XT-2 ISO 12800 - noise or something else?

[SquarePeg]

Took some photos of Princess's field hockey the other day. It was gloomy/misty/rainy. I was shooting ss 1/1000, with the widest aperture available on the 50-230 (depending on focal length). The photos looked pretty good on my XT-2 screen and I've shot the T-2 at ISO 12800 many times with not a ton of issues. When I looked at the photos on my iPad (the sooc jpegs) are really terrible looking from this shoot. I thought this was noise but then I looked back at a few photos from the Red Sox game the other night that were of people at 12800 and they look good. So - what is the difference here? Was it the misty weather?

Untitled by SharonCat..., on Flickr

cropped
Untitled by SharonCat..., on Flickr

Pretty much every photo from the field hockey game looks like this.

From Red Sox game, to me this looks so much better.
ISO 12800, f 5.6, uncropped
Untitled by SharonCat..., on Flickr

 

[Fujidave]

Noise NO, crappy weather Yes as that has happened to me in the past. XC 50-230mm might not be good in crappy weather ?

 

[SquarePeg]

Noise NO, crappy weather Yes as that has happened to me in the past.

So you think that "noise" is the rain? It was that misty crummy rain where your umbrella is useless but I was standing under one.

 

[Fujidave]

Noise NO, crappy weather Yes as that has happened to me in the past.

So you think that "noise" is the rain? It was that misty crummy rain where your umbrella is useless but I was standing under one.

It could well be the very fine drizzle high iso together plus the XC lens, the worst one is the one with the players skirt flying up a bit. Players 15 and 24.

 

[SquarePeg]

Noise NO, crappy weather Yes as that has happened to me in the past.

So you think that "noise" is the rain? It was that misty crummy rain where your umbrella is useless but I was standing under one.

It could well be the very fine drizzle high iso together plus the XC lens, the worst one is the one with the players skirt flying up a bit. Players 15 and 24.

Pretty much every one of the photos from that game came out the same - terrible.

 

[Fujidave]

If it helps, I Never shoot SS or Aperture mode. I shoot manual with auto iso.

 

[SquarePeg]

If it helps, I Never shoot SS or Aperture mode. I shoot manual with auto iso.

That is what I was shooting. Auto ISO just happened to be 12800 almost every time.

 

[Fujidave]

It might not help, but I bet if you had had the 90mm on then just cropped they would of come out better.

 

[Fujidave]

Today on the beach it was misty/foggy but the X-T3 and 50mm f2 AF was very quick to focus on the pier that was over 500 yards away. Back in a minute to show you the shot.

 

[Fujidave]

Click on image to read the settings, not great but AF snapped quickly and it was misty/foggy crap today.


Test by Dave, on Flickr

 

[Fujidave]

@SquarePeg just a thought this, if it happens again with the weather like it was, then switch it to Spot metering and see how you go.

 

[Fujidave]

Just trying to help you out, so hope you don`t mind. Day time shot then Night time shot, so for me it was the weather and not you.


Untitled by SharonCat..., on Flickr

Untitled by SharonCat..., on Flickr

 

[Fujidave]

@Destin Would you agree it was the weather on the shots from Sharon ?

 

[Fujidave]

In crappy fine drizzle this is the wrong metering, taken off your Exif

• Metering Mode - Multi-segment

 

[Destin]

I’m not home; so I’m viewing on my phone. It’s hard to say what’s happening on my phone screen, but I believe I’ve experienced similar when I shot sports with my D500. I’m not positive what caused it, but here is my best guess:

In the rain with a long lens against a distant background, you have several things working against you. The long focal length causes the background to be blurred from the thin DOF, while it simultaneously magnifies the rain drops. This is why it appears to be raining much harder in telephoto sports photos than it actually may have been; you’re seeing rain from in front and behind the player all compressed into appearing to be on the same plane as them.

In addition, when you shoot an image at high iso and introduce noise in a blurred background, it because much more noticeable than it otherwise would because you’re adding texture where there would otherwise be none.

I think what you’re seeing in your photos is a combination of these two things: magnified rain drops and a situation where noise is more noticeable than it would be in most other photos.

I could be wrong though; this is just my (semi) educated guess. Curious to see what @Derrel thinks of this, as he seems to understand the physics of long lenses and sensors better than I do.