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Anyone any idea why the images on the S2950-60 etc. series of cameras are so noisy.
Whever taken in bright day light or low light the definition is obviously poor. A partial enlargement of the image reveals what looks almost like a special 'painterly' effect. Great if that's what your after, I'm not.
I recently realised that the image on the preview screen initially appears clearer, but then it seems that noise is actually added ?
I've generally been taking images in the SP mode for Landscapes, for 'Clear scenic shots' in the hope it meant chosing the smallest aperature (of the two available) It dosn't mention adding noise that looks like airborne worms !
What iso settings are you using? I would be surprised if this is a general problem, maybe you have a faulty camera or there is something wrong with your settings.
Have you tried using the camera in Aperture mode, rather than one of the programs?
Ian
Probably down to some sort of Automated noise reduction system, Unless you dictate the ISO, These type of camaeras on Auto or Semi Auto modes, Will generally use a higher than really required ISO setting, Try using the camera in " Full Manual Mode " for a week or two, Turn the NR off or set it to low, Dial in the lowest ISO you can get away with, Lets say ISO 100 or 200.
Use a combo of Apertuer & Shutter speeds to obtain the results you require, Then disect the resultant images.....!!!
Bottom line, The ISO performance of these cameras with Tiny sensors and a huge pixel count, Are always going to suffer from noise and other aberations, Compared to the larger sensors found in DSLR models of a similar pixel count.
Its really a case of buying or using a camera for a particular task, Or personal pursuasion, If you desire clean images in low light, You need a tool that will deliver that.
Its a bit like buying a motor car, When you really need a pickup truck, Compromises leading to limitations have to be made and you have to work within those compromises and or limitations.
Hi Guys,
thanks for the feed back. I generally use the lowest iso option and try to support the camera wherever possible, either on a tripod or bag/post etc. I've been using the SP landscape mode a lot because it seems to enable auto selection of additional apertures over those available by user selection. The hope being that a specific landscape mode would be biased towards smaller apertures. although the image I'm going to try and attach says it was shot at f4, so maybe not the best option after all. The smallest aperture (of the two available you can set) is f6.4. It just seems that even in Auto mode, the images have a lot more noise than an older 8meg Finepix F480 I use at work (Great little camera unless it's a bright day, then it wants sunglasses!)
I dont know what mode the attached image was taken in, but it's typical. F4, 70/sec
I can't see any noise in either of those.
. . . or am I missing something?
Have you added any sharpening to the picture, if so, you should always try to avoid sharpening the sky as this is the area where noise is most likely to show.
Make a selection of those areas that really need to be sharp and add unsharp mask to those areas only. In the very worst scenario you could try running the blur tool over the sky being careful to avoid going over important areas like that tree.
Even with the small sensor on this type of camera you should get noise free images if you stick to 100 or 200 ISO.
I didn't want to attach a cropped image as it would obscure the issue, but if you some in slightly them noise is really obvious and once your aware it's there it's obvious in the full size image.
It's pretty much straight out of the camera, I dont have any post processing software other than microsoft picture manager, so at most they will have had auto 'adjust'. As I said earlier I've recently realised, when looking at the preview screen, that noise appears to be added a second or so after the image initially appears.
I dont think I've made any sharpness adjustments in the camera settings, but who knows what helpfull name they've come up with for some clever little auto function, maybe thats what 'Clear landscapes' is doing. I'll have to read the instructions...
Isn't that Jpeg. artifacts caused by the compression and emphasised by the subsequent cropping rather than straightforward "noise?"
To be honest, I wouldn't expect any better if that's cropped from the above image.
If that crop is from the first photo you posted, then you are looking at the equivalent of an image nearly 1m across and looking at it from less than two feet. Given the sensor size that would be equivalent to blowing a APS-C image up to nearly 4 metres! Add to that the noise inherent in the smaller sensor of your camera, and this is unsurprising.
The very fact you can still discern the detail of the buildings shows how well the camera is doing.
The crop is from a different photo, but taken at the same time i.e under the same lighting conditions. The first photo, which was only posted by accident (hands full of thimbs), isn't affected to the same degree, the lack of cosistency is part of the problem and not something I've seen on crops from any compact camera I've used with similar sized sensors. It's auto doing something, I'm just not sure why or when other than the SP mode 'Clear scenic shots' may not be doing exactly what it says on the tin.
I was going to give up on it, only the one thing I've realised, while looking through my images for a worst case example that would show up well as an attachment, is that some very large crops of distant objects look like a Cezanne / Van Goh painting ! So thanks for the feedback guys but ignore my earlier comment re not wanting a painterly effect, I'm going to go searching for suitable subjects from now on, shoot wide and crop tight. You dont see many cameras for sale in this price bracket with a built in impressionist art function, fault, it's a bonus. Lomography, so last year.
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