D60 Low light samples?

I am new to this and struggling to get decent landscapes in relatively low light situations (cloudy days, dusk, night). Would anyone mind posting some samples from their D60, together with settings so I can have a good starting point.

Thanks everyone.

Anyone?

When you say struggle, what do you mean, sharpness, colours, contrast, ???

Tripod is the simple answer for a crisp shot, the rest is just settings for your preference.

--
Gerry,
http://gerryd.smugmug.com/ discount code on homepage

'There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.' - Steven Wright

When I say struggle: I mean noise in the photo, even though I'm using a low ISO setting.

Sounds odd, are they underexposed, or is this the result of some post processing ?

Might be better if you can post some samples with exif to allow more informed comment

mikey74 said:

When I say struggle: I mean noise in the photo, even though I'm using
a low ISO setting.

Click to expand...

--
Gerry,
http://gerryd.smugmug.com/ discount code on homepage

'There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.' - Steven Wright

Hi Mikey, I went through and picked out a few shots from relatively short exposures at low iso to longer night shots at higher iso. The D60 sensor isn't terrible, but there are better. My advise is to crop as little as possible, post process as little as possible (sharpening, contrast and shadow recovery really brings out noise) and apply noise reduction if it really bothers you. In other words, correct exposure is the key to keeping noise levels low. Hope these help for a rough guide.

All D60, no noise reduction, minor post processing

Pedernal at sunset, 1/8 f6.3 iso 100 16-85vr handheld, bit of noise in the sky, not objectionable in prints



Fireworks, 12.8 sec f5.6 iso 100 18-55vr, tripod

Most of my fire works exposures are from 2 to 6 seconds but I wanted some foreground detail, plenty of noise and streaking when magnified, but small prints are okay



Cassiopeia, 32.5 sec f5 iso400 16-85vr, tripod
about 50% crop, noise visible but I don't mind



Pines at night, 82.5 sec f/2.8 (?) iso800, manual focus 55mm Nikkor 1.2 lens

I believe the camera's NR kicks in at 800 iso, Rather heavy pp on this one, but no pp NR



--
chris
WSSA #98

Thanks for your samples Chris: Your photos are great but show that even though the exposure is right, you still get a fair amount of noise. I'm beginning to think I may have chosen the wrong camera....eek.

mikey74 said:

Thanks for your samples Chris: Your photos are great but show that
even though the exposure is right, you still get a fair amount of
noise. I'm beginning to think I may have chosen the wrong
camera....eek.

Click to expand...

A fair amount of noise compared to what?

erm....compared to a shot with no, or little noise.

mikey74 said:

erm....compared to a shot with no, or little noise.

Click to expand...

I think he means compared to what camera. The D60 might not have the best high ISO performance, but at low ISO I think you'd struggle to it apart from the class leaders at the size range of the images above.

mikey74 said:

erm....compared to a shot with no, or little noise.

Click to expand...

Okay, then let me rephrase the question. Compared to what other $600-ish digital camera, assuming the same conditions for the samples as those you saw posted here? If there's something out there like that, maybe I have several wrong cameras as well? If we had full sized samples and could go pixel peeking, I'd guess that we could determine a winner among cameras in this class, but even then I venture to say that the differences would be marginal. As I said, if there's one that's clearly superior by leaps and bounds, I'd like to know about it as well, because I love low light shooting and whether grain or noise, it seems to have been there for a long, long time unless you were/are willing to spend a whole bunch of money or buy a good flash unit.

I am sure the D60 is a very good and capable camera, far better than my limited time with it will allow: This is why I have asked people to post samples.

I didn't want to get into an argument of the quality of the camera, I just wanted some samples of low light situations and their associated settings, to give me a starting point, so I can learn to use it properly.

Hi,

Read this to understand WHY there is more noise in shadows then in brighter parts of your pictures :

http://www.ronbigelow.com/articles/noise-1/noise-1.htm

Shooting RAW and "Exposing to the right" ( and PP afterworths on pc ) can minimize noise in the shadowparts. See this thread for a demo :

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1034&thread=30112410

Hopes this helps !

--
Greetings,
Marc



my photos (under construction):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrbr03/

with your attitude im surprised anyone is even bothering to help you.

And what attitude is that? I was just explaining myself so people understood what I am trying to get at: Isn't that what forums are all about?

mikey74 said:

And what attitude is that? I was just explaining myself so people
understood what I am trying to get at: Isn't that what forums are all
about?

Click to expand...

Hi,

IMO coaldust is referring to this sentence you posted :

"I'm beginning to think I may have chosen the wrong camera....eek."

Some people are very sensitive regarding their choice of equipment ... having doubts about Nion on a Nikon forum is not appreciated by some people.

Be assured your camera is among the best in its class there is today.

--
Greetings,
Marc



my photos (under construction):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrbr03/

If noise is really an issue for you, then you'll want to investigate full frame sensor dslrs starting somewhere in the 3 to 5 K$ range, or large format digital options and start saving. If these solutions are out of your price range, you can perhaps find the best compromise of noise vs price by comparing side by side images of high iso images from many cameras on the imaging resource website or look at the many tests of camera noise by DPR or others. or shoot film.

My general conclusion is that all the subframe sensors are within a couple of stops from one another in terms of noise, ie a D90, state of the art Nikon subframe, cmos sensor at 1600 iso is about the same as the D60 at 400 iso, ccd sensor, maybe even a bit better.

After spending way too much time comparing noise, lens resolution, frame per sec rates etc. etc. I bought the D60 and settled in with the limitations of my camera. If chasing the best technology is the game, you never win (only until the next model comes out). If you want to take good photographs, go out and shoot. Ignore the noise, IMO: it rarely matters in terms of the aesthetic value of the photograph. All these dslrs are capable of spectacular images.
--
chris
WSSA #98

mikey74 said:

I am sure the D60 is a very good and capable camera, far better than
my limited time with it will allow: This is why I have asked people
to post samples.

I didn't want to get into an argument of the quality of the camera, I
just wanted some samples of low light situations and their associated
settings, to give me a starting point, so I can learn to use it
properly.

Click to expand...

If you were referring to my post, I wasn't really arguing one against another, but rather pointing out that no matter which camera in that price range you choose, you're doomed to find noise in many areas if you're looking for it. With film in low light, grain was not only accepted as part of the medium, but was/is considered "atmosphere" and quite acceptable. Why people actually seek out digital noise and then find it objectionable, I don't know. When a downsized file is enlarged or cropped in the context of a 17 to 26 inch computer screen, you'll find noise if you're looking for it (and most likely even if you're not). As pointed out by another poster, you'll need to start saving your pennies to avoid noise if you're going to be doing poster sized enlargements or pixel peeking downsized files. I've seen some really nice Hassy and Mamiya medium format digitals that should be pretty close to noise free if you're interested in spending thirty grand or so on bodies and a lens or two. Otherwise, you're probably stuck with noise or with using noise reduction software and giving up detail. I just hate being poor and having such exquisite tastes. ;o)