO 400. At speeds of ISO 400, and speeds of 1/1250th, there is WAY more than enough possibilities to freeze action by stopping down to around ISO 100 and 1/500th with the right aperture. That would give a much better result.

I do not see Canon Powershot S5's as being very noisy in general... it could be the higher ISO and general conditions. I also do not know much about Canon Powershot S5's short of having played with one for about 20 min at a friend's place.

Sincerely, I am not seeing all that much noise at all! What I am seeing is just loss of quality... ie: I cannot see the eyes of the horse as they are washed out in all that blackness.

 

[Alex_B]

well, think we should see a 100% view of a section of the image to judge

 

[JerryPH]

I traced her pic back to photobucket... the pic posted there is the same one here, so I was not able to see anything larger.

I hope she posts a larger one here... or at least a 100% crop of the section around where she sees noise.

 

[Zada]

Ok sorry! I'll post a bigger picture!

 

[Zada]

Ok Maybe I just don't know what noise is? I find the pictures really grainy looking and the quality is poor, which doesn't make sense because I get better quality with my point and shoot.

 

[Zada]

Also, how did you know what camera I have and what settings I used! Crazy!

 

[Coldow91]

With every picture there is EXIF data stored within (not really the right word) it, that has info about the shot like what camera, the shutter speed, aperture, iso....

 

[Jbs]

Camera Make: Canon
Camera Model: Canon PowerShot S5 IS
Image Date: 2007:01:01 02:41:56
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 35.4mm
CCD Width: 5.71mm
Exposure Time: 0.0006 s (1/1600)
Aperture: f/8.0
ISO equiv: 400
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix



i think you should use a lower iso. that's all i can think of though.

 

[Zada]

Wow, who knew.

Alright, well I shall try to lower the ISO! Thanks!

 

[chris_arnet]

it seems not very sharp, that might be due to the noise, or some artefacts from reducing the size without re-sharpening.


To reduce noise, I would recommend Neat Image or noise ninja, with a preference on the former. both cost money though.

i tried noise ninja once. i couldnt even tell it was doing anything.

 

[TCimages]

I agree, try a lower ISO, but 400 shouldn't be all that noisy in most situations. Are you post processing these? The reason I ask is because trying to improve certain aspects of the image can often times bring the noise out.

I have used Noise Ninja and it's a great program. Usually best to create a profile for your camera tho.

Zada - EXIF info can be a very useful tool as you learn photography. I would get in to a habit of reading it whenever you see a photo you like or dislike.
Here is a free program that works pretty well for most images by simply right-clicking in the browser:
http://www.opanda.com/en/iexif/index.html