Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

Noise level is a personal choice. I try and stay <= ISO 800 on my DX bodies and <= 1600 on my FX bodies, but that's just me. The only way to find out your tolerance is to test. With a still shot like that and the excellent glass you have, you should have been able to knock that ISO down at least a stop. BTW, I thought the processed shot was very nice - good job.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

Thought I'd look back at my images and see what I did. Turns out I only took one inside because of the light. This is with a D800 and 24-85 VR leans.

I/10 second, f14, ISO 6400 Lightroom noise reduction at 75%. It is one of the brighter areas and was still noisy even at that high ISO.

I did get a lot of nice images in the arboretum. But it was raining outside for the garden.

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IDguy Loc: Idaho

Not uploading image. I don't know how to delete messages.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

This is what I can do in Lightroom for your image. Topaz would do better.

btbg

When you underexpose your images you get more noise than with proper exposure. You would have seen less noise at iso 6400 with a properly exposed image than iso 2200 underexposed.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

Don’t know about that. Been hearing about “iso invariance” relative to my Z6. I think what it means is that above a certain iso it is the same to expose there and increase exposure in post as it is to increase iso for a correct exposure. And that number isn’t that high...like 800 or 1600.

https://improvephotography.com/34818/iso-invariance/

https://digital-photography-school.com/iso-invariance-exposure-triangle/



BTW both articles list D750 as iso invarient.

Shutterbug57

With a decent VR lens and good technique, you can handhold at 1/15 or 1/8 second (some camera/lens combos will even beat this, but the OP has a DSLR, not m43 camera) and get sharp results. That is a stop or 2 faster than the 1/30 noted by the OP. This would have allowed for a properly exposed image without raising the ISO, which, in turn, would have reduced noise.

My reference point for this is with a D500/Tamron 24-70/2.8 G2 combo as well as a Fuji X-T2 with either the 18-55/2.8-4.0 or 55-200/3.5-4.8 lenses. All of those lenses will shoot handheld at 1/8 sec with tack sharp results.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

First off, if you were shooting film at that ISO, visible grain would be noticeable. It works similarly with digital. Secondly, if you were to use some "advanced" exposure techniques, the grain would be reduced.

As for the images you posted, I don't see anything objectionable with their appearance.
--Bob

spraguead Loc: Boston, MA

As others have said, amount of acceptable noise is a personal preference. For me, these don't get offensive with the noise, in fact 10 years ago we'd be doing cartwheels over the lack of noise in such low light. But that being said, here are a couple observations I have after downloading and inspecting your shot as well as the reply by IDguy;

First image:
although you said you shot "wide open", it's still a bit short of the widest for that lens. But, I don't like the softness in the shot (maybe that's why you're drawn to the noise so much), so I would have shot closer to the 4-5.6 range and lived with slightly more noise.
Second shot, from IDguy:
yes, this has much less noise, in fact not anything that would be noticed outside of zooming in on the computer. There still is some noise there, but it is also sharper overall so my eye has a lot more to take in. IDguy said he applied some noise reduction in Lightroom, seems like a nice amount as going heavy handed with this LR feature bothers me a lot more than noise. Also, and probably more importantly, this is shot with the 800 body, which will outperform the D750 in low light.

I wouldn't suggest trading in the 750, unless you shoot in low light all the time and have $2500 at hand to trade up to the 850. I'd consider some fast primes to the lens collection. I keep a 35 1.4 for these type of shots and considering something wider (24-28), they're also so much lighter and easier to carry around. Thanks for sharing.

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

You're always going to get some level of noise in a scene such as this, at ISO 2200....it's ever present so it can only be controlled/reduced in PP. Noise is a function of gain x time...dim scenes/shadows require more gain (higher ISO).

The other solution is to shed more light on the scene which is not always practical/desirable....or use a faster lens....

I had a similar lighting situation in Vizcaya museum in Miami this summer...some interior shots were dimly lit @ ISO 5000-8000+ with my D7200 (no flash)....in camera NR was set to "normal" (btw great place to visit when in Miami...I was there on business but had one free "play" day...this was unplanned otherwise I would have taken wide prime with me)...no other PP so these are SOOC...a couple were taken at ISO 2000-2200. 28-300 lens @ 28 wide open, slower shutter 1/30-1/50 with VR. I have RAW/NEF files to work with also...WB off with dim incandescent lighting :)

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camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Let me start from basics. If you are going to expose to control noise you need to begin by exposing to the right. In case you are not sure what exposing to the right is it simply means that the histogram should show lots of pixels to the right WITHOUT reaching the border. This way you are making sure that plenty of information is available to you when you bring the file to your editor. That is done to reduce noise and get a better exposure.
To my eyes noise is not that objectionable in your image and any noise reduction software should do a good job to control it.

jcwall396 Loc: Roswell, GA

Thanks very much for all the great feedback!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Considering the ISO, I don't see the noise as being a problem. There is lots of de-noising software available. Below is a link to 94 million sites.

https://www.google.com/search?q=software+to+remove+noise+in+a+photo&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS716US717&oq=software+to+remove+noise+in+a+photo&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l3.7406j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

bbrown5154 Loc: Baltimore, MD

If your exposure isn't dead on you'll see more noise when you "tweak" it in Post Processing.
That being said and maybe its just me I dont think the "noise" is bad at all.
If it does bother you try the de-noise in Lightroom it works pretty well or my go to is Topaz Denoise 6
But I don't think its bad at all.