IdiotStic
Forum Enthusiast
First, let me remind you that I shoot RAW almost exclusively unless I'll be shooting hundreds of shots at some fast paced event. Ok, lets start with the basics. Getting low noise at high ISO is all about technique and some basic knowledge of your camera. So far, I have had 3 Sony DSLR's, 2 A100's and now an A700. All of them (read that again), underexpose in RAW mode. They also tend to underexpose in jpeg mode, although not by a lot.
Under exposure at high ISO is a tragedy waiting to happen. When you load the file into your favorite editor to do your thing to levels, curves, white balance, etc, by the time you have it brightened up enough, you've introduced lots of noise into the shot. I can't stress how important it is to get the exposure right in the camera BEFORE you take the shot. You do that by learning how your camera operates under different conditions (low light, high ISO, bright daylight, etc). Once you figure out how much your particular camera under exposes (and most do by default), then you can over expose by that amount and have a great exposure straight from the camera.
The A700 allows you to set and exposure bias (exposure compensation) and save it to your 3 user memory setups. It also remembers it for each mode such as M, A, S, and P, each time you go to those. I have tested 3 A700's so far and they all seem to be -1.7 to -2.3 EV under exposed in RAW modes. Mine is right at -2.3, so I have +2.0 dialed into the exposure bias and saved to both of my RAW user profiles. For jpeg mode I use a value of +1.0, and find that works very well.
The other thing you should be aware of is that DRO HATES high ISO. Before you start shooting high ISO in jpeg, turn OFF the DRO feature. It just introduces terrible amounts of noise, especially if you use the advanced settings (3, 4, or 5). So, to review, turn off DRO (in jpeg mode), over expose by the correct amount (or set an exposure compensation), and don't forget about white balance. The bottom line is to know your camera, play with it, make notes, watch how much you have to brighten things, etc. Taking the time to do those things makes it much more enjoyable when you see the results.
Here's some example at ISO 1600
The scene:
cRAW, 1/13 sec, F:8
jpeg WITH DRO-Auto
jpeg with DRO off
--
Jem
Under exposure at high ISO is a tragedy waiting to happen. When you load the file into your favorite editor to do your thing to levels, curves, white balance, etc, by the time you have it brightened up enough, you've introduced lots of noise into the shot. I can't stress how important it is to get the exposure right in the camera BEFORE you take the shot. You do that by learning how your camera operates under different conditions (low light, high ISO, bright daylight, etc). Once you figure out how much your particular camera under exposes (and most do by default), then you can over expose by that amount and have a great exposure straight from the camera.
The A700 allows you to set and exposure bias (exposure compensation) and save it to your 3 user memory setups. It also remembers it for each mode such as M, A, S, and P, each time you go to those. I have tested 3 A700's so far and they all seem to be -1.7 to -2.3 EV under exposed in RAW modes. Mine is right at -2.3, so I have +2.0 dialed into the exposure bias and saved to both of my RAW user profiles. For jpeg mode I use a value of +1.0, and find that works very well.
The other thing you should be aware of is that DRO HATES high ISO. Before you start shooting high ISO in jpeg, turn OFF the DRO feature. It just introduces terrible amounts of noise, especially if you use the advanced settings (3, 4, or 5). So, to review, turn off DRO (in jpeg mode), over expose by the correct amount (or set an exposure compensation), and don't forget about white balance. The bottom line is to know your camera, play with it, make notes, watch how much you have to brighten things, etc. Taking the time to do those things makes it much more enjoyable when you see the results.
Here's some example at ISO 1600
The scene:
cRAW, 1/13 sec, F:8
jpeg WITH DRO-Auto
jpeg with DRO off
--
Jem
