D300 High ISO NR setting

[brian_bahn]

<p>Took my new to me(used from Adorama) D300 to our friend's daughter's swim meet last night. Now I got the camera Wednesday and the 85 1.8 lens Thursday. So I literally had about an hour Wednesday to look over the quick guide to get to know the controls so I could at least get some shots. I switched from Oly so things are different.</p>

<p>Let me say this.....Wow......what a machine. Even after only two hours of using it I know I've made a big upgrade.</p>

<p>One question I have is what Noise Reduction setting have you folks found is best for High ISO? I used Aperture mode and set it to f2.0 to get a little more DOF than the 1.8....I was getting 1/320 to 1/400 shutter at 1600 so I was satisfied with that and I really wanted to see how 1600 looked on it. I am very happy with how they look for no PP or noise reduction software. I was confinedto the stands as well so the 85 would be great on the deck but still not bad from the stands.</p>

<p>Anyhow....I did notice when going through the settings the NR setting was at "standard" which I assume will steal a little sharpness. Should I set it to "Low"? What have you found to be optimal? I'm wondering if these could be a little sharper...I do realize some may be motion blur and also thin DOF.</p><div></div>

[brian_bahn]

<p>Wanted to add two others.</p><div></div>

[brian_bahn]

<p>Another...sorry forgot to do the multiple pic set up.</p><div></div>

[berg_na]

<p>I'm happy with the results I get with these settings: High ISO NR: Low and Long Expo NR: Off.</p>

[rarmstrong]

<p>Brian, under these conditions I'd recommend the High iso NR be at low or off. With a fast lens like you are using and the good lighting at the pool you should get some very clean shots up to iso 800 and then you will begin to notice a bit of noise at 1600, but not bad. It is an amazing camera...enjoy it!<br>

Dick</p>

[scott_pogorelc]

<p>Do you intend to do any post-processing of your images or are you an out-of-the-camera JPG kind of guy? I would highly recommend shooting raw and using a good raw converter. I tend to shoot a lot of sports and use ISO quite a bit. With the D300 I have taken shots at ISO 3200 that I was able to make look pretty good just using the luminance correction in Adobe Camera Raw + little sharpening. Same goes for shots taken at even higher ISOs with my D700. With modest effort the improvement can be quite noticeable. As others have noted, the D300 is a great camera and is well-suited for this type of use. Enjoy.</p>

 

[brian_bahn]

<p>Scott,<br>

I actually shot both JPEG and RAW with these. If I know I'll have the card space I usually do that so I have both options. Eventually when I settle on what NoiseWare and PP software(NX2 most likely) I will shoot mostly RAW.</p>

[hamish_gray]

<p>I would go with the advice you got from Richard here. With that lens you should get fantastic shots without having to pump the ISO up all that much. Shoot RAW + jpeg to begin with and if you are unhappy with the jpegs then you can use post prosessing software to reduce the noise until you are happy. I see that the images you have posted are all ISO 1600. At this ISO, using the D300, with PP software you should be able to remove all visible noise without any trouble. Your images will be very satisfying with the right prosessing!<br /><br />Good luck <br /><br />Hamish</p>

 

[hamish_gray]

<p>for some reason my original posting came twice... I have deleted the 2nd... but this text is the replacement.<br /><br />Hamish</p>

[nsfbr]

<p>Bah to in camera noise reduction. I keep them both off even at 3200. I selectively apply NR in CNX2 to low information areas and especially out of focus ones. In doing so, I also make use of the ability to change the effect from being applied to all aspects to concentrated on the chroma noise. </p>

<p>Of course if you shoot jpegs as your primary output or use another PP tool this may not apply.</p>

[bruce_margolis]

<p>I also shoot RAW with the D300 and keep NR turned off. If I need it -- which sometimes happens at ISO 1600 and definitely at 3200 -- I either use the controls in NX2 or Noiseware. </p>

<p>But I gotta agree with you, this is one heck of a camera at ISO 1600.</p>

[brian_bahn]

<p>This brings up a good question. I am currently deciding on a PP program. I did the trial version of Elements 7 and I did liek it and intended to get it but about that tiem I decided to switch systems and go Nikon.<br>

Now I am considering Capture NX2...so are you saying NX2 has at least some level of noise reduction ability? If so I would definitely liek that. I realize it probably wouldn't be as good as dedicated NR software like Noiseware or Noise Ninja.</p>

[scott_pogorelc]

<p>Here is a shot taken under high school stadium lighting last fall with my D300. Image is from a raw capture processed in ACR with some sharpening in PS. Although I have Noise Ninja, I did not feel the need to use here.</p><div></div>

[scott_pogorelc]

<p>Here is another example taken with a D700 @ ISO 3600. Understandably not a fair comparison, however, assuming the D700 is about a stop better, this would be in the ballpark of ISO 1600 on the D300. Again, raw capture, 50% luminance noise reduction and some sharpening in PS.</p><div></div>

[nsfbr]

<p>Brian, yes, CNX2 has noise reduction capabilities. It is a full featured editing program plus RAW conversion that is unequaled. I have Photoshop but I can't actually remember the last time I opened it. I haven't upgraded it since CS. </p>

 

[andre_noble5]

<p>I've shot my Nikon D300 at ASA 6400, and run the resulting RAW files through DxO Labs 5.3 processing software. </p>

<p>The DxO is very effective at removing 97% the noise at ISO 6400, I've made some professional 5x7's and 8x10's from the Nikon D300 at 6400.</p>

[rayyeager]

<p>Took this shot in a gym with terrible lighting. My D300 with the 50mm F1.8 worked rather well at 3200. Ran it through Noise Ninja, but results were OK without. But when I tried my 70-200mm F2.8, I had to bump to 6400 and the results were much worse ... Ray.</p><div></div>