Noise on Canon 7DMkii: I took this shot this morning. The first 2 are cropped from the complete shot shown in picture three. These heads have been processed identically except for No 1...

brianmen Loc: Sydney Australia

I took this shot this morning. The first 2 are cropped from the complete shot shown in picture three.
These heads have been processed identically except for No 1 which has Topaz light noise reduction applied. You are welcome to form your own opinion on how the new camera is on noise. The setting was ISO6400 2000sec f9
The full bird had more processing and I upped Topaz noise reduction to moderate and took out that annoying branch running into the head.

With noise reduction

(Download)

No noise reduction

(Download)

Mr Magnificent him or her self

(Download)

Joe F.N. Loc: Oshawa, Ontario

Your last shot is the stunning one in this set Brian. I know you're still testing this camera but soon you'll settle down and use it for the great photography tool it's designed to be. In the mean time, test away. Glad you got one.

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

Your last shot is great Brian.

Dick Z. Loc: Downers Grove IL

brianmen wrote:

I took this shot this morning. The first 2 are cropped from the complete shot shown in picture three.
These heads have been processed identically except for No 1 which has Topaz light noise reduction applied. You are welcome to form your own opinion on how the new camera is on noise. The setting was ISO6400 2000sec f9
The full bird had more processing and I upped Topaz noise reduction to moderate and took out that annoying branch running into the head.

Your third shot looks good to me but the more you crop the more noise you get. Why did you use such a high ISO and such a high shutter speed? 800 or so ISO would be more than efficient. A 200th or 300th shutter speed is all you would need for a shot like that. Many cameras a few years back only had a TOP shutter speed of 1/1000 of a second.
I'm sure some other birders will give you more information.
I like your shots though even with the slight grain.

brianmen Loc: Sydney Australia

I had the camera set for BIF shots when these guys came along and did not change the settings.

brianmen Loc: Sydney Australia

Thank you for the feedback. I am putting another three poses up shortly of the other bird that was there.

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

They look pretty good on my cell phone, Brian. A bit of noise is to be expected at 6400, of course, but this is less than I would have thought there'd be. I am gonna have to try topaz denoise. I like the third one's simple yet elegant composition.

How do you see the noise with your new camera compared to whatever you had (or have) before? In another thread, some Canon fanbois gushed that it was God's greatest gift to man.

brianmen Loc: Sydney Australia

Thanks Joe. I am basically through testing now and into it. Extremely pleased with the moving focus speed, I just have to remember to set the correct distance of the three on the lens switch. All good fun.

brianmen Loc: Sydney Australia

Thanks. I thinks its better than my 5DMkiii. I am more than happy and now using auto ISO more often.

gawler Loc: rural south australia

brianmen wrote:

I took this shot this morning. The first 2 are cropped from the complete shot shown in picture three.
These heads have been processed identically except for No 1 which has Topaz light noise reduction applied. You are welcome to form your own opinion on how the new camera is on noise. The setting was ISO6400 2000sec f9
The full bird had more processing and I upped Topaz noise reduction to moderate and took out that annoying branch running into the head.

last one is stunning Brianmen , i am playing with mine to love it
just think if that was a 7d 1 you would have placed them in the bin lol
i do that all the time set for birds in flight and forget to change back , yesterday was focused on an eagle took some shot but to far away then i worked out lens was still set at 100 eagle got closer at 400 lol

brianmen Loc: Sydney Australia

Thanks.It's all lots of fun. So many buttons,so may possibilities, you can never get bored.

Peekayoh Loc: UK

I'm picking up on this only because the title led me to believe this was a measure of "Noise" on the new Canon camera but it isn't.

Noise is a problem in low light situations but this is not a low light situation and the result is more an example of what not to do rather than demonstrating any superior noise performance. How much better would the image have been at iso400, f/5.6 and 1/320th!

Iso6400 should be reserved for low light situations when there is no option but to increase the iso.

lowkick Loc: Connecticut

brianmen wrote:

I took this shot this morning. The first 2 are cropped from the complete shot shown in picture three.
These heads have been processed identically except for No 1 which has Topaz light noise reduction applied. You are welcome to form your own opinion on how the new camera is on noise. The setting was ISO6400 2000sec f9
The full bird had more processing and I upped Topaz noise reduction to moderate and took out that annoying branch running into the head.

What lens were you using?

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

brianmen wrote:

I took this shot this morning. The first 2 are cropped from the complete shot shown in picture three.
These heads have been processed identically except for No 1 which has Topaz light noise reduction applied. You are welcome to form your own opinion on how the new camera is on noise. The setting was ISO6400 2000sec f9
The full bird had more processing and I upped Topaz noise reduction to moderate and took out that annoying branch running into the head.

Brian,

Considering the ISO you chose to use I think the camera did well. I can't wait to play with mine! Sense I just had my amputation it will have to wait a few months.

Why such a high ISO? From what I can tell there was no need for it to be that high. Just for testing? Your third photo, the original, is the best, especially for a test shot. You really can't judge noise like this when you do a heavy crop. On any photo, the heavier the crop the more noise will show.

Have fun shooting!

Jim D

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

brianmen wrote:

Thanks.It's all lots of fun. So many buttons,so may possibilities, you can never get bored.

I worry that all those buttons may cause me to miss a shot.