EOS R7 Grainy Image

[clickandcapture]

After switching from Fuji to Canon R7, it's very frustrating to see the image quality of this camera. I have used support rather not taking photos with handheld. The ISO was 400, even the image is so much grainy. Should I start planning to leave this Canon and again going back to my old buddy !!!

[jrhoffman75]

Welcome to the forum.

Please post a typical RAW file that you consider grainy to a file sharing site like One Drive or Dropbox so we can see what you are experiencing.

[Peter]

Upload raw files.

[johnrmoyer]

I hope some of this might help. You did not mention what image processing software you were using or what camera settings other than the ISO so some of this might not apply. Some settings may need to be different and some processing may need to be different with a different camera.

You might try turning off "peripheral illumination" correction in the camera menus.

Also, you might look at the "High ISO speed noise reduction" setting. Quoting: "You can reduce the image noise generated. This function is especially effective when shooting at high ISO speeds. When shooting at low ISO speeds, the noise in the darker parts of the image (shadow areas) can further be reduced."

For some subjects, using the camera menu to change the "clarity" setting to -1 or -2 may make the image look less grainy at a cost of edges looking less sharp. This might be desirable for skin or sky and undesirable for a closeup of bird feathers for example. This can also be changed later in the Canon DPP software.

Also, there will be more noise when the sensor chip is warmer. Heat produces photons which will be detected by the sensor chip and interpreted as color data.

You might use the Canon DPP program to process the CR3 raw files and manage the noise reduction in the DPP program.

In DPP, the sharpness mode may be set to "Unsharp mask" and the fineness setting increased to 3.0 or 4.0 so that noise is not sharpened and made more obvious.

In DPP, "Digital Lens Optimizer" can be adjusted for maximum image sharpness without emphasizing noise. In the camera menu, it might be best to set it to low or standard instead of high. The camera manual explains why.

Quoting (from the manual for my camera and yours may be different): "Image processing after you shoot takes longer when set to [High] (which causes the access lamp to be illuminated longer). Maximum burst is lower with [High]. Image recording to the card also takes longer. Depending on shooting conditions, noise may be intensified together with the effects of correction. Image edges may also be emphasized. Adjust Picture Style sharpness or set [Digital Lens Optimizer] to [Disable] as needed before shooting. The higher the ISO speed, the lower the amount of correction will be."

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

@clickandcapture, Lens you were using with the camera is?

[clickandcapture]

Given the fol links of one image below:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!ApJAVIjNUK85wWLoXJDnh51nPDO1?e=1sXMzP

The settings were:

ISO-400, F/6.3, 1/250 sec.

[jrhoffman75]

Thank you for that file. As an additional request, could you provide a RAW file from your Fuji that you consider better?

I looked at your image in both Canon DPP4 and Lightroom Classic V12).

I selected auto adjust in both products. Used DLO in DPP and added a slight noise adjustment - sliders are shown in my screen shots (100% views).

I don't consider the noise to be objectionable at all. It's certainly not visible in the subject areas of the image.

[Tronhard]

First, regarding your comment: "Should I start planning to leave this Canon and again going back to my old buddy."  I would respectfully suggest that it is way too early to consider abandoning your camera, considering you are switching from Fuji to Canon, any change of vendor takes a while to come to grips with.  I shoot both, so I am curious what model Fuji you were using.  I personally find my 2x XT4's are just a prone to noise as a Canon equivalent camera. 

Having looked at your RAW image and checked the camera settings in Photoshop 2022, I have the following information from the file readout.

I note that you have done the shoot in manual mode, rather than letting the camera engage with this in Av or another mode. Is there a specific reason you did so? 

To me, the image looks under-exposed, and that is bound to lead to more noise.  Conventional wisdom suggests that for a RAW image, one should shoot to meter to the right of the EV centre, as long as the whites are not blown. 

[Tronhard]

Further to my previous post.  All crop sensor cameras have a tendency to show noise much more than the larger sensor units, particularly if they have more sensors in the same area.  It's all about pixel density.   So, the Fuji X-T series has a 24MP sensor, while the R7 has a 32 MP sensor, which might not seem much of an increase but it is significant.  If one was to extrapolate the pixel densities out to the size of a full frame sensor for example, it might give a good relativity. To make this comparison, one multiplies the sensor capacity by the square of the crop factor, thus:

XT series at 24 MP with a crop factor of 1.5, 35mm FF equivalent sensor would be x2.25 = 54MP
Canon R7 at 32MP, with a crop factor of 1.6, 35mm FF equivalent sensor would be x2.56 = 82MP.

Right now the largest FF sensor in Canon's R range is the R5 at 45MP, so there is a significant difference in pixel density.  It has about 1EV less dynamic range than the R6 @ 20MP, which is why I have both.

The point here is that in challenging light or dynamic range situations, a relatively high-capacity crop sensor is going to be more challenged than the FF sensors of anything like similar capacity, or other sensors of same size but different capacities.  This means that one has to be very careful in selecting what and how one will meter.  I personally prefer to use single point metering and knowing that 18% grey is what the sensor expects is normal, I find a specific tonal value for that and lock it in using the * back button.  FWIW, I do the same with focus, using BBF assigned to the AF-ON button and disable focus on the shutter.   It is a common technique and I find it surgically accurate.  It does take a bit of getting used to, but I do the same with my Fuji, Nikons, Olympus and Sony cameras - it works for me.

By the way, your issue is echoes by others, but again I emphasize that in part this is about learning the new camera, which is normal, but also that the sensor capacity has been increased.  I have found that using specific noise-reduction software easily copes with the noise issue, and one product that comes recommended (and I have found works for me), is Topaz DeNoise - it's very impressive for some situations.  Be aware that for shooting flowers or other irregular and highly coloured objects, it can create a degree of colour bleeding on occasion.

[Tronhard]

I thought it appropriate to add my reference when making a comment about pixel density and noise to clarify my position.  Pixel density is but one factor, and I provide the following reference to cover the much wider gamut of contributing factors.  IMATEST article on Sensor Noise 

Imatest is a leader in image quality testing that has been headquartered in Boulder, Colorado since 2004. Imatest team members include a range of engineering disciplines including imaging science, computer science, physics, electrical, and mechanical engineering.

As I also commented, much depends on how one meters and exposes, and that takes a bit of getting used to for any new camera system or model.