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d200 and noise

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wearsider

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hello i am about to get a d200 to go with my sigma 150-500 0s what reasonble iso can expect before i see noise.
Regards
 
First, it depends on what you're going to use the images for. A 13"x19" exhibition print would show unacceptable noise at a lower ISO than smaller prints, prints of family pics for family and friends, and images for posting to the Web.

Second, it depends on how well the images are exposed. Under-exposed images will show more noise than properly exposed ones for the same ISO.

Third, it depends on how much effort you're willing to invest in dealing with noise for a given set of images. If you're willing to learn how to use a 3rd-party noise reduction program such as Neat Image or Noise Ninja, I've found that for many purposes you can get a usable 1600 ISO from the D200.
 
thanks for the replys i havent bought it yet but i will be printing A4 bird photos with the sigma be pushing the iso up it gets dark in the uk. the cam for sale is £250 which seems a good price.
regards
 
Lightroom 3 has an excellent noise reduction engine, and you can download and test for 30 days. I also just recently bought a D200 and LR3 does a nice job cleaning up noise and I feel has added a couple of extra usable stops.
 
That is a good price. I use the D200, but not for bird photography. If it gets dark, try to use a tripod and focus on stationary birds. The D200 can look great even with high ISO's, but maybe not for the detail-oriented bird photography.

I usually try to overexpose by 1/3-1/7th over the meter with any lens, just to keep the visible noise down as mentioned above, noise is worse in underexposed shots.

The noise looks great for B&W shots, but pretty bad for certain colour shots.

I use Lightroom to correct a certain amount of noise, but there is no way to get around annoying noise artefacts after ISO 400 (unless you can overexpose a bit).
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shigzeo/
Advice/criticism/appreciation appreciated!
 
The noise levels will vary a bit with colour temperature, as the sensor is better tuned for outdoor shooting than under incandescent lighting indoors.

With indoor lighting, you may object to the noise levels above 800 ISO, while in the cooler light outdoors during twilight, you'd be more willing to go up to 1,600 ISO.

As others have mentioned earlier, underexposure is the largest contributor to noise in the shadows.

--
Desmond Murray
http://www.KelownaPhotographer.com
I shoot to thrill
 
That page is good for a lot of stuff, but what you see there is very very encouraging. If you shoot in the dark and shoot underexposed, the images at 3200 are horrid. In the daylight and slightly overexposed, they are almost usable.

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shigzeo/
Advice/criticism/appreciation appreciated!
 
You'll see 'noise' from ISO 100, but your definition of it might differ to mine. Personally, I'm happy at 800 with both of my D200s; yes there's noise, but I don't find it overpowering or objectionable. But then I can remember the football-sized grain we used to get on ISO 3200 film...

--
Rob.

Free advice, freely given. If you don't like it, I'll refund you twice the amount you paid me.
 
Crave said:
I Usualy try not to go more than iso 640!
Click to expand...
Same here. I find noise to be objectionable from 800 upwards. More noticable on dark subjects than light ones.

However, as another commentor pointed out, a lot depends on how you intend to use the image. Here is a shot that looks quite decent, taken at ISO 3200 on my D200:



--
Steve

 
Personally, I never like to venture past ISO 400 on my D200. Beyond that the loss of detail becomes very evident.
 
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