I think I have a problem with my d300s

Foques

Good day.

Its been bugging me for a while, and now I caved in on placing a question.

when I take a picture, (it is especially notable on the low light shots) I see some sort of spots and dots at 100% crop.

Basically, picture is not crisp.

here, the noise can be seen right on the body of the guitar :
due to the size, i'll keep them not embedded.

Shot at f/6.3
1/2000
400 ISO
Flash firing from the left.
http://foquesphoto.com/photos/806223919_UdgLj-X3.jpg

Here, the noise can be seen on the neck.
Shot at f/8
1/1250
400 ISO
flash firing from the right, obviously
http://foquesphoto.com/photos/806224494_sUZzG-X3.jpg

and, the last one.
Can be seen on the body of the flash light.
shot at f/5.6
10/16
400 ISO
http://foquesphoto.com/photos/806224764_LM4Pz-X3.jpg
Was shot on tripod.

All three pictures were shot with Tamron 17-50.

Any help? ideas?
Is it me doing something wrong? is it the sensor?

and can anyone tell me how to post the originals here? I don't have a server... but could email..

ziggy53

I am not seeing any undue noise on a Mag CRT 17" monitor.

If the file out of the camera was at all dark, then any image adjustments would exaggerate noise, especially visible in dark regions of the image.

If you are using a SmugMug account (it would appear so), the easiest is to log into your account, choose (click) an image from the thumbnails, hover the mouse cursor over the larger image, choose "Original" from the pullout selection that appears, right-mouse-click on that image and select "Open in New Window" or similar.

That should open a new window and now you just copy the link address at the top of the browser.

There are other ways but that way works best for me and is easiest to convey.

Foques

thank you for the tip Ziggy.
these pictures are not altered - straight out of camera.

here is one http://foquesphoto.com/Other/My-SmugMug-Site-Files-Do-Not/9087904_4e8o9#806224494_sUZzG-O-LB

and another

http://foquesphoto.com/Other/My-SmugMug-Site-Files-Do-Not/9087904_4e8o9#806224764_LM4Pz-O-LB

ziggy53

I'm not seeing anything too unusual. There is some slight grain that I believe is normal for a Nikon D300S at ISO 400 and I do not find it objectionable.

I suggest that you try printing at large size, or alternately crop to a 4" x 6" at 100 percent and print that, and use the print to determine if you have a problem.

Foques

oh wow.. Thats odd. I thought that this camera should perform well up to 3500 ISO, and start losing quality from there.
I will try what you suggested.

insanefred

The noise that I am seeing is normal for the D300s.
One common complaints of the D300 is that it doesn't do so well against other cameras at lower ISO's. The only things I'd suggest is, using some NR in post. If you're shooting raw use something like C1 or CNX2 as they treat NEF's better than many other raw processors like Adobe.

Photometric

CaptureNX2 is great for noise reduction. Are your noise reduction capabilities in camera turned on?

insanefred

Photometric wrote:

CaptureNX2 is great for noise reduction. Are your noise reduction capabilities in camera turned on?

In camera high ISO NR won't effect the photos till ISO 800 and higher.

CNX2 NR is outdated pr say, they're are better choices. NX does give the least noise to begin with, however.

Photometric

What is a better choice for NR while we're on the topic?

Obviously, the best NR is to use ISO 200 for product shoots such as these...but there are times when you have to go with higher ISO's, so what can be recommended as a better option?

Qarik

I really don't see any "spots" or noise in these photos.

insanefred

Photometric wrote:

What is a better choice for NR while we're on the topic?

Obviously, the best NR is to use ISO 200 for product shoots such as these...but there are times when you have to go with higher ISO's, so what can be recommended as a better option?

Noiseware, Noise ninja, and Dfine. Just to name a few.

Qarik wrote:

I really don't see any "spots" or noise in these photos.

There is too much noise for product shots. I can already tell you that all the photos would be rejected from many stock photography sites.

Foques

I am using noiseware.
But I want to learn taking crisp shots, and thus need to figure out what is causing the noise.

fred, any ideas or recommendations?

jdorseydesign

Foques wrote:

I am using noiseware.
But I want to learn taking crisp shots, and thus need to figure out what is causing the noise.

fred, any ideas or recommendations?

You don't happen to have AUTO-ISO turned on do you?

Foques

I thought about it.
But, no.

can active d lighting cause that?

insanefred

Foques wrote:

I thought about it.
But, no.

can active d lighting cause that?

ADL can cause some extra noise in the shadows.

Foques wrote:

I am using noiseware.
But I want to learn taking crisp shots, and thus need to figure out what is causing the noise.

fred, any ideas or recommendations?

Expose properly
use the lowest ISO possible, if your subject is static and shutter speeds are a problem, use a tripod.
turn ADL off (if you shoot jpeg or use any Nikon software)
Use a proper aperture, to get the appropriate sharpness and DoF.
Shoot raw
Use something like C1 or CNX2 for the lowest noise
adjust your lighting

those are just a few things to get yourself started.

Capture one trail download:
http://xchange.phaseone.com/Content/EshopMenu.aspx

Capture NX2 trail download:
http://www.capturenx.com/en/index.html

Svennie

Did you try a different lens? For example a 50mm1.4 or 1.8? These are very sharp lenses, like most primes. The difference between my 85mm1.8 and el cheapo 70-300 is huge

angevin1

Foques wrote:

Good day.

Its been bugging me for a while, and now I caved in on placing a question.

when I take a picture, (it is especially notable on the low light shots) I see some sort of spots and dots at 100% crop.

Basically, picture is not crisp.

here, the noise can be seen right on the body of the guitar :
due to the size, i'll keep them not embedded.

Shot at f/6.3
1/2000
400 ISO
Flash firing from the left.
http://foquesphoto.com/photos/806223919_UdgLj-X3.jpg

Here, the noise can be seen on the neck.
Shot at f/8
1/1250
400 ISO
flash firing from the right, obviously
http://foquesphoto.com/photos/806224494_sUZzG-X3.jpg

and, the last one.
Can be seen on the body of the flash light.
shot at f/5.6
10/16
400 ISO
http://foquesphoto.com/photos/806224764_LM4Pz-X3.jpg
Was shot on tripod.

All three pictures were shot with Tamron 17-50.

Any help? ideas?
Is it me doing something wrong? is it the sensor?

and can anyone tell me how to post the originals here? I don't have a server... but could email..

No offense...but I don't see noise in these or the orig.'s...You're going to have to step yo game up if you want to produce some real noise!:D

You complained that they weren't crisp....agreed with another poster..try a better lens...Also, take a photo of organic matter...portrait of a person for instance.

Foques

will do.
thank you.