Muskrat: Noise reduction in reducing colour noise for high ISO photos

Muskrat photographed in Mission Creek Park in Kelowna on March 26, 2025.

High ISO values often result in something called noise.  The amount of noise is highly dependent upon numerous factors, the key ones being ISO, sensor size, and darker tones.  If you examine the top photos (left inset is magnification of image on right) you can see pixelated ripples and poor definition of fine details.  The bottom photos and inset is the exact same image, only a noise reduction algorithm was employed in the Photoshop Raw conversion program.  Everything else was the same.  You can see the difference in pixelation and detail is significant.

I still prefer to shoot at lower ISOs when possible as the captured image is better, everything else being the same.  The big problem for us wildlife photographers is that lighting is not always conducive to allowing us to have the desired shutter speeds.  Shooting with premium minimum shutter speed glass would be nice, but most of us can't afford a $20,000 lens.  And so we use our f/5.6, f/6.3, or even f/8 lenses (and that's without a teleconverter) in order to get the desired settings.  

I have shot many thousands of wildlife photos and have determined that a faster shutter speed is preferred to low ISOs.  With digital noise reduction, the argument becomes somewhat moot.   Shoot at whatever ISO you need to get the shutter speed you desire.  Then, if there is too much noise, run the shot through digital noise reduction.  I think you will be amazed at the end result.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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