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Author Topic: Noise about Noise  (Read 2116 times)

spotmeter

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Noise about Noise
« on: June 03, 2008, 12:25:21 am »

In his article on noise and resolution, Mark Segal uses a Canon 24-105 zoom lens for a resolution test between the Canon 1Ds and 1Ds3, and finds very little apparent difference between the two cameras.

I wonder if that is a result of the limitations of the lens?

It seems to me that if you want to examine the resolution of different cameras, it would make more sense to use a prime lens that is well-known for its sharpness, such as the Canon 135L, Canon 200 2.8L II, or the new Zeiss ZF primes.
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Mark D Segal

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Noise about Noise
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2008, 01:17:00 am »

Quote
In his article on noise and resolution, Mark Segal uses a Canon 24-105 zoom lens for a resolution test between the Canon 1Ds and 1Ds3, and finds very little apparent difference between the two cameras.

I wonder if that is a result of the limitations of the lens?

It seems to me that if you want to examine the resolution of different cameras, it would make more sense to use a prime lens that is well-known for its sharpness, such as the Canon 135L, Canon 200 2.8L II, or the new Zeiss ZF primes.
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In principle you raise a good point, but my copy of this lens happens to be "tack-sharp". As well, the main interest here is a comparison between f/stops and cameras, hence under the circumstances seems to me eminently suitable for comparative purposes. The results are consistent with expectations - there is good technical discussion of this effect over at www.cambridgeincolour.com. I think these results should also be of practical interest to the many people who rely on such zoom lenses for much of their work.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
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dwdallam

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Noise about Noise
« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2008, 02:58:51 am »

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In principle you raise a good point, but my copy of this lens happens to be "tack-sharp". As well, the main interest here is a comparison between f/stops and cameras, hence under the circumstances seems to me eminently suitable for comparative purposes. The results are consistent with expectations - there is good technical discussion of this effect over at www.cambridgeincolour.com. I think these results should also be of practical interest to the many people who rely on such zoom lenses for much of their work.
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Do you think shooting a persons face using dramatic light to dark lighting instead of a building would make a difference?
« Last Edit: June 03, 2008, 02:59:16 am by dwdallam »
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Mark D Segal

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Noise about Noise
« Reply #3 on: June 03, 2008, 09:39:50 am »

Doug - no I don't. Based on my experience using this camera since it first hit the market last November, photographing quite a range of subject matter including many images of my grandchildren, some under indoor lighting conditions, I think the test image I put-up in that article embeds a fair range of imaging conditions - I think the sky (if not too dark) and skin tend to display evidence of noise quite similarly if under-exposed. Also you know, a bit of noise in sky and skin is very easily handled with a mild dose of selective noise reduction. One reduces noise selectively in Noise Ninja using the brush, or in Noiseware by noise-reducing a duplicate image layer, adding an inverted layer mask and using the paint brush set for white to reveal only those noise-reduced areas you wish.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
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