Luminance noise in shadows

[Guest]

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Hi everyone! It may seem a stupid question, but I still want to make sure that an aggressive shadows recovery (even at low ISOs) in Lightroom (or any other similar software) may introduce quite dramatic luminance noise (see the pic generated from the raw file), if the shot was taken under certain lighting conditions. Is this normal for digital sensors? The noise in picture has been generated by the Leica Q2 Monochrom sensor (after processing it in LR, with shadows drastically recovered). Thank you!

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Edited April 21, 2021 by Guest
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[jaapv]

Yes, of course. That is quite normal, this is actually a rather good result.
If you want to get rid of it use Topaz Denoise AI or the new DXO Pure Raw.

[markhout]

All agreed, but I don't see dramatic lighting conditions in this image (like high contrasts). It looks simply underexposed and I would indeed expect this behavior of any sensor, modern or older.

I don't believe that the possibility to crank up the ISO immediately leads to super high dynamic range. Even the high DR of the Q2 monochrom has its limitations.

[jaapv]

3 hours ago, markhout said:

crank up the ISO immediately leads to super high dynamic range

Actually, quite the opposite.

 

[RoySmith]

jaapv is correct  as usual.

Photons to photos  has a nice chart illustrating the reduction in dynamic range with increasing iso with the Q2.

 

[Guest]

On 4/21/2021 at 9:13 PM, jaapv said:

Yes, of course. That is quite normal, this is actually a rather good result.
If you want to get rid of it use Topaz Denoise AI or the new DXO Pure Raw.

Thanks a ton, Jaap for reassurance. I also thought it was pretty standard behaviour for digital sensors when they try to amplify the signal super-dark shadow areas, or smth. along these lines. Cheers!

[Guest]

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On 4/21/2021 at 11:01 PM, markhout said:

All agreed, but I don't see dramatic lighting conditions in this image (like high contrasts). It looks simply underexposed and I would indeed expect this behavior of any sensor, modern or older.

I don't believe that the possibility to crank up the ISO immediately leads to super high dynamic range. Even the high DR of the Q2 monochrom has its limitations.

Thanks, Mark. Yes, it is indeed underexposed (even ultra-underexposed). I did it intentionally to see what the sensor is capable of when pulling up the shadows later in post. Cheers!

Edited April 26, 2021 by Guest
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[Guest]

On 4/22/2021 at 4:47 PM, RoySmith said:

jaapv is correct  as usual.

Photons to photos  has a nice chart illustrating the reduction in dynamic range with increasing iso with the Q2.

 

Thanks a lot, Roy!