M8 hideous unusable high ISO performance thread

[Lenshacker]

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iso5000eqv_s_b00_options

 

This is with the -s -b00 options on the ISO5000eqv shot. LR4.4 to bring up the DNG, then edit in Photoshop CS2 (free version) using "just" auto-levels for processing.

 

I am learning more about the process, and experimenting. M8RAW2DNG greatly improves ISO1250 and ISO2500. Pushing the CCD to ISO5000 and beyond- I just can't resist, the lack of banding in this 8-year old camera is amazing.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Lenshacker

[Lenshacker]

This is the very low-light scene, with the -s switch used for non-uniformity correction, and the -b00 for black level.

 

The original:

 

Original_s_b00_before_Photoshop

 

And this is a 6-stop push, ISO10000 equivalent.

 

monochrome_s_b00_10000

 

This is an 8-year old camera with a color CCD. Again- I can't resist pushing it past a reasonable limit just to see how the sensor behaves.

 

Shooting at ISO2500eqv- perfectly usable. ISO 5000- works. Match the performance of the M9- I think it does.

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[bla]

and here goes another one pushed 5 stops, no luminance noise reduction...

 

Anyone else ever tried pushing M8 files?

 

- Arvid

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[T44ISKN]

OK - here's my first attempt at submitting my results.

I took the shot at ISO 160, f/1.8, 1/60, -3EV.

Focus is on the dog!!

 

Following conversion using M8RAW2DNG, I pushed the converted DNG +3 EV in ACR to restore the correct exposure (now ISO 1250 equivalent):

 

100% crop of the printer:

 

No luminance NR applied - only some chroma NR.

 

These are the parameters I used during conversion:

set Params= -b00 -p -v -r -s -o "C:\Users\Treve\Desktop\Converted"

 

I suppose I was hoping for a little better, given some of the other results I'm seeing from Brian.

Are there any other hoops I need to jump through?

 

Thanks,

T

[bla]

Thanks for participating!

 

It might be a combination of different factors, but the main problem seems to be that when photographing you measured the exposure for the dog, now when checking the quality you look at the printer which is really underexposed.

 

So it is quite normal that you see noise there.

 

I think the key to get satisfying high ISO shots is (as with every photograph) a good choice of motive and good lighting.

 

However, as the dark areas are not the main subject of the image and do not contain much detail anyway (mainly black boxes) some careful noise reduction in those areas might do the trick...

 

Don't give in, try some more and don't expect noise free images at higher ISO settings. I don't know what you already set up in m8raw2dng, nor what processing software version you use. If you need help feel free to ask.

 

This is a picture from today, processing as usual. +3EV in post, so not really pushing the envelope

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[T44ISKN]

Another one of my test shots.

Please don't judge the composition, nor the subject matter - it was more a test of what this camera can achieve in dingey conditions!

 

I took the shot at ISO 160, f/2.8, 1/60.

 

Following conversion using M8RAW2DNG, I pushed the converted DNG +3 EV in ACR to restore the correct exposure (now ISO 1250 equivalent) along with -10 on the Black slider to "crush" some noise in the darkest areas.

 

Finally, I made an A4 print, to see how the noise levels look in the real world - I'm more than satisfied.

 

 

100% crop:

[Lenshacker]

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That looks great!

 

I enjoy using the M8 now more than ever.

[lm_user]

I gave this a college try. Downloaded the files. Co-located them all in the same directory and attempted the following command on the mac.

 

./m8raw2dng with the following result: Illegal instruction: 4

 

Weird - it seems to work with the beta version. (brings up manual on how to execute code)

 

Any suggestions?

[bla]

Which OSX version do you use?

 

You should use the beta anyway... If that works, then all is fine.

 

- Arvid

[lm_user]

Using OS-X v10.7.5

 

I can use the Beta version - I need to see if I can achieve good results. 1st pass was unattractive.

