Weird noise/grain with A7iii

[Kieran T]

I might be completely missing something obvious here or maybe just being picky, but i'm getting some really weird results with my a7iii. Many of the shots are quite noisy/grainy when looking at them at 1:1 and i cant figure it out. Seems worse in low light situations, but its not limited to low light. All of the shots have been taken in snow in pretty dynamic light conditions (very high arctic, first sunlight returning so long pastel twilights then bright sun etc).


f6.3, 282mm, 1/1000, ISO1600. Sony A7iii with Sony 100-400 GM

here's a sample, I can apply noise reduction in Lr but i lose so much detail it kind of kills it. Note this has already been cropped a bit so not a full size image.

Anybody got any ideas?

 

[SQLGuy]

What are you comparing to? What are your expectations?

ISO 1600 is not noise-free on any camera.

 

[jonpais]

I might be completely missing something obvious here or maybe just being picky, but i'm getting some really weird results with my a7iii. Many of the shots are quite noisy/grainy when looking at them at 1:1 and i cant figure it out. Seems worse in low light situations, but its not limited to low light. All of the shots have been taken in snow in pretty dynamic light conditions (very high arctic, first sunlight returning so long pastel twilights then bright sun etc).


f6.3, 282mm, 1/1000, ISO1600. Sony A7iii with Sony 100-400 GM

here's a sample, I can apply noise reduction in Lr but i lose so much detail it kind of kills it. Note this has already been cropped a bit so not a full size image.

Anybody got any ideas?

Like, could you be so kind as to show the original image so we can get an idea of how much you're cropping in?

--

The Daejeon Chronicles

The number one resource for information about HDR technology, workflows, tutorials, news and opinion.

jonpais.wordpress.com

 

[Kieran T]

sorry, i just automatically posted the one i'd started on, heres the original. Also i'm getting similar kinds of noise even on much lower ISO's (around 640-500 even) ill try take some test shots tomorrow and add them to the thread. I understand that all camera's will have noise at 1600 ISO but some of the shots i've looked through have been just ridiculous amounts.

 

[Switcheroo]

Noise is always more prominent in darker/shadow areas. At ISO1600 you might look at a bright, well-exposed image and not see any noise but in your example shadows prevail in what looks like blue hour lighting.

So as already mentioned in those conditions, with those settings, any camera will show some noise. However it is very well controlled and wouldn't bother me at all. Unless you pixel-peep.

Lesson: don't pixel peep!

P.S. great shot! With or without noise...

Edit: in the original you notice the noise much less. Maybe it's something in your editing. Sharpening can bring out noise more with some settings...

 

[Kieran T]

Ok great thanks for the reply. What you're saying makes a lot of sense. I actually didn't play with any sharpening, just a small bit of exposure and dropped out a touch of red, but i get what you're saying. I'll try play with it a bit more and hopefully its all in my head and i'm just 'pixel peeping'!

 

[CarlitosM]

Ok great thanks for the reply. What you're saying makes a lot of sense. I actually didn't play with any sharpening, just a small bit of exposure and dropped out a touch of red, but i get what you're saying. I'll try play with it a bit more and hopefully its all in my head and i'm just 'pixel peeping'!

Yes, there is a strong increase in grain from the original to the final version. Apart of sharpening, clear view/dehaze type of manipulations can also lead to that.

 

[ProDude]

I might be completely missing something obvious here or maybe just being picky, but i'm getting some really weird results with my a7iii. Many of the shots are quite noisy/grainy when looking at them at 1:1 and i cant figure it out. Seems worse in low light situations, but its not limited to low light. All of the shots have been taken in snow in pretty dynamic light conditions (very high arctic, first sunlight returning so long pastel twilights then bright sun etc).


f6.3, 282mm, 1/1000, ISO1600. Sony A7iii with Sony 100-400 GM

here's a sample, I can apply noise reduction in Lr but i lose so much detail it kind of kills it. Note this has already been cropped a bit so not a full size image.

Anybody got any ideas?

is that shot could and should have easily been taken at ISO100-200.......NOT ISO1600. That was looking for trouble. Oh well........

