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I Just purchased a canon 24mm lens that i am using on my Canon 200D. The first few test shots I took came out full of noise. I just assumed that this was a lighting issue (dimly lit room) but after taking a few photos of my backyard in full daylight and some closeups of some stuff also in full daylight, I've discovered that the photos are just as noisy. I'm only new to photography so i could definitely be doing something wrong. Just hoping for a little insight on why these photos could be coming out full of noise?

Noisey image of my puppy

A fair bit of noise in the background and on the nose

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    \$\begingroup\$ What ISO is that photo at? \$\endgroup\$
    – Philip Kendall ♦
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 5:38
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    \$\begingroup\$ I'd certainly expect ISO 3200 on a low-end crop sensor to be noisy. Could you upload an ISO 100 image? \$\endgroup\$
    – Philip Kendall ♦
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 6:37
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    \$\begingroup\$ My personal opinion, the noise is okay in this image, because the viewers attention is drawn to those beautiful eyes. Really a great shot! \$\endgroup\$
    – Alexander von Wernherr
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 7:26
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    \$\begingroup\$ I agree with @AlexandervonWernherr. The noise is only on luma. It does not distract the viewer. Chrominance noise would be much more distracting. This post on DPReview forum could be enlightening on the noise source for your camera. \$\endgroup\$
    – jihems
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 8:20
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    \$\begingroup\$ For the love of ... let me loan you my 20D and you can see what noise really looks like at 3200. You’re being too hard on yourself. Good shot! (Keep the ISO down and you’ll keep the noise down too!) \$\endgroup\$
    – OnBreak.
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 14:15

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Turning my comment into an answer. For comparison's sake, here's some Canon 20D test shots at ISO3200 from back in 2008 (https://kenrockwell.com/tech/dslr-comparison/us.htm#3200).

I bring this up to make the point that noise is relative to your goal and expectations. Back then, I had no issues printing up to 5x7 using ISO3200 and that was FAR from the capabilities of your camera. (Most of these shots ended up being converted to black and white just because the noise was so bad! >_<)

From where I sit, this image is damn near noiseless (I realize there's noise, compare it to the old for me). I would have no issues printing this thing at 16x20 and feel good about it. If it's meant for a smaller size, then you can clean up the noise, shrink, and sharpen at it'll look "cleaner" simply because of the downsize.

To sum up - it's a nice shot and your gear performed admirably.

That being said - you can reduce the noise by lowering the ISO. But, keep in mind that not all ISO values are created equal, due to how the camera processes them. If you want to simply play it safe, stick to full stop values (100, 200, 400...)

Your lens, btw, has nothing to do with noise. That's all sensor and ISO selection. As you progress in your photography, I'd advise moving to full manual (ISO, Aperture, Shutter speed) until you're comfortable. Then, learn how the camera's auto modes work to choose settings and what the camera does for trade-offs. Then you can start using auto modes and not end up being surprised that your camera chose ISO3200 for a nice bright day (where every other shooter probably would have chose 400 or less).

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks a lot for your answer! I guess my inner perfectionist was rearing it's ugly head haha. But I'll definitely be playing around with my settings a bit more to figure out what i need for different scenarios! \$\endgroup\$
    – mmagu6
    Commented May 19, 2019 at 8:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ @mmagu6 inner perfectionist...we’ve all got that demon :-). I’m guessing that, for this shot, you had the shutter speed cranked really high and the camera had to auto adjust iso to balance. I know you want to stop the dog’s action and not get motion blur, so experiment with just how slow you can shoot in these situations. 1/250 probably would have been fine - anything faster is just gravy...iso robbing gravy... \$\endgroup\$
    – OnBreak.
    Commented May 19, 2019 at 14:50
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I agree with the above posters. I didn't even see the noise until I viewed your image full size, and even then, it's really not bad. You might be able to reduce it a little with software. (Most good photo editing programs have noise reduction) Also, the noise would not be related to the lens you are using. Test this out by taking two identical photos - one with this lens, and one with another. Shoot them at the same exposure settings and you should see the same amount of noise. If anything, a lens with f/2 would allow you to use a lower ISO and reduce the noise as compared to a slower lens.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Thank you for posting this as an answer rather than a comment - just to tidy it up, it would be good if you could incorporate the comments you're agreeing with into your answer, both as this leaves your answer standalone (which is preferred) and because comments are liable to be deleted. Thanks! \$\endgroup\$
    – Philip Kendall ♦
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 15:55

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