Very noise low light high ISO pictures from 600D

When looking at a scene, how are you folks deciding how much to ettr?

Snap one and look at the histogram

MakisM1 wrote in post #16611240
Snap one and look at the histogram

Thanks.

khwaja wrote in post #16611223
I used Weighted and spot. Evaluative vs Weighted, which one is better default metering mode. Is focus and recompose method only with center AF. Spot metering area is fixed. I switched it to weighted when I am using other focus points.
Thanks

Default is evaluative.

In a strong backlit situation, just dial in EC (that's what I do).

Spot metering will also work, do I don't like messing around with it and later forget to change it back.

Focus recompose will work with any AF points as long as initial focus is acquired and locked.

What is the difference in ec and pushing iso or lowering shutter speed
Etc....does ec create the same noise as pushing iso? What does ec actually do in th calculation of the exposure in relation to iso, shutter and aperture? I would think it has to hurt iq somewhere....or be = to pushing iso. I could be wrong, but his can't be magic.

EC stands for exposure compensation. It works for the automatic/semi-automatic modes (P,Av,Tv). You basically tell the camera to take a light reading and then up the settings by the amount specified in EC.

Pushing the ISO was an old film term, I am not sure what it means with digital photography.

ETTR is a long story, look at Teamspeed's mini review for improving noise performance in the 7D. It holds true for all digital cameras.

EDIT: Here is what you can achieve in noise reduction from RAW to the finished photo. 60D at ISO 12800 100% crop

IMAGE LINK: http://s37.photobucket​.com …3001_zps645c49d​a.jpg.html

Frodge wrote in post #16611257
What is the difference in ec and pushing iso or lowering shutter speed
Etc....does ec create the same noise as pushing iso? What does ec actually do in th calculation of the exposure in relation to iso, shutter and aperture? I would think it has to hurt iq somewhere....or be = to pushing iso. I could be wrong, but his can't be magic.

No difference, the camera does either or both for you to meet your EC requirement.

It's no magic. In AV, it will probably sacrifice your ss first all the way down to the safety net (1/focal length rule), and if that's still not enough ISO is lifted.

EC is just a semi-auto mode on top of P/Av/Tv.

There are only 3 variables = shutter speed, aperture and ISO. He is shooting in TV, so dialing in +ec will only open up the aperture even further. There isn't auto ISO in the Rebels to my knowledge, so that's going to stay put wherever the OP set it.

Scrumhalf wrote in post #16611270
There are only 3 variables = shutter speed, aperture and ISO. He is shooting in TV, so dialing in +ec will only open up the aperture even further. There isn't auto ISO in the Rebels to my knowledge, so that's going to stay put wherever the OP set it.

My rebel has auto iso. I know ec is exposure compensation, but what is the purpose of using it rather than just lifting iso, lowering shutter speed or opening th aperture, or a combination of the three?

Exposing to the right and then reducing exposure in post suppresses the noise, pretty much the same way Dolby works for sound

OK, didn't know that about the Rebels. Best reason to use EC is quickness and ease of use. If you are in. AV or TV and you know you need to overexpose things by a third or two third of a stop then just dial it in EC and move on. I order to do the same thing manually, you've got to shoot in M and pick the values to move the exposure meter over a couple of clicks.

MakisM1 wrote in post #16611288
Exposing to the right and then reducing exposure in post suppresses the noise, pretty much the same way Dolby works for sound

So it's basically a way in cheating around a higher iso in camera. Excellent to know. So are most of you folks using ettr and pulling it back down in Lightroom? What type of histogram do you shoot for?

Yeah, if you shoot in Av or Tv, the camera is going to center the exposure dial at zero based on its metering algorithm. Only way to get it higher or lower than zero is to use EC.

I generally push exposure as far to the right as I can without clipping important highlights. I use the blinkies to make sure. The blinkie algorithm is conservative in my experience, so you can recover some low level blinkies in LR. Of course if you crush the whites, then it's game over.

Frodge wrote in post #16611283
My rebel has auto iso. I know ec is exposure compensation, but what is the purpose of using it rather than just lifting iso, lowering shutter speed or opening th aperture, or a combination of the three?

of course the rebels have auto iso. I only use EC for situations like shooting in snow where everything is white and you know the exposure is fooled otherwise in many situations it causes results like the OP experiences.

Frodge wrote in post #16611307
So it's basically a way in cheating around a higher iso in camera.

That is not entirely true. Please read my explanation.

In Av, if your shutter speed is already very low and you have picked a fixed ISO value, dialing in + EC can end up with a very low shutter speed where camera shake is introduced.

With auto ISO, iso will be bumped....