Can't seem to solve noise issue

[Eman99]

I've been playing with the HVX's settings trying to test all the way to reduce the noise. I can't figure out if it's the settings or if I'm doing something wrong or if something might be faulty with my camera.

Yes, I've used the search and read every thread on the noise/gamma issues and have done many tests. The best combination that I have found for daytime, well lit shooting:

1080/30p
Shutter OFF
Gamma BPRESS
Detail Level -2
V Detail Level 0
Detail Coring +7
Master Ped -4
SKIN DTL On
Outdoor sunshine
ND 1/64
f4.0


The problem is I still seem to get noise in the dark areas. Also as soon as I decrease the exposure the noise just massively increases. I found that setting the iris between 2.6 and 5.6 seems to give the best result. This is actually one of the better examples. You can see the noise inside the room. The coring seems to 'blend it' quite well. If I was to decrease the detail coring, the noise would be much more sharp and defined sort of like the effect you get when you overdo Sharpen Mask in Photoshop.

You'll have to click on the thumb to open the link then click again on the image that opens to see the full res 1920x1080
http://img111.imagevenue.com/loc462/th_18314_testc_001_nd164_shutteroff__122_462lo.jpg (http://img111.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=18314_testc_001_nd164_shutteroff__12 2_462lo.jpg)

The image was exported right from the MXF via Edius at 1920x1080.

[Take_1]

Your link isn't working. You might want to drop your master ped two or three ticks. That may help squach noise in your blacks. I have found that you start to loose detail in the blacks at -7 whereas -6 you still see fine graduation in your blacks.

[Disco Robo]

Your link doesn't work but it doesn't have to. With those settings you should have very little noise, in fact you shouldn't have to detune the detail at all. My guess is that your monitor is over-sharpening. This is commom with the 24" dells and other crossover/consumer HD monitors that are too sharp by default so they look really crisp to the layman.

[Arson]

It might also be lack of light.

You need some real lights and not just available 60watt home lighting.
Anything shot in your livingroom with less than a decent 200-600watts of light shining at it is too dark.

[TimurCivan]

yea man, what are you monitoring on????

Cause on my Laptop, ALL of my footage looks like pure garbage, but on my 1080P HDTV it looks GLORIOUS.

a crap monitor like that dell monitor that everyone seemed to have bought, can mislead you into thinking your footage looks crappy. Lemme give you a bit of Perspective on monitoring. The Panasonic 17"HD production monitor is like alomst 4,000$... Thats the CHEAP one. a Sony 17" CRT HD production monitor is liek four times as much..... That 700$ dell monitor with component inputs, is the equivalent of plugginyour Hvx into a portable DVD player Via composite output, and then blaming the camera for a noisy, crappy picture. The monitor has ALOt to do with it.

[shiny4]

if i use a not very good monitor or the monitor of my macbookpro with scopebox,there is some method to distinguish the noise of the camera from the noise of the monitor ?
best
ivan

[Eman99]

Dropping the master ped lower seems to really lose detail in the shadowy areas.

I'm testing the footage on a 2407WFP Dell from Edius. I haven't tried hooking the cam directly to the Dell via the component out or svideo. We don't have a true production monitor setup yet. Suppose I hook the camera up to a HDTV ready plasma or LCD would the image highly improve?

As far as lack of light, I'm shooting in full daylight on a patio. So I'm getting all the kelvins from the sun as I can while using the ND and exposing as much as I can without breaking highlights (90% zebra).


You'll have to click on the thumb to open the link then click again on the image that opens to see the full res 1920x1080

http://img111.imagevenue.com/loc462/th_18314_testc_001_nd164_shutteroff__122_462lo.jpg (http://img111.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=18314_testc_001_nd164_shutteroff__12 2_462lo.jpg)

[esperman]

you have no noise issue.
You have a real monitoring issue.

[TimurCivan]

it looks perfectly fine. :) Your laptop screen is just making your life hell.

[Kholi]

He's talking about the noise in the kitchen beneath the chair. It's there, just have to get moving images to see it. Might be amplified by the monitor, but it's there.

Just have to get used to seeing it.

[Creatively Bankrupt]

I'm having the same noise issue with my new HVX200 and I haven't found that sweet spot with the settings yet either. You really need a video sample to show the noise off properly, stills don't work.

I'm trying to be patient while waiting for Panasonic to send me Barry Green's free HVX book ( 9-12 weeks http://home.peterstar.ru/money/Smiles/img/suicide.gif) but I'm about to just buy it.

I think some of my problems may be monitor related as well. Money forced me to downgrade the $3500 Panasonic production monitor to a Samsung SyncMaster 244T 24IN LCD and everything looks like complete garbage on it.

[soarprod]

Let your exposure go all the way up to 105% and crush the whites in post a little. A little overexposure on the hvx looks great.

[andynick]

Well, your image is underexposed by about a stop (take a look at the histogram).
There IS noise under the chair (you can just make it out between the dog's nose smudges on the window) but I'd have thought noise is the least of your worries here!

Which part of the picture did you focus on?
Certainly not the dog. I can't find any part of the picture that's in focus, so it suggests camera movement.

Put your HVX on a tripod, focus and expose correctly, then check for noise if you must - but you're not going to get a great improvement on that UNDER THOSE LIGHTING CONDITIONS.

Why's nobody mentioned the CHRONIC Barrell Distortion . . . (noise pales into insignificance with that distortion in the picture).

Andy

[esperman]

Andy,
we were trying to be nice.
I admit there will be some noise in any 1/3 chip camera. There are ways to minimize this of course. But you'll need a real monitor to judge what your getting. Please, enough "The HVX image looks like sh@t on my 300 buck LCD screen." I wouldn't use a Dell to judge anything on a F950, and I won't use it for the HVX either.

[Eman99]

Well, your image is underexposed by about a stop (take a look at the histogram).
There IS noise under the chair (you can just make it out between the dog's nose smudges on the window) but I'd have thought noise is the least of your worries here!

Which part of the picture did you focus on?
Certainly not the dog. I can't find any part of the picture that's in focus, so it suggests camera movement.

Put your HVX on a tripod, focus and expose correctly, then check for noise if you must - but you're not going to get a great improvement on that UNDER THOSE LIGHTING CONDITIONS.

Why's nobody mentioned the CHRONIC Barrell Distortion . . . (noise pales into insignificance with that distortion in the picture).

Andy

Andy,

Yeah that particular screenshot was a tad underexposed. We shoot a lot more dynamic stuff and cannot use tipods. For this shot it was set on Autofocus. We are using a Century Optics 0.6x Wide Angle adaptor which does gives the barrell distortion.