[Recovered Thread: 86975]

[dbuk]

Here is a 100% crop of a picture I took this morning with no post processing applied.

f2.8, 1/1000, ISO 400, -1EV

There is a fair amount of noise.

[dbuk]

And the same 100% crop with post processing with NeatImage.



Here is the original image. - Warning - large files

http://www.teachingworks.co.uk/P1000264.JPG

And the post processed one.

http://www.teachingworks.co.uk/P1000264Proc.jpg

[zygh]

Indeed, the FZ30 pics have a considerable amount of noise but that is to be expected of poin&shoot cameras. For instance, the Samsung Pro815 noise level is way above the FZ30's but nobody seems to make a big deal about that.

My thought is this. If you want noise free pictures then be ready to invest a minimum of 1000$ in a DSLR and (at best!) one or two"good enough"lenses for it.

I also would bet my money on the FZ7 instead of the S2. The new Venus engine they put on the FZ seems to do job more accurately. I only wish that they'd give this new heart to the FZ30 as well.

[dbuk]

I thought the FZ7 and FZ30 share the same image processor - namely the Venus Engine II LSI?

I don't find the noise in my picture unacceptable as others may but it's just my opinion. Neatimage took care of most of the noise.For a start as others have said I wouldn't be viewing at 100% and I print my photos at 6x4 or 7x5.

With regards to the Samsung 815 - I hear people tout it's long lens and wide angle but like you say I've heard no mention of noise with that camera.

Dave

[zygh]

indeed you are right, dbuk. the fz7 and the fz30 share the same venus engine. i somehow got the idea that they had upgraded it on the fz7.

in aphotomagazinei saw a test of the fz30's and of the pro815's noise levels and bothat iso 100 and at iso 400, the 815 had greater levels of noise than the pro815. the fz30 came second only tosony's r1.

my opinion is thatit is hard to find anything wrong withan excellent prosumer like the fz30 so that people expected it to manouvre like an dslr, which, of course, is not the case, and when it didn't deliver the same as an dslr people started this wholething around the noise. indeed, it is a problembut bare in mind that the only prosumer that comes close to an dslr is the sony r1 which is something pretty different from the fzs and the pro815s, being a weird beast that is twice more expensive than the fz30 and more expensive even than an entry level dslr, not to mention having cmos sensor and all that. so, in my opinion, the r1 does not count, being in a (weird) niche of it's own.

the pro815 has shocked the market with its 15x zoom andit's 3 displays and for thise reason only people have not seen problems such as noise. in my opinion, the best results with prosumers (excepting sony r1 for the reasons mentioned above) will be achieved with the fz30.


p.s. if only the fz30 had 6mp with the same sensor. i think it would have delivered much better results. this whole "megapixel war" isto blame! :-)

[samerlr]

And that is what i am talking about i think this crop after neat image is much more better than s9000.

[zygh]

which is better: noiseninja or neatimage? i use noiseninja but am not entirely satisfied with the result.

[kenmck15]

The fz30 isa stunning camera

i have owned mine for about 6 monhts now.

The cam has neva filaed to amaze me. Images are always sharp and crisp. Like Dave i have neva run into issues with the noise. I mean how many shots do you really take in lo light. Really............... I do agree tht the noise levels at iso400 are hi, i cap myself to iso200 max for the worst case senarios.


Personally i think these aspects the fz excels in is far more important thatn noise. Which like i mentioned earlier how many shots.......... really are taken in this situation.



I use both noise ninja and neat image and i see to like neat image better, but i use noise ninja as i cant be bothered transfereing an image to and from ps to neat and back again. too lazy LOL

[kenmck15]

lo light shot

this is taken hand held,

shutter: 1/6
fstop: 2.8
Iso: 200

OIS is one of panas greatest creations

[rduve]

There are plenty of strings on this subject of noise. I am tired of it, honestly. The FZ sucks noise wise at high ISO's. So do almost all other small CCD cameras. Fuji has pushed the bar up with its Super HDD CCD. It works well. I got a little Fuji F11 and it takes images with less noise at ISO 1600 than my FZ30 does at ISO 400. Tiny as it is, it actually has a larger sensor with less MP, plus better in camera noise processing. For really low noise images without softening the image, gotta go DSLR. My Konica Minolta 5D is the king of low light. Iadded a 50mm 1.7 lens to my zoom lenses. Since the KM5D goes up to usable ISO1600 (and somewhat usableISO 3200)and has in-camera IS, you can take super sharp handheld pics in candlelight.

But for most purposes, in most conditions, the FZ30 performs like a champ. It is the most versatile all-in-one camera on the market today. And noise is not an issue unless you go up to ISO400 in low light condtions without flash (in which case Neat Image does an amazing job cleaning it up)


Rainer

http://euromaninla.zoto.com/galleries