# ISO and noise.



## buccaneer (Mar 3, 2005)

Good morning, my teachers 
(Yes you are all my online teachers hehe ) I have a question about ISO and the noise it generates. In my little D40, if I go above ISO 400, it generates a lot of noise but I've seen some pics taken at higher ISOs that are really clear. How can one achieve that? Does it mean the costlier, higher end cameras have some kind of built-in electronics or software that eliminates the noise to a great extent? Or are those lovely high ISO pics the result of the photographer's skill alone? My D40 only goes upto ISO 3200 but I think a lot of the cameras have ISOs that go much, much above that. So people must be able to utilize that range of ISOs and get crisp clear pics, but I just dont know how. I want to take high ISO pics too but I just dont know enough to keep the noise down. Any pointers/advice/lesson would be nice. (Sorry if that is a broad question, and I know you folks likely dont have time to write everything down for me, so even links would be grabbed up by me with gratitude.)


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## MartyF81 (Jan 23, 2013)

Buccaneer,

Short answer is that yes newer and better cameras perform better at higher ISO's.

Long answer is, newer sensors have improved hardware technology and better processing chips that help to remove noise. Bigger sensors also absorb light better as the way the "pixels" are designed just work better.

Low Light performance is the new frontier for camera manufacturers. They continue to one up each other in this field. My 5D3 @ 1600 ISO is practically noise free and can go all the way up to 102,400 (although it gets really noisey).

There are somethings you can do in post processing to cut down the noise, but really the only way to get really great higher ISO performance is to upgrade your camera body. The past few years of cameras have really improved in this area by leaps and bounds. I can take a lot of pictures indoors, with no flash and still get amazing pictures.

Does that help? Sensor technology gets to be pretty "Technical" to explain and deeper....


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## buccaneer (Mar 3, 2005)

Oh yes sir, that does explain what I wanted to know hehe. Ty so much for replying sir. I'll start saving pennies and cents and someday get a better camera.


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## MartyF81 (Jan 23, 2013)

You should watch for deals. There are a lot of great sales when they come out with new models. Nikon has lens rebates going on right now.


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