Natural light... and battling low light!

[pburness]

Try using lightroom 3.2 or above. You can download a trial from Adobe.com - the noise reduction is superb, it uses a mixture of luminance and colour to seriously improve things.

Phil

[KeithT]

When using window light only I rarely have the subject facing directly at it. In your situation above I would have used manual settings after taking a reading from shadow and highlight areas and set between the two.

[PolaroidSky]

Thanks for all the replies! Software is out of the question - too expensive!

@ KeithT - I metered as you suggest, spot metered in fact and my only issue is with the D200's handling of artefacts in that situation... it's falls away in the dark areas and mid ranges... I'd not have this issue with a D700 etc... but if I had a D700 I expect I would not eat for about 6 months haha!

[KeithT]

Right, I see. I have been trying to insert an image I took from Flickr, but having trouble doing so.

Here it is at last. Just window light.

[PolaroidSky]

Nice shot Keith!

Camera/Lens?...

For me, with my camera/lens the noise in the shaded area of the face would have been just awful even at 400 ISO...

It's a bone of contention for me as so many of my shoots are in low light scenario so at the expense of slow shutter and shooting wide open I also have to use higher ISO which ends up with soft images and lots of noise that make for bad prints... and I am already squeezing more than should be there from the camera.

I'm going to use film a lot more and shoot with 800/1600 ASA and hope next year brings a full framed DSLR (and a sweeeet lens) my way somehow haha!

[PolaroidSky]

Very low diffuse light through a window behind me (Through a net curtain!) and a light (Energy saver bulb) above.

18 - 70mm f3.5

f5

1/40th sec

ISO 500

Shot at f5 to get it a little sharper as wide open is SOFT with this lens.

[Eyeayen]

Originally Posted by PolaroidSky

Software is out of the question - too expensive!

No no no... Gimp is completely free, and although I don't have time now I'm sure if I spent as much time searching for Free Photo Noise Reduction Software on google as I do keeping up with the posts on here each evening I'd find something that cost me nothing and helped with the problem.

Free good software is out there, and it's often got some cool tricks in it that the 'Pro' spec progs miss. So waste an hour or 2 one night and find something that will help your cause, you have nothing to loose and everything to gain. It's FREE, what more could you ask for.

Failing that download a trial of one and use it for 30 days, when it runs out find another, there are always ways around these things and if it's going to help you sell images or whatever you need to do with them and not take money away from the D700 you're saving for it's got to be good

[PolaroidSky]

Oh, trust me MANY hours have been wasted looking for something that works (for free) and does not end up making the final image look like it's been smeared with grease... I tried Lightroom... found it awful... softens the image up awfully and the resulting prints look dreadful (To me). Other plug ins that have been suggested run over £60 each etc...

In the end I feel there is no substitute for a decent full frame sensor and the right glass. Or of course using film where this issue is and has never been a problem for me : )

Still saving for an F5 and a D700 ; )

[AndyStevens]

I used to use Neat Image for noise reduction - a freeby. It worked pretty well but that was a few years ago. I've just Googled and there is a free PS plug in from here

Might help while saving for the F5 or D700

[PolaroidSky]

Thanks for that Andy. Very cool and much appreciated : )