Why I Usually Don't See Noise as a Problem

Sunday 6 November 2022, 15:51 by Yljas Roeper | 4,088 views | 13 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

In the photography groups I mainly belong to on Facebook, I regularly come across questions about excessive noise.

One of the tips often given is to shoot at lower ISO settings next time. That way, you can prevent as much noise as possible. But is noise really such a big problem?

When I ask some more questions, it often turns out that people edit a photo at 100%. That is like sitting with your nose against a billboard, because you are looking at the photo in detail.

But is that also how people eventually look at the photo? Generally not. With that in mind, noise is not really such a problem to me, up to a certain point.

This first image is a crop of the photo shown below. It is a photo I took in the post office of Museum Het Schip in Amsterdam. The photo was taken with a Fuji X-T3 at ISO 3200. This crop clearly shows noise that is even distracting to me.

For this article, I reduced the photo of the post office to 800 pixels on its longest side. The red frame shows which part you can see in the crop.

Those 800 pixels on the longest side are a standard used on Photofacts for portrait photos. That is larger than the size at which the photo is displayed on my 24-inch screen in my Facebook timeline.

In this view, the noise is actually no longer visible, let alone distracting. Imagine what the effect would be if you saw the photo at postage-stamp size on a smartphone.

The same applies to prints. How often is your photo printed at poster size? And even if that happens, do you as the viewer stand with your nose right up against it, or do you take a step back? Exactly!

As photographers, we often look at photos more closely and differently from the average viewer. We pay attention to the use of composition, light, white balance and things like noise, so these stand out to us more. An average viewer will notice those things much less. They simply think a photo is beautiful. Or not.

Of course, I also try to take photos that are as beautiful and sharp as possible, with all the elements working as well as they can. At the same time, in my humble opinion, noise is not nearly as much of an issue as some fellow photographers would have us believe.

Am I alone in thinking this, or can you see where I am coming from? I would be interested to know.

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About the author

Houdt zich onder de naam Ytos Photography bezig met diverse vormen van fotografie. Geeft lezingen over fotograferen in Marokko en flitsen en organiseert regelmatig fotoreizen naar Marokko. Post af en toe op Instagram, maar is vooral actief op Facebook.

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13 comments

guest wrote on Sunday 6 November 2022 at 22:53 | reply
Well, it's true. (Martin here) We photographers generally get too hung up on details that don't matter at all. I sometimes call that the EosDigitaal syndrome. For the average viewer, our audience, the moment and the subject are especially important, and how it was photographed doesn't matter at all.
Translated from Dutch.

Mac wrote on Tuesday 8 November 2022 at 08:00 | reply
Totally agree.
it seems as if people often don't look at photos, but are looking for mistakes (or something that could be better).
Translated from Dutch.

A.Maas wrote on Tuesday 8 November 2022 at 10:58 | reply
What Mac wrote is definitely an important remark. I never do any post-processing myself, I frame carefully and that is the photo nothing more nothing less! And noise, just like grain in the old days, is part of it!
Translated from Dutch.

Jean-Pierre wrote on Tuesday 8 November 2022 at 11:07 | reply
Photos shouldn't be judged at 400% view.... Usually noise isn't a problem, so don't make it one
Translated from Dutch.

Geurt van Dijk wrote on Tuesday 8 November 2022 at 11:57 | reply
I completely agree with you regarding distracting noise, but a high ISO value also produces washed-out colors and a smaller dynamic range. So there are multiple reason to still keep the ISO under control.
Translated from Dutch.

P. Heins wrote on Tuesday 8 November 2022 at 13:54 | reply
Totally agree, Noise is not a problem to a certain extent. Just as you say, how often is your photo printed in poster size. Just like with sharpness. A photo should of course be sharp,but how sharp.I don't need to see every wrinkle ,moustache hair, or pimple in a photo. As long as the eyes are sharp and the overall picture is right. So there's nothing wrong with photographing with somewhat older cameras and L lenses. And it's affordable while you still have professional gear.
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 8 November 2022 at 13:55 | reply
@Geurt:

Setting an ISO deliberately means keeping the ISO under control. Even if you choose a high ISO, you have it under control.
I think you mean keeping the ISO low instead of under control. However, keeping the ISO low can mean that you simply can't take some photos.
Translated from Dutch.

Gemma wrote on Tuesday 8 November 2022 at 14:05 | reply
I try to photograph with as little noise as possible, but if I want to enlarge a detail, I approach it differently beforehand.
Translated from Dutch.

Jaap wrote on Tuesday 8 November 2022 at 15:57 | reply
I think it depends very much on the photo and indeed what it is intended for.

Funny that there is an article below:

How can you avoid and reduce noise in your photos?

by Huub Keulers

I think that says enough, often no problem, sometimes it is.
Translated from Dutch.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 8 November 2022 at 22:45 | reply
I agree with your argument, Yljas. There is, however, a 'but' for me in the argument. I pay attention to the ISO value at which noise starts to appear that I find distracting. That of course depends on the camera. A few weeks ago I switched from a DSLR (crop camera) to a mirrorless camera (crop camera). I have established that my previous DSLR already started showing distracting noise at ISO 800 when viewed at 50%, especially in areas that are uniform in colour. With the mirrorless camera I am now using, no distracting noise is yet visible at an ISO value of 6400 when viewed at 100%.
I only want to say that the occurrence of noise also depends mainly on the camera being used. So if someone is bothered by noise, my message is: lower the ISO value (camera on a tripod at slow shutter speeds) or buy a new body that can handle higher ISO values better.
Translated from Dutch.

Ytos wrote on Wednesday 9 November 2022 at 10:04 | reply
Thanks for the mostly positive responses. I read something about grain, and although I have never really photographed analog, something has definitely changed in terms of light sensitivity. Whereas in the past a roll of 400 ASA was already something special, an ISO value of more than 10,000 is no longer unusual. Although you can wonder whether that is still realistic. In addition, grain is and remains something different from noise, of course.

Donald’s story makes me think of the release of the Sony Alpha 100. I believe that even at ISO 100 it already had distracting noise, so to speak. Obviously, when setting your ISO value, you should therefore always know what your camera can and cannot handle.

Finally, as far as I’m concerned, it is also the case that taking a photo is sometimes a choice between two "evils". If shutter speed and aperture are already at their limits, you either choose an ISO value that produces more noise than desired. Or you don’t take the photo.
Translated from Dutch.

Jaap wrote on Wednesday 9 November 2022 at 13:09 | reply
A serious alternative to another camera, if you would do that only for noise, is software. There are quite a few packages that reduce noise. I’ve had very good experiences with Topaz Denoise myself. Especially color noise disappears in a magical way.
But even with the Sony Alpha 100 I took a great many photos without visible noise.
Translated from Dutch.

kok.f@ziggo.nl wrote on Wednesday 9 November 2022 at 13:52 | reply
In many responses it is rather sweeping. Whether noise is 'distracting' is highly subjective. It also makes a difference whether you view a photo on a small or large screen, or whether you are looking at a (large) print. There are also more reasons as mentioned above to keep your ISO as low as possible. For me, (extremely) increasing the ISO is therefore the last resort in the exposure triangle.
Translated from Dutch.

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