Canon Noise Reduction - Should You Use It?

Should you use the noise reduction on Canon mirrorless cameras?
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I explain the modes available. Image quality tests and recommendations for Canon EOS R3 R5 R6 R6II R7.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
0:00 - Intro
0:56 - Canon's Noise Reduction
2:52 - Testing Parameters
4:11 - Sponsor
5:03 - Types of Noise
5:47 - Low Noise Reduction
7:02 - Standard Noise Reduction
7:29 - High Noise Reduction
7:57 - Adding Noise Reduction in Post
9:14 - Recommendations & Conclusions
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#videography #canon

[@HaydenLe]

Can you do a video about highlight tone priority for shooting video? Like maybe if it’s necessary, if it adds noise, or the benefits it has, if any?

[@joseacarrasm]

Congratulations that you get an sponsor to your excellent videos

[@Josh_Sattin]

Thank you so much! I am really happy to be working with Squarespace!

[@tekguyphoto]

Cool. Low setting for low iso. Got it. Standard for higher Iso but avoid high settings unless you are recording a yeti in the dark woods or grey alien mothership. Never tried Davincis noise options since Im happy with how the videos turn out in low light. The in camera settings and my Sony Lut thats right Sony Lut on my Canon video works wonders. For some reason the Canon luts introduce more noise. Maybe because I shoot plus 1.5 exposure most if the time. Hope spelling is right because the Hungarian plum moonshine is having an impact on my vision. 🥃

[@LeifBent]

suuuuch a helpful video! 🙏🏼 I’d love to see a low light comparison between the original R6 vs the R6 mk2 🧐

[@Josh_Sattin]

Unfortunately I don't have a R6.

[@davidmaxfieldgolf]

Great video Josh. I use the standard NR in camera with the 24-105f4 in low light and I find it fantastic

[@Josh_Sattin]

Nice! Thanks for watching!

[@ReachFilms]

Another banger! Something I never really played with

[@Josh_Sattin]

Thanks Geoff! I've always been curious about these settings so I figured that some other people might be too.

[@lacaraja]

Your second angle is very nice. So much that it could be your main angle?

[@JuanCarlosRivasPerrettaOboe]

Hello Josh! I was checking again your video because yesterday I had to use higher ISOs than the normal for me (3200) and I activated the high noise reduction ... What do you think is already a too high ISO for the Canon R7? I´m always afraid when I have to get out of the comfortable 800 ISO, but I when I saw the video i thought that maybe I´m a bit to crazy with this ... As always, thanks for your videos! It´s being for me the go-to for every thopic I have to remember again ... thanks !

[@mitchlazorko]

Great video! I would love to see your thoughts on exposing for the R6ii. I have it and have been running some tests recently. In the past I have exposed to the right a bit too much, and had bad results with highlight roll off on skin tones. Recently I’ve been using zebras to put the key light side of the face at around 40-45% IRE and it’s looking a lot better.

[@ThePandaPhotographer]

I'd agree

[@AndreiRestrepo]

Nice breakdown man! I think this whole time I've shot at standard NR. As a real estate videographer, I'm usually up in the higher ISO's like 3200-12,800 since some interiors are really dark. Do you do some real estate work too like you showed on the integration? Congrats with SS! I hope to partner with Squarespace one day too.

[@Josh_Sattin]

Thanks! Yes, I am doing some real estate work.

[@this_time_imperfect]

Canon cameras have historically been cleanest at the round number ISO. So 400 800 1600 3200 etc. There’s a great white paper (engineering document) released by canon a few years ago and it’s full of great information that’s not in the camera manual.

[@TylerEdwards]

I hate chroma noise. Also your b-cam shot is awesome. Great video this will be helpful to a lot of people!

[@Josh_Sattin]

Yeah man, chroma noise is ugly for sure. Thanks Tyler!

[@steven871]

Thanks very much Josh. Agree shooting at base iso is logical. But how is it possible to achieve shallow depth of field when shooting at 800 without using a very heavy ND filter?

