50D noise

[MathewLodge]

Don't know if this changes anything, but it turns out I had Highlight Priority mode turned on for the photos I took. Does this increase image noise?

Mathew

[Marc_Schoenholz]

On the 40D in Highlight Tone Priority there appears to be more noise in the shadows area. I have used Noise Ninja to remove/reduce this noise with “good” success.

Marc Schoenholz

[Noel_Carboni]

With the photosites so much smaller than its predecessors, I'm surprised the 50D isn't even more noisy; frankly Canon's done a great job with their design changes to the chip and microlenses to keep the noise at the level it is.

That said, I too prefer "creamy smooth" results at the lowest ISOs.

How does it look at ISO 100 and 200?

Some time ago I read on another forum that Canon sets up the chip for the "standard" ISO settings, then digitally develops the raw data for the intermediate values, meaning it's possible some base-level noise is additionally digitally amplified when using ISO such as 250. I have never been able to verify the accuracy of this, though I do recall seeing some noise testing results on DPReview (I think it was) that supported this theory.

Are you shooting JPEG Mathew? I ask because I wonder whether Highlight Tone Priority is buying you anything if you're shooting in Raw mode.

-Noel

[Noel_Carboni]

I went looking for those results I mentioned and I simply don't find them, so take what I said with a grain of salt and use your own measurements/testing to determine whether you should avoid the intermediate ISO settings. All the graphs I can find now indicate a smooth progression up in noise as the ISO values are increased, even through the intermediate settings.

-Noel

[MathewLodge]

Originally Posted by Noel_Carboni

Are you shooting JPEG Mathew? I ask because I wonder whether Highlight Tone Priority is buying you anything if you're shooting in Raw mode.

No, I am shooting RAW. DPreview.com tests seem to indicate that there is more highlight roll-off in highlight priority mode... but not more noise.

Maybe this is just the effect of me moving from a 20D to a 50d, where the pixel count in the same area doubles. I got used to cleaner images from the 20D at the same ISO...

Mathew

[Matt Ballard]

There is a good article on Luminous-Landscape on the 50D that explains why it's is not so good at high ISO as well as exploring some other 50D problems like purple fringing.
Canon 50D Milestone