ASK JIM
Every month, Jim will answer a question from his online students, from people who participate in his tours and workshops, or from subscribers to this magazine. If you have a question you’d like Jim to answer, please drop him a note at photos@jimzuckerman.com.
Q:
Jim . . . I took this picture in Kenya with the Canon 7D Mark II. It’s been my experience that ISO settings above 1000 are too noisy with this camera. I took this at 2000 ISO because it was after sunset and quite dark. The image is much too noisy for my taste, and I’ve tried Topaz DeNoise as well as Neat Image software, both of which I know you recommend. Neither did a good job. The colors seem to be smeared together instead of being sharpened. What would you suggest? Ernest Goodwin, Catherdral City, California
A: I had the 7D Mark II a few years ago and I sold it for the very reason you’re describing. I realized that
the pictures can be so noisy that the noise actually forms the image, so when the software tries to eliminate that unattractive texture, the detail in the image is virtually lost. With that kind of noise, there’s not much you can do, unfortunately. §
© Ernest Goodwin
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