[@Josh_Sattin]

You're welcome. To get the best image you should shoot at the base ISO, shutter speed at double your frame rate, choose the aperture you want based on the desired depth of field. Then adjust the lighting or ND filter to get the proper exposure. I almost always have a ND filter on my lens unless I am shooting with controlled lighting or lower light conditions. Here is a video about exposing and grading: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHSnkq1netycqMk

[@steven871]

@@Josh_Sattin excellent, Josh. Thank you

[@Josh_Sattin]

You're welcome!

[@benjamin.kelley]

Random question, but can you use HDMI, record to a card, and have touch screen capabilities at the same time on the R6II? I know on the R6 you can have either, but not both - so when I use a monitor, the screen blacks out and I can't use it.

[@Josh_Sattin]

I think the R6 II works just like all of the other Canon cameras in this regard.

[@PandaBewok]

Hey im using canon m200, have setting noise reduction on photo mode, but i cant see that on movie mode. as we know, we can take video in photo mode. Will the noise reduction feature work if I take a video in photo mode?

[@Josh_Sattin]

I'm not sure about the M200. I would assume that when you start recording video in photo mode it should default to the video settings, but I have never used that camera so I can't be sure.

[@ThegoldengodTrini]

I have iso in at 1000 iso clog 3 in day light but in the shade. I got color dot noise in it. Dont know how to get it out

[@youngmanman2164]

Same. Any update on this ?

[@ilyakornev3996]

Thanks for comparison. Did atomos got unpdate to shoot 6k from r6ll?

[@Josh_Sattin]

You're welcome. I haven't seen that update come out yet.

[@BobbyD262]

I'm not sure about the "informal" base ISO of 3200. You may be seeing the result of "full stop" ISO's. On my OG R6 1600, 3200, & 6400 are absolutely cleaner than the surrounding 1/3-stop ISO's. I just shot a test and 6400 is cleaner than ISO 1250! I recall there being some discussion of sticking to full-stop ISO's in the early days of the DSLR revolution.

[@Josh_Sattin]

Key word here is informal. Canon does not say that the R6II has a dual native ISO and I don't claim it does either. What is interesting is that the R5 does not have a formal dual native ISO, but the R5C does. They share the same sensor. The R5 shows the characteristics of a dual base at ISO 3200 like the R5C which does have one at 3200. This is all in Clog3. Check out the video that I did about low light if you'd like to see my testing: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g36xppWlppuEi7s

[@Nader.subaih]

Hey, any plans to review the S5II?

[@Josh_Sattin]

We'll see...

[@osamaalali2547]

Does it affect the dynamic range in any way ?

[@Josh_Sattin]

I don't have a way to accurately measure that. The dynamic range of a camera at a given ISO and log profile is set. What can change is the amount of usable dynamic range and a lot of that has to do with the noise level. Usually adding noise reduction can slightly increase the amount of usable dynamic range by making more stops of dynamic range less noisy, but if you push it too much it will degrade the image.

[@jackpatmoreinc]

I have the Canon R6 Mark II and R7. I’m heavily debating on switching to either an A7SIII and A7IV or two A7IVs. I’m tired of Canon limiting their cameras and lenses and want the greatest low light and dynamic range performance. What would you recommend I do? Switch to Sony or stick to my current cameras?

[@xkben90]

I see that you do weddings. I’ve done a handful of weddings, but I have been in to cameras for about 7 years (so an enthusiast, not a pro ). I’ve tortured myself, going back and forth between systems, and honestly it took me 2-3 years to finally conclude that at the end of the day, your workflow and the images you can produce far outweigh the technical specs. In other words, I ended up sticking with my Canon R5 (sold my R6 cuz I no longer do weddings). Yes, you will notice a greater dynamic range on the A7SIII, but you have to keep in mind that if you’re not shooting at its native ISO (I think it was like 640 and 12,800), the noise is better controlled in between those ISOs on the R5 and R6 versus the Sony. Another thing to keep in mind is that the a7IV crops in all 4K modes. At the end of the day, if you’re contemplating on whether to switch or not, it’s NOT A GOOD ENOUGH reason to switch. The improvements in image quality will only be noticeable to you, and not your clients (aka pixel peeping). I would only switch systems if you KNOW YOU NEED the extra dynamic range. For shooting outdoor stuff, I say Sony, but for weddings, I think your speed and workflow matter. Again, I’m not professional, but my advice : Don’t torture yourself going back and forth on the gear and focus on the image (color, framing, exposure, effects). It’s probably an unpopular opinion, but I’d say 95% of wedding filmmaker s and KZbinrs aren’t as proficient as they think they are witu the gear that they already have, which is why they look to new and better gear to overcompensate . This is not an attack on you, because I include myself as part of the 95%. Hope this helps

