low light noise and dvd

T

thedroog

New member
hi, I was wondering if anyone else experiences noise in low lighting situations and what you do to rectify the situation. In my situation, the noise is noticeable on tape but more so on DVD. (that's a whole encoding beast in its own.)

But I was just wondering if anyone could slip me some tips about that situation. thanks for all your help!

(the low light situation was shot at 24p standard)
 
Re: low light noise and dvd

In my experience, I've noticed that pich blacks always have some noise on video and even on film. You need to have some light even on dark situations. Have some light on darks get the noise out for sure. Anyone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Re: low light noise and dvd

No doubt light is the best prescription for noise.

However in situations where adding light might not be an option, dont forget to white balance...each and every time....Even if it means from one part of the same scene to another, since there is tremendous variation in the light situation from part to part in low lit scenes.

This one simple step ...in some of my recent experiments.. helped lieterally eliminate noise even in the darkest portions.

And for best results...wB manually, do not use 3200 and 5600 presets in low light scenes.

hope it helps
 
Re: low light noise and dvd

You can let more light into the camera by using a slower shutter speed, but if there is action going on, you'll get some blurred movements.
 
Re: low light noise and dvd

If you've got access to good post-production color correction, and you absolutely couldn't get the blacks noise-free (or noise-minimal) in camera, you can try adjusting the blacks to fall off below a particular level.

For example, using a Photoshop-like histogram, drag the black slider towards the right a bit and anything below the level you specify will become black.

For an example of what this can achieve, check out this clip:
Full Black Background

This was accomplished using Discreet Combustion, but the same effect is available in other programs.

Naturally, the best solution is still to configure the camera and lighting correctly, but there are options to help!
 
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