Doubt and Distrust

I really enjoy the lighting here and the fact that the little pup has such a wonderful expression on its face. Good harmonious colors as well

Hey Brad, good to see you back here! I think I like this one best of your series of these seals. Not only is this an interesting image from an animal behaviour POV, but it is also an attractive image to view. Moreover as a result of the three different colors of the subjects, all lit nicely against that dark BG. Ideally the eye of the right subject would be visible, but we all know how difficult it is to shoot multiple subjects and get them all to be in the desired pose.

What amazes me about this is the story you haven't told about the camera and lens! High ISO and -1.0 EV stop and not a nit of noise bringing it up to snuff! I want me one of them there rigs!

Welcome to NPN, Brad! Another fine image in a long line of images of these sea lions. Regarding Phil's comment about lack of noise, do you use noise reduction at all? If so, what do you use? Could you let us in on a few 'tricks'?

Hey Ajit,

Thanks for the warm welcome...I had heard this was a friendly place...

You asked a few questions: "...do you use noise reduction at all? If so, what do you use? Could you let us in on a few 'tricks'?"

So...my answers: No. Nothing, No. And I'm KIDDING.

Right now I rarely do any noise reduction beyond that during raw conversion - and in most cases only very lightly there. For instance, on this shot there I had the noise reduction settings on my favourite raw converter (Capture One Pro by Phase One) setting to almost zero. But it was a very clean capture. However on real high ISO shots (such as this shot at ISO 10,000), I use "slightly higher than default" noise reduction settings during raw conversion. And even then I do it selectively - and in that ISO 10,000 example it was on the background only.

Historically I used to use Noise Ninja occasionally (again selectively, and again almost always on backgrounds only). But since I started using a D3s and then a D4 I found that there was really no need for that software (those cameras have amazing high ISO performance, and the noise reduction on Capture One Pro has improved a lot as well).

In this discussion there is an elephant in the room. Discussing ONLY the software enabling the production of clean high ISO shots ignores half the equation - the hardware part.Trust me when I say I truly hate getting into the Canon vs. Nikon thing (almost as much as the Mac vs. PC thing), but there is a bit of an asymmetry right now with respect to hardware capabilities (if you are comparing high ISO performance). Simply put, those using current full-frame Nikons DO have an advantage in ISO performance over those using full-frame Canons. Don't get me wrong - the Canons are awfully good too. And the new 1D-X is very good. But if you're shooting a D3s or D4 you have a leg up on everyone else in ISO performance. This obviously could change real fast, but it's the current reality.

These comments come after shooting side-by-side with many Canon shooters and then sitting around a table processing images together. And, there's a whole lot more to a good camera than just ISO performance!

Just trying to give you an honest response - absolutely NOT trying to offend anyone or criticize their equipment choice.

Cheers...

Brad

Thanks, Brad, for that very honest, as always, reply. I bought a Canon 5D Mlll a few months back, and it is amazingly good in low light situations, and, like you, I need to use noise reduction only on the bg. I have just bought the 1DX and have not yet tested it in the field, something I'll be doing this week, and I'm very excited. Thank you, once again.