Mi630

I mostly shoot jpeg but last weekend I shot some eagles in raw. Opening them in Lightroom, as expected, there was some noise. When I shoot jpeg I am disappointed if I have to push the luminance slider much past 21. With a raw image I find myself pushing the luminance slider up to 40 or more to get rid of noise. Is that the experience of you raw shooters? I was using 7d mark 2 and Canon 100-400 version 2. I know jpeg is doing some sharpening and noise reduction. I'm just wondering how much should I expect to do in raw.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

You should look at the resulting image as opposed to how far you have to push the slider - I will go past 50 or more on some images, when I am using ISO 3200 or higher. As long as the result looks good, it really doesn't matter where the slider is. Of course, you realize that as you raise the sharpening, the noise gets worse, so you have to do a bit of a balancing act between the two.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Shooting JPG means that most likely your camera is applying noise reduction and sharpening according to what you programmed it to do, when you shoot raw, you get exactly what the sensor was exposed to, no adjustments applied in camera, so during post processing you will need to adjust at least sharpening, and in many cases noise reduction depending on the exposure settings used and lighting conditions. I would never worry about how far the sliders need to be moved/set, just what the end results look like, as Gene said.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The RAW is 100% unprocessed. Only a few settings come along with the RAW file, all of them changeable. No sharpening nor noise reduction is applied to the RAW file by the camera. LR by default applies a 25 setting for sharpening to RAW files during the import (I think for all cameras unless you update). LR also defaults the camera style to something called Adobe Standard which is different than Canon's Picture Style Standard.

Noise is a requirement of the individual images and the image capture settings. When represented to LR, the RAW file has had no noise reduction processing.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

I've been using LR since version 4 and thought I knew how to use the key sliders. Last night I was reading some deep thought on sharpening. When I tried the ideas on some older RAW files I was a bit shocked how far some images need the sliders pushed.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I use high ISO a lot so I use the luminance slider frequently. Most of the time using raw files I don't have to go much beyond 20-25, but occasionally I push it up to 50 or more. You really have to watch the image. I generally expand the image, set it on an area with a fairly uniform luminosity (like a bare wall), but include some image structure as well, then play with the slider. The uniform wall shows the noise better than a structured part of the image. The structured part of the image shows how much damage the noise reduction is doing to the image. There are times that you just have to back it off and live with some noise, or possibly go to Photoshop and do the noise reduction on selected areas rather than globally.

I can't compare them with jpg outputs from my camera because I never shoot jpg (except when checking the sensor for spots -- no point in having to convert from raw just to see spots).

photon56 Loc: North America

In jpeg, image pixels are thrown out to compress the image and save space. RAW contains 100% of the image. You will have more dynamic range and more to adjust with the sliders. Once you have the image looking the way you want, then create the jpeg as the final image.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Great thread! Plus, it's good to have your own techniques validated.

Jon's Dad

Why I love UHH! Thanks for another great lesson!

Mi630

I always appreciate people's feedback and input. I just notice the few times I have shot raw has been with the 7d Mark 2. I have always been somewhat disappointed in how quickly noise enters at relatively low iso. I have a 6d that is fantastic for low noise. I use the 7d for shooting eagles and prefer sunny days for doing that. Cloudy days and the image gets noisy in a hurry.
Now I know when I shoot jpeg there is noise in the image; the camera, in processing the image, takes some noise out. I am usually happy with what the camera does. Yesterday I was shooting some eagles. Sunny day which makes it hard to get exposure correct without blowing out the white heads. I took this photo and this image is SOOC. It needs to be lightened a bit but otherwise appears very sharp and quite noise free. I read a good article by a pro photographer as to why he shoots jpeg. The one statement he said really caught my attention. He said shooting raw is like going to a fine restaurant and they give you the ingredients and you go home and prepare the meal yourself. Jpeg is letting the chef do the cooking for you. Years ago that preparation was done by a beginning chef. With today's tech in sensors, it is being done by a highly trained chef. I dobt if I have the skills to match what the Canon people can do.
Sorry for rambling on. I know my original question dealt with luminance slider with raw images and ended up with my telling why I probably will stick to jpeg. Just seems like less work. I am not trying to change anyone's mind on this issue. And I know there are times when shooting raw is probably necessary. I understand that. Anyway...

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DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I would leave out the word "fine" in that description. I will agree that the chef [engineer] doing the preparation is highly trained, but he's preparing millions of dishes the same way. That sounds like fast food to me. Not everyone gets the exact same meal because there are options on the menu (your camera settings).

You may not have the skills to match what the manufacturer's engineers can do, but you can learn. And in doing so you get an image that is purely yours, not someone else's.

Mi630

I can agree with that. Thanks for the feedback.