[@shawnlabranche6852]

@@xkben90 this is the best answer I've ever seen when it comes to switching systems. A lot of people have been doing that from what I see on KZbin. I really like your answer. I might copy and paste it in some comments in other videos 😂 j/k.

[@xkben90]

@@shawnlabranche6852 lol feel free to do so.

[@Josh_Sattin]

Both systems have their pros and cons. What kind of work do you do? That makes a huge difference. Do you shoot in extreme low light situations that a fast lens can't help with or are you often found in that middle ISO range? I love having a lot of dynamic range, but it depends on what you are shooting and how you go about doing that. It's not all about specs, its also about how the camera feels and how you interact with it, how close are the colors and image to what you are looking for. It's really the image at the end of the day that mattes. These are all amazing cameras and a talented videographer of filmmaker can make almost anything look good. Also, the lenses that you need are a big factor into which system to use.

[@henakos]

I have R5 and i bought Lumix s5 second hand at 1000€ with kit lens.

[@truthseeker6804]

after running multiple test, stick to standard profile not log in very low light, the difference is drastic, way less noise. standard profile and standard noise reduction provides the best result with details and less noise. log to standard profile is like apsc to full frame. log should be used in day light where theres alot of light and dynamic range.

[@Josh_Sattin]

You are just giving up dynamic range to cover the noise. I go over this in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnjTY2CDqpp4oqs

[@truthseeker6804]

@@Josh_Sattin ofcourse i know what a log is. but in very low light youre not really gaining much from a log compared to bright daylight. the difference in noise is drastic than any result you would get in dynamic range in very low light.

[@Josh_Sattin]

Please watch the video starting around 6:30 or so. I explain this.

[@truthseeker6804]

@@Josh_Sattin so i watched it, and you said in the video, non log profiles are raising the black point above the noise floor so you dont see the noise but youre giving up dynamic range and we should keep as much dynamic range and theres ways to reduce the noise in post.; from experience Yes and NO. firstly yes the black point is raised but Also theres way more noise in the bright parts of log than in the same exposed bright parts of standard profile. secondly, i use Neat video which is considered the best and still i couldnt get log extreme ISO 12800 and 25600 to look great like standard profile with standard noise reduction. so again in very low light, standard profile is way better considering theres not much dynamic range as compared to bright daylight and the difference in noise is drastic both in the shadows and highlights areas.

[@Josh_Sattin]

When you shoot in a non log profile, you give up dynamic range in both the highlights and shadows. Dynamic range is the total range from the brightest to darkest parts of the image that you can see at any given point in a frame. If you are getting noisy footage then you need to raise your exposure with aperture, lighting or removing ND. Most people who get noisy footage in low light is because they don't get enough light to the sensor and then raise the exposure with ISO in camera (more noise) or in post, giving them noisier footage. Non log profiles are not "better" in low light, you just sacrifice dynamic range. You can also lower the shadows in post to crush out the blacks and get rid of the noise. Another thing is that you usually shoot at a lower ISO when in a non log profile. You can actually do this in log as well in a scene without a lot of dynamic range as this will shift more stops of dynamic range to the shadows and give you a cleaner image. Here is a video about that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4jdon97a5mHsKs I am here to help you and others learn more about all of this. There is a lot to learn about all of this stuff.

[@user-bc4tg3hl7q]

Классное видео

[@OhhhBugger]

Wait, Sony won't let you change the NR!?

[@Josh_Sattin]

Not in video. You can only do that on the FX6 and FX9.