 

I suspect I am not downloading the entire file. What size should the file be? The beta version is 574kb and the new files only 416kb after download.

Edited February 20, 2015 by lm_user

[Lenshacker]

ISO2500 eqv, J-3 5cm F1.5 wide-open, 1/60th second. It was dark.

 

Skate and Fun ISO2500

 

and at 1/125th-

 

Skate and Fun ISO2500

[epand56]

Just a couple silly question:

1. How do you extract the RAW from the card? (I only see the DNGs)

2. Which is the name of the application to convert RAW to DNG?

Thank you.

[Lenshacker]

Once the camera is put into Raw mode using the "button dance", a new option appears for RAW+JPEG. From my "cheat-Sheet" instructions.

 

Push the Right arrow key 4 times, Left arrow key 3 times, Right arrow key once more, and then press “Set”. Scroll down to “Compression”, press Set to enter the sub-menu, and you will see a new option: “Fine Jpeg+Raw”.

M8 Raw files need to be converted to DNG, and the “M8RAW2DNG” software was developed by a real M8 enthusiast, you can download the software and read about the capabilities here:

http://m8raw2dng.de/

 

The above is Arvid's site, his software is used to convert RAW files to uncompressed DNG.

[barrydesign]

To access the RAW files I'm fairly certain you need to remove the SD card from the camera and utilize, for example, an SD card reader. I don't believe it's possible to access the RAW files on the SD card through the camera's USB port. In my experience, when accessing the SD card through the camera's USB port, the RAW files don't seem to exist. Remove the SD card from the camera, insert it into a reader, and the RAW files are there.

Edited February 25, 2015 by barrydesign
Missed word in sentence.

[boliston]

To access the RAW files I'm fairly certain you need to remove the SD card from the camera and utilize, for example, an SD card reader. I don't believe it's possible to access the RAW files on the SD card through the camera's USB port. In my experience, when accessing the SD card through the camera's USB port, the RAW files don't seem to exist. Remove the SD card from the camera, insert it into a reader, and the RAW files are there.

i used the usb lead when i first got my m8 and im sure it just showed up on my computer like a read only drive so i might try this again to see if raw files show up or if only dng and jpg show up - card reader is much quicker than usb as i think m8 is not usb3 just usb2

[mike-s]

Down at the river the other day, for no particular reason I tried a shot with the ISO on my 8.2 set to 2500. With the CV 21/4 set to f8 this produced a shutter speed of 1/4000. The results shown are the full frame, a 100% crop and a shot taken from roughly the same place at ISO 160. I used some moderate smoothing in LR4.

 

Of course this doesn't prove anything much. In the prevailing lighting there would be no reason to use a high ISO, but I thought it was interesting.

 

Mike

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[Loren]

and here goes another one pushed 5 stops, no luminance noise reduction...

 

Anyone else ever tried pushing M8 files?

 

- Arvid

 

Man, you have one huge bed!

[bla]

Man, you have one huge bed!

Well, it's more the really tiny hippo I got... It's very good with the children and it doesn't quite need as much food as one might think.

 

Mike: thanks for your images and participation! To me the one at 2500 seems quite usable, although the colours seem to differ from the one at 160. Is that white balance related? In general I noticed that one can get rid of colour noise quite effectively without compromising the IQ. However not so with luminance noise...

- Arvid

[mike-s]

The colour difference is mostly inconsistent PP on my part. I seem to have adjusted the colour temp towards the blue end in the ISO 160 reference shot but not in the high ISO shot.

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[tobey bilek]

i used the usb lead when i first got my m8 and im sure it just showed up on my computer like a read only drive so i might try this again to see if raw files show up or if only dng and jpg show up - card reader is much quicker than usb as i think m8 is not usb3 just usb2

 

Camera needs to be set to mass storage, not PTP for printing directly from camera.  Unfortunately the M8 has no mass storage selection.

 

My other cameras that have mass storage have considerably speeded up downloads, 2/3 x or more.