GH4 Is it faulty? Low light noise at low iso

D

Disease8

Active member
Hi could you guys help?
I am concerned I think my gh4 might be faulty. I cannot really get a clean image out of it in low light.
Check it out:
https://youtu.be/7e_vCiFYgCI

I am keeping my ISO low at 400 but the noise is clearly unacceptable.

I hope to return it and get a bmpcc as I am not happy with the image quality.
 
GH4 uses different analog gain at different ISOs as most cameras do besides ARRI, RED, BM, Sony in Cine EI, and Canon C1/3/500 under ISO850. And unless you are using one of those cameras for which lowering ISO just compresses shadows rather than adjusting gain, you are likely better off overexposing at a high ISO than you are underexposing at a low ISO. Truthfully I don't really see any noise in that video, just a very underexposed image, so it also might be your monitor that is emphasizing the noisy shadows or my monitor and the web compression that is minimizing it. If you underexpose any camera that much it will likely be quite noisy. With a camera like the GH4, you may get a better image in those conditions by increasing your ISO to 800 or 1600 which will slightly increase noise but not nearly to the degree that it increases your exposure and pulls your scene out of the noisy shadows.
 
The GH4 is not a great low light camera, but neither is the BMPCC. Things to check-- Turn off i.dynamic, i.resolution, keep highlight shadow at 0/0. Master Pedestal at 0. Use NR up to 0 is ok. Try Cine D at 0 to -5 contrast, or Portrait mode at 0 to plus 3 contrast. Then test the different ISO settings. Most people feel the GH4 is useable up to iso 1600. And shoot in 4k 100mbps. 200 All-Intra is 1080p and should be better, but it's not and tends to show chunkier artifacts than 4k.
 
Hey thanks for the reply. I guess I am paranoid about boosting iso too much but yes it was rather under exposed.
The worst part of the noise is at the bottom left of the speaker. you see?
I have shot the same shot again and adjusted to iso 1600 shutter 1/25.. Will upload in a moment.
 
Batutta said:
The GH4 is not a great low light camera, but neither is the BMPCC. Things to check-- Turn off i.dynamic, i.resolution, keep highlight shadow at 0/0. Master Pedestal at 0. Use NR up to 0 is ok. Try Cine D at 0 to -5 contrast, or Portrait mode at 0 to plus 3 contrast. Then test the different ISO settings. Most people feel the GH4 is useable up to iso 1600. And shoot in 4k 100mbps. 200 All-Intra is 1080p and should be better, but it's not and tends to show chunkier artifacts than 4k.
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Hi my settings were basically what you recommended. I think the bmpcc looks like it keeps its solid image in low light. Where as the gh4 falls a part a bit. Even underexposed it shouldn't introduce so much noise? It's like bit squares. I guess I will try in 4k but I want to shoot in 1080. If I cannot ever shoot in 1080 underexposed its just annoying.
 
Disease8 said:
Here it is at 1/25th shutter and iso 1600.. Just noisey all over. Pedestal at 0 and the rest on recommended settings... :(
http://youtu.be/gztSL6TVmME

Is that normal?
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I've never seen anything that bad on my camera, but it's hard to tell what the youtube compression is adding. But honestly, if you're just going to shoot 1080p you'd be better off with other cameras for sure. The camera is so much better at 4k.
 
Batutta said:
I've never seen anything that bad on my camera, but it's hard to tell what the youtube compression is adding. But honestly, if you're just going to shoot 1080p you'd be better off with other cameras for sure. The camera is so much better at 4k.
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Yes I know what you mean that is why i need help. Maybe I should upload to vimeo instead? I am really dissapointed with this camera. I just want really stunning quality for pro looking films. I love low light so this is a major problem for me :(
 
Disease8 said:
Yes I know what you mean that is why i need help. Maybe I should upload to vimeo instead? I am really dissapointed with this camera. I just want really stunning quality for pro looking films. I love low light so this is a major problem for me :(
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Get the Sony A7s if you love low light. You will probably never be happy with the GH4. Try 4k first, also 1080p at 100mbps.
 
Hey I really want the bmpcc, the form factor and simplicity are so appealing to me. Also it has less rolling shutter than the a7s. And it is cheap!
would 100mbps be better?
 
Disease8 said:
Hey I really want the bmpcc, the form factor and simplicity are so appealing to me. Also it has less rolling shutter than the a7s. And it is cheap!
would 100mbps be better?
Click to expand...

I've never used the 200 all-I, but from what I understand, the 100mbps uses a more variable codec and is better, even though its a lower bit rate. 200 all-I is easier on your computer system when you go to edit as the compression is confined to individual frames and not spread over multiple frames.
 
Batutta said:
I've never used the 200 all-I, but from what I understand, the 100mbps uses a more variable codec and is better, even though its a lower bit rate. 200 all-I is easier on your computer system when you go to edit as the compression is confined to individual frames and not spread over multiple frames.
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Ok cool I will try.. Just uploading 4k, wouldnt play back on my computer.
 
Disease8 said:
Hey I really want the bmpcc, the form factor and simplicity are so appealing to me. Also it has less rolling shutter than the a7s. And it is cheap!
would 100mbps be better?
Click to expand...

But that battery life and aliasing! And the A7S can have less rolling shutter in APS-C Crop mode...

I would expect All-I would render the noise more accurately whereas GOP compression would have a lot of trouble compressing noise and it would tend to smear it and lose its detail. 100Mbps GOP would likely appear less noisy but less detailed in underexposure, but it might retain detail better in very clean bright and detailed scenes with less motion.
 
nyvz said:
But that battery life and aliasing! And the A7S can have less rolling shutter in APS-C Crop mode...

I would expect All-I would render the noise more accurately whereas GOP compression would have a lot of trouble compressing noise and it would tend to smear it and lose its detail. 100Mbps GOP would likely appear less noisy but less detailed in underexposure, but it might retain detail better in very clean bright and detailed scenes with less motion.
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Hey hehe yeah I do not mind battery life too much and it is so easy and cheap to connect an extra battery. I think battery life depends on what you are doing with the camera.
I do not think the aliasing is that bad? It is better than a 5dmk3 I think. And that is a staple.
 
nyvz said:
But that battery life and aliasing! And the A7S can have less rolling shutter in APS-C Crop mode...

I would expect All-I would render the noise more accurately whereas GOP compression would have a lot of trouble compressing noise and it would tend to smear it and lose its detail. 100Mbps GOP would likely appear less noisy but less detailed in underexposure, but it might retain detail better in very clean bright and detailed scenes with less motion.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but judging from his description and clip, I think he's dealing with compression macro-blocking and not the sensor noise.
 
I think it is worth noting that the BMPCC is not any better in low light. It's actually worse. Both cameras can end up looking fantastic after neat video is applied. Neat video is a worthy investment regardless.
 
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