SL2-S poor high ISO performances, WHY?

[Andrea James Bramley]

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I keep hearing praises about the stunning high ISO performances of the SL2-S, but my personal experiences are different...
I've been using this camera for years now, for my #BramleyApple nude project.
I shoot mainly indoors and with available light, mostly with adapted vintage lenses, but I rarely venture over 1,600 ISO, and I'm disappointed by the noise even at these settings.
You can see some examples on my Flickr profile (but beware it's adult content) following these 3 links:

Martina

Elisandra

Ania

I wonder what I'm getting wrong, if there is room for improvement and I hope somebody can help me out in getting the best results out of my Leica.

Thanks to everybody.

Edited June 1 by Andrea James Bramley
Links were not included in the previous draft, sorry, it's the first time I use this forum...

[jaapv]

That runs contrary to everybody's else experience. It will take time to come to the root cause, I suppose. In the meantime, try the noise reduction of Topaz Photo AI.  Mostly problems like these are caused by people not realising that noise is not caused by ISO setting (although this is needed to control the digital handling by the camera) but by underexposure.

[frame-it]

42 minutes ago, Andrea James Bramley said:

I shoot mainly indoors and with available light, mostly with adapted vintage lenses, but I rarely venture over 1,600 ISO, and I'm disappointed by the noise even at these settings.

yes that's correct, anything above 1600 is shit..i try never to go above 800.

1600 and above needs fixing, if one chooses to do so, i don't.

"stunning high ISO performances of the SL2-S," = when compared to the SL2

buying extra software to fix the noise is a solution for some, but not for everyone

Edited June 1 by frame-it

[LocalHero1953]

19 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

.........A very swift, simple and solid solution to all problems.

Thank you - saved me writing something very similar.

 

Edit. To the OP - you'll probably get more responses by posting examples here directly. We're not scared of NSFW. One to one crops of the noisy areas would help. Include shooting data: ISO, shutter, aperture, and how much you have adjusted the lighting when post processing.

Edited June 1 by LocalHero1953

[jaapv]

I posted this in another thread with a similar subject: SL2S, 35 mm, ISO6400,only processing "Enhance" in ACR. Good enough for me. 

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[Andrea James Bramley]

4 hours ago, Al Brown said:

Ania or Elisandra images GORGEOUS and ORGANIC.

Yes, maybe I was expecting too much, due to so many praises on the web...
I have seen a definite improvement adding a Fujifilm GFX 50S II to my camera bag, the GFX is performing much better at high ISO, but it has the unfair advantage of being a "medium" format camera.
Thanks for your help. ✌️

[Andrea James Bramley]

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4 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

We're not scared of NSFW.

Good to know NSFW content is allowed.
But files are too big to be uploaded here!
Thanks for your contribution.

[jaapv]

You can follow the instructions for upload at the top of many image threads. Just resize to 2480 pixels longest side and increase the jpg compression slightly if needed. That way you will stay within high quality jpg. Note the first image you see is just a large thumbnail. Click for full quality. 

[davidmknoble]

3 hours ago, jaapv said:

I posted this in another thread with a similar subject: SL2S, 35 mm, ISO6400,only processing "Enhance" in ACR. Good enough for me. 

 

Agreed.  The SL2-S was released about 5 1/2 years ago (December 2020) and then had incredible dynamic range, which means good high ISO performance.  I find that today it still has great performance, but it is not a medium format system.  Remember that Leica released the SL2 with the idea that more megapixels meant you wouldn’t see the noise.  At 24 mp, noise is more apparent that 47, 64, and 100 mp.  Grain = Pixel size.  Just my thoughts.

[CptSlevin]

Never had an issue with dirty / grainy pixels at ISO 3200, always shooting above 1600+ for night time portraits, neon lit studio environments 
Maybe you overcook in editing resulting in muddy colors?

[hansvons]

20 hours ago, Andrea James Bramley said:

I wonder what I'm getting wrong, if there is room for improvement and I hope somebody can help me out in getting the best results out of my Leica.

Nothing probably. I’m all in for texture, and the SL2-S delivers pleasantly in that regard. That said, there’s no sensor out there that is practically noise-free at higher ISO. I prefer ISO 200 for fashion shoots and flash, ISO 800 for everything else, especially if I want to leverage the SL2-S’ high DR, eg, landscapes. ISO 1,600 can become at bit gritty when thinly exposed, although ISO 1,600 is still in the sensor’s invariant range (not amplification added).

The SL2-S strength is its ability to retain colour in low light. I’ve yet to see a FF camera that delivers more juice in the shadows. That, however, doesn’t require low noise levels. So, yes, the SL2-S is a lowlight machine but not in terms of clean texture.