newbie with noise issue on H3d11

[Tom Doherty]

Hi

I have just received a s/hand hasselblad h3d11 39 and am happy with the results. Coming from a canon where the skies were smooth to the hasselblad the files seem noisy in skies only this is at 50asa especially after a few movements in pshop and converting to B&W. Buildings etc don't have this issue.

Wondering if this is normal and whether there is a default amount of noise reduction commonly used in phocus for landscapes. Should I be outputting two files and painting the sky in with the NR file.

Tom

[John R Smith]

Tom

In my experience the Hasselblad implementation of the Kodak 39MP sensor is certainly prone to colour noise. This, of course, is something which is particularly noticeable in areas of plain blue sky, but the noise is there in the rest of the image too. Having said that, I find that when shooting at ISO 50, as you are, the files really are pretty good straight from the RAW. I do a lot of handheld stuff at ISO 200 and even 400 (in the winter) so then it becomes more tricky.

I do not use Phocus, so I can't comment on that, but I find the noise reduction in Lightroom 3 and higher to be really excellent at dealing with the colour noise. Usually an amount of 20 to 25 will remove it, with no effect on image quality other than a positive one. If you have a plain blue sky then mask it when sharpening, of course.

John

[design_freak]

Hi Tom,
I Put here scrennshot from Phocus. Please check this settings.

[Tom Doherty]

Hi Design Freak

Your screengrab shows noise settings at zero and sharpnes off which is what I would do but clarity at 53 which can make strange effects on the sky? Am I reading this correctly or could you please elaborate.

Tom

[Doug Peterson]

If you want the forums help with an issue like this you really need to post a screenshot or processed JPG for us to look at. If you have the technical ability and are ok with publicly posting a raw file that doesn't hurt either.

This post is sort of like calling a doctor and saying "I've got a rash, what do you think is the cause". Can some of the Hassy experts here help you based on your description? Probably. Can they do a much better job of helping you if you post a picture - absolutely.

[design_freak]

Hi Design Freak

Your screengrab shows noise settings at zero and sharpnes off which is what I would do but clarity at 53 which can make strange effects on the sky? Am I reading this correctly or could you please elaborate.

Tom

As Doug write, we will know more if we have a file. So I put this screenshot, because It could be something wrong with settings.( sharpnes, some changes in histogram, noise filter) There is many factors. You have right, clarity to 0.

[Tom Doherty]

ok Sorry about that.

This is a 100% crop  of what I mean. Settings are all zeroed. Then in pshop a B&W conversion with the blues darkened. I would like to produce dark, moody shots but the noise seems to become more apparent.


Tom

[John R Smith]

Tom

Yes, if you are darkening the blue channel then you are just asking for it I'm afraid. This is classic Hasselblad 39MP colour noise, I get this all the time. The better route is not to darken blue (by using a red filter, effectively), but to use a grad filter in Lightroom to darken the sky by reducing luminance, not blue. Apply the grad and reduce Brightness, not Exposure - this will leave the highlights in the clouds intact.

Even so, LR will pretty much deal with this level of colour noise provided that you are working directly on the 3FR RAW file, not a TIFF produced from Phocus. The noise reduction in LR is far more sophisticated than anything which Phocus offers.

John

[Tom Doherty]

John

Thanks for that. Will follow your advice and try lightroom though I have still to upgrade to latest version.

Tom