Canon 1000d Noise?

chaz46

chaz46

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Charlie
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Evening all,

I had been a while since I last had the camera out but over the last few weeks I have been doing a lot more. One thing I am noticing though, is how noisy the images are up at the higher ISO levels. I'm using a Canon 1000d at the moment and would love to upgrade but unfortunately student funds don't really allow for that. I suppose my question is, is it possible that the noise at ISO 1600 has got worse over the years I have owned the camera...or am I just becoming more critical?

Thanks for your help.

Charlie
 
I don't see how noise could get worse unless you updated the firmware and the newer firmware somehow results in more noise. Outside of that, the only explanation for increased noise now would be an accumulation of dirt (for want of a better word) on the sensor -- might be better to think of a coating of grime. That would bring in questions about how and where it was stored when not in use.

I doubt if you do have more noise though. It might seem like it, but I'd advise looking to conditions, especially at this time of year. It's likely you are comparing images taken round about now with shots taken during the brighter summer months when there was more light. Hard to be scientific without more data. The difference in ambient light levels between summer and early spring is massive though.

P.S. Higher ISO doesn't always result in significantly more noise. If it's relatively bright, a relatively high ISO will produce less noise than it would if you were shooting at the same ISO in lower light. Seems obvious but worth considering.
 
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Hi Charlie,
I have never heard of noise becoming more intrusive as a camera ages, but have you changed the program in which you process the images? It is also quite possible that you are becoming more critical, as we are mostly the worst critics of our own work.
There is also a possibility that you have changed your workflow to the detriment of your output. For instance attempting to remove noise after sharpening can result in a poorer final result.
 
Gortch said:
I don't see how noise could get worse unless you updated the firmware and the newer firmware somehow results in more noise. Outside of that, the only explanation for increased noise now would be an accumulation of dirt (for want of a better word) on the sensor -- might be better to think of a coating of grime. That would bring in questions about how and where it was stored when not in use.

I doubt if you do have more noise though. It might seem like it, but I'd advise looking to conditions, especially at this time of year. It's likely you are comparing images taken round about now with shots taken during the brighter summer months when there was more light. Hard to be scientific without more data. The difference in ambient light levels between summer and early spring is massive though.

P.S. Higher ISO doesn't always result in significantly more noise. If it's relatively bright, a relatively high ISO will produce less noise than it would if you were shooting at the same ISO in lower light. Seems obvious but worth considering.
Click to expand...


No, no and no.

Grime on a sensor will not increase the noise. Ambient light level does not affect the noise. Shooting at a higher ISO will always increase the noise.

The sensor and the related electronics will degrade over time, thermal effects, effect of radiation on the sensor causing semiconductor changes etc.

ISO is slang for pixel amplifier gain. Increase the gain and you amplify the signal and the noise of the sensor and add the noise of the amplifier. All amplifiers add noise, higher gain, more noise. The noise present in the sensor and added by the amp is completely independent of light level.

However, people don't really see noise, they see areas of poor signal to noise ratio. A sensor is equally noisy all over, but it's only seen in the blacks where the signal level is low.

Have you changed your workflow? Gone from jpeg to raw? Etc.
 
Thank you for the quick responses, it's really appreciated - also learning quite a lot about what is the root cause of noise.

To answer some questions, I store the camera indoors in a camera bag when its not in use. I am afraid the workflow has stayed pretty consistent, same PP software, same sort of tweaks etc.

I am using a different monitor so this may add to some form of explanation, nonetheless the photos do seem particularly noisy for the maximum of ISO 1600. I will put an example up to see if it is something out of the norm or I am just being picky....

Thanks again, I appreciate it.
 
Here is an example shot at ISO 1600 f/1.8

 
I reckon you've nowt to worry about. Admittedly I am viewing this on an uncalibrated laptop, but it seems clean to me.
 
Could it be the more of your pictures have areas of plain colour so the noise is more noticeable than before?
 
Charlie, given that it's your camera's highest ISO setting it looks perfectly normal to me.
I notice from a quick google, that by default the 1000d has the high ISO noise reduction turned off; from your EXIF data yours is turned off I think.
I also noticed that a few of your shots on flickr -e.g. the sheep- are a bit underexposed. If you're lightening shots in PP it'll make any noise more obvious.
 
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I have owned and used a 1000D for a few years now, and noise only becomes a 'problem' when shooting long exposures in low levels of light. More expensive, high end cameras, handle high ISOs much better, but noise can be acceptable under certain shooting conditions.
Enjoy your 1000D, Chas, it's a great camera.
 
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