--
Name the gear and I've probably owned it and used it.

 

[bclaff]

sorry, i just automatically posted the one i'd started on, heres the original. Also i'm getting similar kinds of noise even on much lower ISO's (around 640-500 even) ill try take some test shots tomorrow and add them to the thread. I understand that all camera's will have noise at 1600 ISO but some of the shots i've looked through have been just ridiculous amounts.

Looks underexposed. Snow is a good time to use + Exposure Compensation.

Under-exposure may have contributed to the hue shift.

What about this:





--
Bill ( Your trusted source for independent sensor data at PhotonsToPhotos )

 

[Boss of Sony]

sorry, i just automatically posted the one i'd started on, heres the original. Also i'm getting similar kinds of noise even on much lower ISO's (around 640-500 even) ill try take some test shots tomorrow and add them to the thread. I understand that all camera's will have noise at 1600 ISO but some of the shots i've looked through have been just ridiculous amounts.

This is slightly different colour to the cropped image you originally posted. It also has far less noise. The one you originally posted has obviously been edited.

In my opinion both look fine, although you could have zoomed in more to get more detail without cropping. Plus you could have dropped the shutter speed down to 1/250, giving you an ISO of 400. That's a fast enough shutter speed for a body with IBIS at that focal length and a bird that is simply walking.

DXO Photolab's prime NR will give you better noise levels/detail at the pixel level than Adobe Lightroom. I've seen enough examples posted on this forum to know that, plus I use DXO myself.

 

[RicksAstro]

I might be completely missing something obvious here or maybe just being picky, but i'm getting some really weird results with my a7iii. Many of the shots are quite noisy/grainy when looking at them at 1:1 and i cant figure it out. Seems worse in low light situations, but its not limited to low light. All of the shots have been taken in snow in pretty dynamic light conditions (very high arctic, first sunlight returning so long pastel twilights then bright sun etc).


f6.3, 282mm, 1/1000, ISO1600. Sony A7iii with Sony 100-400 GM

here's a sample, I can apply noise reduction in Lr but i lose so much detail it kind of kills it. Note this has already been cropped a bit so not a full size image.

Anybody got any ideas?

Looks like the "details" slider is up too high in the sharpening section of LR. I usually dial "details" all the way off if I'm going to crop a bit.

--
Rick Krejci

RicksAstro Astrophotography

 

[curlyone]

Hi, The Color Balance is faulty, too cool, needs to be warmed up a bit, sony cameras do have problems with AWB , sometimes, the Focus is off target ,mainly the birds head, use your center focus point, move it to where you want it to be , for subject like this, the bird was only walking, use a lower ISO ,most good programs can handle up to 2 stops under, with good results,

 

[Tristimulus]

Hi, The Color Balance is faulty, too cool, needs to be warmed up a bit, sony cameras do have problems with AWB

Very low sun - the light might actually be quite red...

Seems more a problem with under exposure (using higher ISOs are is actually similar to under exposing - ISO just boost the signal from the image sensor).

The shadow areas of the red channel is the noisier one. That is adding up here.

, sometimes, the Focus is off target ,mainly the birds head, use your center focus point, move it to where you want it to be , for subject like this, the bird was only walking, use a lower ISO ,most good programs can handle up to 2 stops under, with good results,

Agree - nothing can beat proper exposure, preferably with good white balance...

 

[DarcyD]

I am suffering the same thing.

Way way too much grain on shots at 1/3200 ISO 500.

And the background pixels seem to get clumpy forming unnatural artifact groupings.

I am so tired trying to blur out these digital artifacts with PS Blur tool.

Using SONY A7iii with 200-600 6.3-5.6 lens.

Shooting full Monty @ RAW and highest image quality

Shot the same scenes with my old Canon Rebel XTI at max sharpness and RAW Sad to say I prefer the image from my canon - very little grain.

Sony needs to admit there is a problem here and address it.

 

[bclaff]

Welcome to dpreview !

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Generally you may want to stick to more recent threads.