DPP Moire Reduction Hurts 5D3 IQ
jmphotocraft
Registered Users Posts: 2,987 Major grins
Something is amiss here. I was out shooting a town skyline scene with my 5D2 and 5D3 to do a little comparison. Nothing special, just a test shot. Here is the scene:
When I saw the results I became very nervous that something was wrong with my 5D3 or that I was just going to have to live with a downgrade in ultimate IQ in exchange for the AF and fps and high ISO.
Apparently, the new DPP does not apply the moire reduction to 5D2 files (or it does so very differently), and what it does to 5D3 files is not good. You can turn this off in DPP Preferences by selecting "High Speed", but this also turns of noise reduction.
Here are 100% crops of the 5D3 image illustrating the difference:
Moire Reduction off:
Moire Reduction on:
The image with the MR off looks like the 5D2 image I took. This was shot at ISO 100, so there would be no NR anyway.
It is even detectable at 50% view:
off:
on:
Hopefully Canon will address this in the next patch of DPP. Maybe they can provide a way to turn MR off but leave NR on? Or just fix the darn thing altogether!
Above shots taken with 70-200/2.8II at f/8.
When I saw the results I became very nervous that something was wrong with my 5D3 or that I was just going to have to live with a downgrade in ultimate IQ in exchange for the AF and fps and high ISO.
Apparently, the new DPP does not apply the moire reduction to 5D2 files (or it does so very differently), and what it does to 5D3 files is not good. You can turn this off in DPP Preferences by selecting "High Speed", but this also turns of noise reduction.
Here are 100% crops of the 5D3 image illustrating the difference:
Moire Reduction off:
Moire Reduction on:
The image with the MR off looks like the 5D2 image I took. This was shot at ISO 100, so there would be no NR anyway.
It is even detectable at 50% view:
off:
on:
Hopefully Canon will address this in the next patch of DPP. Maybe they can provide a way to turn MR off but leave NR on? Or just fix the darn thing altogether!
Above shots taken with 70-200/2.8II at f/8.
-Jack
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
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14-24 24-70 70-200mm (vr2)
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The problem in DPP is that in order to have NR, MR must also be on. I'm going to contact Canon about this.
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
Aw, nuts. Canon, you guys just didn't make the time to review or use your own software before release? Almost unforgivable. Please fix DPP viewing and 16-bit TIFF output ASAP.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
As usual, Canon rushes to market with a product that winds up needing a firmware / software update. Nothing new! Still an amazing camera and, barring anything as catastrophic as the 5D mk1 mirror
=Matt=
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
Sounds right to me. With the off setting you seem to get a good result in what, with my equipment, would be an impossible shot. Why switch MR on when you can expect a reduction in IQ?
Still I am glad you pros bang on about this to Canon. Like any new camera we can expect some updates as time goes by. At this price I expect perfection
Canon has today updated their DPP with the promised corrections to allow .CR2 files made with the 5D3 to display properly, and hopefully sharper than they were a month ago (disclosure: I don't yet have a 5D3 and can't test this).
The preferences dialog has also changed back to allow the same configurations as in previous versions.
DPP display and editing preferences, a month ago, introduced with 5D3, in the box.
newest DPP, April 19, 2012, v.3.11.26, available for download now at Canon USA site.
I have downloaded it, and can report that the DLO (Digital Lens Optimization) feature works wonders on two of my four lenses that are supported in this package. My 10-22 EF-S benefits the most. The .CR2 file sizes will about double when using it, and that's a bummer. I will only use it on my selected keeper images because of that.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
I can confirm they've fixed it.
5D3 100% crops, reprocessed in DPP 3.11.26:
moire reduction ON:
OFF:
The "off" picture is 179 KB larger, but I don't think I see any difference.
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
My lenses are good so I don't worry about it too much. I think it makes a bigger difference for older and/or cheaper lenses. At least that's what Sir Ken Rockwell says. DPP applies DLO by default for all supported lenses, which mine are. It seems to work well yet unobtrusively. It doesn't seem like a game changer for me, but I am not a pixel peeper either.
I think it works in DPP for all Canon DSLRs though, so I think all you have to do to try it for yourself is download and install the latest DPP.
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
DLO is amazing, but it doesn't work by default. You need to manually run it. You might be thinking instead of the feature where some newer cams, like the 7D, have a lens distortion, aberrations and anti-vignetting feature (for supported Canon lenses) that you can choose to toggle in the cam, and thus, is supported by DPP as the image is opened in DPP. DLO is a new beast altogether.
Each of the supported lenses must have the user download each lens data package (they don't ship with DPP). Once installed, the corrections are available with the DLO tab if one wants. I have only two lenses that are supported so far, the 70-200 f/4 L IS and the EF-s 10-22. Both are great lenses, but when DLO is run, the result is nothing less than if one waved a 14-24G through the images. Really, it is that good. Corners are magically sharper. I only use it on keeper images as the CR2 file doubles in size. But what we've found is that once a final TIFF or JPEG is created from the RAW, you can reverse out the DLO image data from the file and it shrinks back to the original big size it began as.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
Once you've saved the JPEG or TIFF from the final RAW image, you can optionally go back into the DLO module and uncheck the action and re-save, thus shrinking the RAW file back down to semi-managable size.
Caveats: DLO will only work on full sized CR2 files. RAW file sizes double unless you reverse the process. The list of lenses supported is a small sample of Canon's offerings. Luckily, DLO is backward compatible back to the 30D days - a big bonus. DPP and DLO is free. Ver. 3.11.26 is the current version.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky