Got my hands on a D700. Compared it to my D90. Based upon my comparison of ISO 1600 on both cameras (.....aaaand a 5D Mark II), I'm sticking with the D90-pretty happy with it now, actually, now that I know what else is out there in my price range. Wish I could post comparison photos, but my subject wasn't too happy with that prospect. Thanks for the assistance.

Interesting: my usual camera shop (in New Jersey) doesn't have any D700 bodies in stock. It is also the only out-of-stock camera on their website (that I could find) where "accepting orders" is not indicated--save for a couple of discontinued models.

Here is a version of the "hands on piano" image that I converted in Adobe Lightroom 3 Beta 2 and adjusted using the available noise reduction controls.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4496072092_753bed7cbf_b.jpg

Finally, another photograph --this time shot at ISO 3200 (instead of 1600 for other photos) with raw conversion in PSE8 (ACR) and applying custom settings on Neat Image and making a few other adjustments.

Seems OK, but really not eye-popping results. Hoping D700 offers significantly better out-of-camera photos.

Base Image
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4508119360_66dbd75d7f_b.jpg

Neat Image and additional adjustments
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2102/4508100424_d2f5f374f5_b.jpg

Ronin,
Thank you. Please see my test results below--using 2 images and default noise reduction settings (performed in PSE8 after raw conversion in Nikon Capture NX2).

Base Image 1
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2681/4507060381_5d633c97a5_b.jpg

Neat Image
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2779/4507698160_80c21ea667_b.jpg

Nik Dfine 2.0
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4064/4507060763_fd82b12d16_b.jpg

Noise Ninja
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/4507698002_457b5d9db9_b.jpg

Base Image 2
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2081/4507059815_575e6346dd_b.jpg

Neat Image
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2709/4507697480_b32fae05ee_b.jpg

Nik Dfine 2.0
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2793/4507697604_eef4961666_b.jpg

Noise Ninja
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2170/4507060251_d3a7221a30_b.jpg

anjz said:
<snip> I may bring my laptop to the camera store this weekend...just take a quick look at the D700. Shouldn't be too hard to walk out empty handed ;)

That is a dangerous experiment. :-)

You may have a difficult time getting it out of your hands. I have seen the images a friend has captured with a D700 and a D3 (not S) and I would not bet a lot of money on my ability to tell you just which body captured which image in a blind test. The D700 is a very fine camera indeed.

I concur with the others about the nice pix of your family.

Cheers!

P.S. Please post back with your observations after trying the additional software.

I'm going to play around with my Dfine trial download. Thanks for the illustration. I think I may bring my laptop to the camera store this weekend...just take a quick look at the D700. Shouldn't be too hard to walk out empty handed ;)

anjz,

This is an attempted linked-in of a crop from your image.

The area on the left side of the arrows has been processed with Dfine 2.0 at more or less default settings. There is some improvement, although, as others have noted, your original isn't too bad, so the improvement isn't very obvious even at 100% magnification. Nik has a downloadable tryout version of Dfine, which you might want to try.

ZZ (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned)

Sorry, I killed the links! The photo is at the following link:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4374073719_70f6a41fa0_b.jpg

Thank you again.

I also can't see the images in the original message.

I have both Neat Image and Nik's Dfine 2.0, and Dfine has much more capability and flexibility than Neat Image, although Neat Image is a lot better than nothing. Dfine has a lot of user settings, so it takes a signicant amount of learning and experimentation to see how well it can do. As soon as I bring a P&S JPEG image into Photoshop, I increase its image depth from 8-bit RGB to 16-bit RGB for greater precision in the subsequent computations. Removing noise without loosing fine detail takes some doing, but you can surprise yourself with how well you can do after you climb the Dfine learning curve. Nik has some online lessons, but experimentation is also a good idea.

ZZ (not associated with Nik Software or Dfine)

Cant see the images... :-(

Hi,

I was bothered so much by my old D300 and its noise that I upgraded to the D700 and now everythings fine. I used noise ninja which I managed to download for free off the net. This program has been so good that I would even buy it at this point. Its easy to overdo it though so mind the sliders and a little is often all you need. I have been told the D90 is a better camera than the D300 (same sensor) and the upgrade to a D700 is still significant price wise. Your pictures seem to have less noise in them anjz so maybe just give Noise Ninja a shot. Nice pics!^^

Kyoshinikon, you came along just when I thought I had my current bout of NAS under control....

You know, mb, I think you're right about the creativity. Ironically, rules can sometimes actually enhance creativity! After reading your comment, I've decided not to wait for the D700 replacement and start shooting with the limited edition D700 replacement that I've had all this time without knowing. It's been a productive day on the forum so far. ;-)

I'm off to post about the new sensor that my limited edition D700s doesn't have...

It is called limited because it lacks sensor, viewfinder, mount and the body altogether so it is somewhat limited technologically but it allows you to fully engage your creativity ;)

Unless I'm missing something, the main benefit is having 'Platinum Member' show up in blue underneath my avatar. ;-)

Oh yeah, and there's also that limited edition D700 that Niko promised me.

D90 to D300s for low light capabilities = not worth the $1700...

D90 to D700 for anything = you will die very happy knowing that now you can see in the dark...

So Johnnyapple what benefits do you get for being a platinum member that preferred, gold, regular, and coal members don't get? :^D

I suspected that, or a scientist (what's the difference anyway, when you get down to it, besides that some scientists don't have a clear view of what's possible in real life?). I'm in physics, but the applied side of things. I'm not trying to hijack your thread, anjz. PM is broken—that's my excuse.

jonnyapple said:
Wow, that is a really thorough test, sandpiper. Were you an engineer in a previous life?

Yes. I spent about 40 years as an EE.

Next month we will properly upgrade to Preferred member anyway, at app the same time

Pete

I just kept whining about it until one of the mods gave in and changed it for me. I assume it's only temporary.

I use Define to remove noise and it works OK, BTW Jonny what did it cost you to get to the Platinum level, I kind of feel left out, Plutonium sounds neat too

Pete

Wow, that is a really thorough test, sandpiper. Were you an engineer in a previous life?

anjz, you might want to try the noise reduction slider in lightroom, too. At ISO 400 or higher with shots from the D90, I always have it at least to 25. Photoshop does even better noise reduction if it's something really important, but lightroom works for me most of the time. I've never tried (or felt the need to try) third-party plugins like noise ninja, but some people swear by them.

This is great advice and some serious effort. Thank you all. I'm sticking with my D90 and will try these techniques.

I can see the noise that you are talking about, and understand that once you see it, it is hard to pretend it is not there. I have both a D90 and a D300s, and I have spent the last 30 minutes shooting shadows on a gray card at different ISO's with the two cameras. I find the same noise in the darker grays when I pixel peep, and I see no difference between the two cameras. I made sure the cameras were out of focus so I did not see texture in the gray card.

In your image, jpg compression may have made it appear slightly worse than it was before conversion to jpg. It appears to me I can see a bit of jpg artifacts there in the noise.

I have looked at and compared the DXOMark data, and think the D700 is about 1.5 f-stops better than the D90/D300s. So I think you could get an idea of what the D700 would do by just shooting a controlled scene at 1600 ISO, then again at about 500 ISO, and compare the results. I did that, and the noise was till very visible.

It seems to me this noise is mostly due to the pixel peeping. Maybe you are cropping too much, and could get better results with framing that does not require cropping.

Another option might be to use a gaussian blur only in the area where the problem is objectionable; it is already out of focus there.

Just some ideas, your mileage may vary.

you must be seeing something i'm not...

while there is a bit of noise all over the image, which gets somewhat better after NR, i'm not seeing anything significant in the areas you mentioned.

Honestly it just looks like a great shot.