Which Model for less noise at high iso

Hi,

I have a 300 and want to replace just for better quality at higher ISO. Which of the three would be best 500, 550, and 700?

I've read several conflicting reports.

Thanks.

I think they're pretty darn close in high ISO noise, maybe the A5xx a little better but you should NOT make that your main decisive point when choosing a camera.

I shoot real estate photography and that's pretty important to me for large rooms with low light.

I don't think there's too much difference in other areas that would make a lot of difference for me.

However, I hate to have to buy new memory cards. Unless I'm not understanding correctly, I can't use my CF cards. Do I have that correct?

A5xx uses SD cards and Sony memory sticks. Again though, this should not be a buying concern as 8gb of SD memory costs like $30 if that.....

As a real estate photographer, don't even think about a different body for now....what LENSES do you have??? The camera is only as good as the lens you're using and changing the body won't give you better pictures necessarily.

Get a good wide angle lense like the Sigma 10-20mm or the 17-70mm or a Tamron 17-50mm. Also, make sure it's a fast lens (again, the Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 comes to mind). That'll help you more than a new body if you're shooting with kit lens right now.

Also, come to think of it....are those pictures you're taking being printed in those real estate magazines only? Because, don't get me wrong here, but those prints are usually SO DARN BAD that you won't see a damn if you used a A300 or A700 or A550 or Nikon D3.

I have a Sigma 10-20.

Some of my shots are used for magazine covers and high-end magazine ads.

I've been doing this for 7 years. I want less noise.

The noise levels on both cameras are fairly similar as i said before. The A5xx has higher maximum ISO, if you really are in dire need for that.

But pardon me for asking more stupid questions:

• If you've done this for so long, shouldn't you have a capable flash unit?

• Do you have noise reduction software??

• How big are those magazine covers that your pictures appear on???

would you consider working flashes into your working routine to light the areas the way you want instead of having to deal with whats there? I understand the need for better high ISO results but it seems to me there is always going to be a shoot thats going to have less and less light and past a certain point. all cameras are noisey. Even something like a D3 at really high ISO won't do a glossy magazine cover without a LOT of work in post.

to answer your question though I think the A700 does really well at higher ISO and the A550 has at most so far been said to match it at least but I haven't seen anyone come out and say it was better.
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http://www.fotosource.com/downloads/flyer/eye_cancer_en_CA.pdf

pat smith said:

I have a Sigma 10-20.

Some of my shots are used for magazine covers and high-end magazine ads.

I've been doing this for 7 years. I want less noise.

Click to expand...

Sorry, Pat, not trying to dissuade you or anything, but if high ISO noise is your only concern, and I presume you shoot JPEG? Have you considered noise removal software?

I use an A700, for high ISO images, I find the best results come from using a variant of Agorabasta settings and Neat Image. The noise cleans up very well even on images shot with an A350 I used to have.

I use Neat Image, but sometimes it just too soft.

I do use a trigger and 3 receivers, but sometimes I shoot really large clubhouse rooms and could use quite a few more. I guess I just want to be better out of camera.

What do you consider the best Raw processing program?

pat smith said:

I use Neat Image, but sometimes it just too soft.

I do use a trigger and 3 receivers, but sometimes I shoot really large clubhouse rooms and could use quite a few more. I guess I just want to be better out of camera.

What do you consider the best Raw processing program?

Click to expand...

Yeah, shooting inside a very large room the lighting can really be a challenge.

Sorry but by being too soft do you mean Neat Image doesn't do enough processing to remove noise or the resulting images are too soft?

I currently use DxO (v6) and Raw Therapee (2.4.1); used to use Bibble before switching to DxO. DxO does a very good job on cleaning up the noise, including CA. Most of time I don't mind the images being a little grainy, they look nice when printed. But when I do want extra smoothness I would apply Neat Image to the processed image.

BTW, there is an article that compares the noise level of A500 and A700.

http://www.artaphot.ch/dslrs/201-jpg-noise-a500-a700-a900-and-dynax-7d

The images from the A700 actually suffer from focusing issues (admitted by the author) but I guess the author just wants to show the noise. Also I don't believe he/she's using the Agorabasta settings on the A700, which makes a big difference for me.

pat smith said:

I have a Sigma 10-20.

Some of my shots are used for magazine covers and high-end magazine ads.

I've been doing this for 7 years. I want less noise.

Click to expand...

Get a sturdy tripod and cable release, shoot at ISO 100-200 f11, and let the shutter speed fall where it may. You'll get better dynamic range and color as well.

ScYcS said:

A5xx uses SD cards and Sony memory sticks. Again though, this should not be a buying concern as 8gb of SD memory costs like $30 if that.....

As a real estate photographer, don't even think about a different body for now....what LENSES do you have??? The camera is only as good as the lens you're using and changing the body won't give you better pictures necessarily.

Get a good wide angle lense like the Sigma 10-20mm or the 17-70mm or a Tamron 17-50mm. Also, make sure it's a fast lens (again, the Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 comes to mind). That'll help you more than a new body if you're shooting with kit lens right now.

Click to expand...

A tripod will help too.

Walt

pat smith said:

I have a Sigma 10-20.

Some of my shots are used for magazine covers and high-end magazine ads.

I've been doing this for 7 years. I want less noise.

Click to expand...

Then get a good tripod and quit using HI Iso. Your real estate is not running around so easy to photograph with a tripod at low Iso.

Walt

If you're that serious about IQ, get yourself a decent tripod setup and shoot at base ISO.

No reason to switch cameras.

--
JL Smith
http://jl-smith.smugmug.com
Gear listed in profile!

First of all I am an advanced amateur, so you may not have many regrets if you ignore my post.

I agree with the tripod comment, get a heavy pro model to avoid camera shake. And if you use a tripod, mirror lockup would not be a bad idea, especially if you use a remote, or a 2 second timer delay with it, so the camera does not move because of pushing the shutter. Unfortunately, the A500 and A550 do not have mirror lockup, so the A700 would be a better option here. That way if you end up with shutter speeds of several seconds, it should be as sharp as handheld with say 1/125 of a second, if you are reasonably careful.

As regard to RAW, I have used both Photoshop ACR 3.7 and Sony IDC v3. The Photoshop ACR is almost universally disregarded in this forum, and I can't defend it myself. Sony's IDC does a much better job with color, and high ISO is handled much better than ACR. But the usability of IDC leaves much to be desired. Do some searches in this forum for the relative merits of the other 3rd party RAW converters. I think you could narrow down the field considerably after a little reading.

Lastly I use Neat Image myself, and have weaned myself away from their heavy handed defaults a long time ago. I seldom use the 60% Y Noise Reduction slider setting it defaults to, I usually use half that amount. I also dial back the Y and Cb Noise Level sliders a bit also (-25% for Y, -15% for Cb) to better match the amount of color noise really present on the Sony A100 camera. The settings for an A700 possibly could be dialed back a bit more. Anyway these settings give me a more Nikon like appearance as far as noise reduction, whose in camera noise reduction seems to be highly regarded generally. I find Neat Image to be great if you like to experiment with lots of settings, otherwise the consensus of this forum seems to be their are better products available.

Just a thought but have you considered HDR? If you use Photomatix you can get very natural results by tweaking the settings.
--
Let there be light! Who said that?

A tripod at base ISO and DRO/built-in HDR will work wonders in your situation, and you probably don't need a new cam. FWIW, All three of the cameras you mention are similiar at high ISO. If you want more of an improvement, consider the A850, which will be best of all at like output sizes.

wait 1-2 months for A700 successor!