Why are my pictures so grainy(sample inside)

[OzzieGT]

My pictures are turning out kinda grainy. I've noticed lots of people have perfectly clear pictures...especially in the DC4800 review on this site.

Here are some examples:

This is a 2.2 MP indoor shot, I focused on the exercise bike:
http://osman.wox.org/images/DCP_0097.JPG

This is a 1.6 MP sunset shot...I focused on the car (obviously )
http://osman.wox.org/mr2/sunriseportrait2.jpg

I THINK both were taken at fully automatic mode. I know the first one was, but I'm not too sure about the sunset picture. I might have adjusted the exposure metering...

I know that the original sample pictures on this site look a lot like that sunset shot, but the resized ones look a lot better...how do they do it?

Thanks,

Osman

 

[Jon Jennings]

Make sure you have the ISO set at 100. Only time to use 200 or 400 if it is absolutely necessary in order to get the shot, very low light or action.

For your indoor shots, try ISO 100 shutter speed 1/60, try not to use the zoom when shooting indoors. When you zoom in it requires more light and you will get more noise.

Jon

My pictures are turning out kinda grainy. I've noticed lots of
people have perfectly clear pictures...especially in the DC4800
review on this site.

Here are some examples:

This is a 2.2 MP indoor shot, I focused on the exercise bike:
http://osman.wox.org/images/DCP_0097.JPG

This is a 1.6 MP sunset shot...I focused on the car (obviously )
http://osman.wox.org/mr2/sunriseportrait2.jpg

I THINK both were taken at fully automatic mode. I know the
first one was, but I'm not too sure about the sunset picture. I
might have adjusted the exposure metering...

I know that the original sample pictures on this site look a lot
like that sunset shot, but the resized ones look a lot better...how
do they do it?

Thanks,

Osman

 

[OzzieGT]

1/60 comes out really, really dark. Even 1/20 is darker than that picture I posted...this happen to you?

Make sure you have the ISO set at 100. Only time to use 200 or 400
if it is absolutely necessary in order to get the shot, very low
light or action.
For your indoor shots, try ISO 100 shutter speed 1/60, try not to
use the zoom when shooting indoors. When you zoom in it requires
more light and you will get more noise.

 

[acorntree]

uh, well the DC4800 is 3.1 Mpixel (on a 3.3Mpixel CCD)
have you tried shooting at 3.1 MP w/ low compression rate.

My pictures are turning out kinda grainy. I've noticed lots of
people have perfectly clear pictures...especially in the DC4800
review on this site.

Here are some examples:

This is a 2.2 MP indoor shot, I focused on the exercise bike:
http://osman.wox.org/images/DCP_0097.JPG

This is a 1.6 MP sunset shot...I focused on the car (obviously )
http://osman.wox.org/mr2/sunriseportrait2.jpg

I THINK both were taken at fully automatic mode. I know the
first one was, but I'm not too sure about the sunset picture. I
might have adjusted the exposure metering...

I know that the original sample pictures on this site look a lot
like that sunset shot, but the resized ones look a lot better...how
do they do it?

Thanks,

Osman

 

[SSD44185]

Ozzie, the same thing happened to me with my indoor shots. I was ready to blame the camera until I played around with the settings some more. The grainy indoor pictures were taken at ISO 200 and 400, which added a significant amount of noise to my images. Taking them at ISO 100 with an external flash made my images crystal clear. My outdoor images are very sharp at ISO 100 - not even a hint of noise.

Just my 2 cents.

SSD

My pictures are turning out kinda grainy. I've noticed lots of
people have perfectly clear pictures...especially in the DC4800
review on this site.

Here are some examples:

This is a 2.2 MP indoor shot, I focused on the exercise bike:
http://osman.wox.org/images/DCP_0097.JPG

This is a 1.6 MP sunset shot...I focused on the car (obviously )
http://osman.wox.org/mr2/sunriseportrait2.jpg

I THINK both were taken at fully automatic mode. I know the
first one was, but I'm not too sure about the sunset picture. I
might have adjusted the exposure metering...

I know that the original sample pictures on this site look a lot
like that sunset shot, but the resized ones look a lot better...how
do they do it?

Thanks,

Osman

 

[OzzieGT]

Yeah I noticed that ISO 100 helps a lot and the flash helps even more. I'm not sure running a higher resolution will help, because I don't know if that will make the grains larger or not...

Thanks guys,

Osman

Ozzie, the same thing happened to me with my indoor shots. I was
ready to blame the camera until I played around with the settings
some more. The grainy indoor pictures were taken at ISO 200 and
400, which added a significant amount of noise to my images.
Taking them at ISO 100 with an external flash made my images
crystal clear. My outdoor images are very sharp at ISO 100 - not
even a hint of noise.

Just my 2 cents.

SSD

 

[Analog Guy44428]

After taking about 1000 shots with my DC4800, I found that available light is the most important factor in the sharpness of the images. This is why using fully automatic mode with ISO 100 on a bright day outdoors gives you great pictures. Indoors is where the problem is. Several things you can do indoors:

1) Always use ISO 100
2) Apperture to 2.8
3) Shutter to 45 or 60
4) Always use flash
5) Your subject shouldn't be farther than 6 feet from the camera

Bottom line is if the camera doesn't get adequate lighting, you get grainy pictures. It sux in other words. What's the other thing you can do? Similate outdoor lighting by getting an external flash. I don't suggest getting something like the Vivitar 283 or 285. Why? They're more powerful than what you need and they're bigger and heavier than your DC4800. Forget portability and convenience. Besides, they're expensive ~ 70-90. Just get something cheap with a bracket. Like Vivitar 2000.

For indoors, use it as bounce flash to similate outdoors and use DC4800's own flash as fill flash. Adjust shutter speed to match lighting. You should get sharp images that way...