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Question about GFX100 high ISO performance

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
Hello chums,

As regular members of this site will know, I make quite extensive use of my Pentax 645Z for high ISO, astro work. Milky Way shots quite often use ISO6400 or occasionally higher. I am reasonably happy with the results, but feel that more recent sensor tech might be able to do better. And I would like to achieve better noise performance while also improving resolution.

The GFX50 variants didn't represent a strong option for me. The sensor is the same as the 645Z. The high ISO noise is, if anything, slightly worse than the way that Pentax implemented the sensor.

However, with the GFX100 (higher resolution and newer sensor), there seems to be the potential for better high ISO noise performance. I first asked this question when the camera was being launched, and no one had sufficient experience with the camera to help. Does anyone here have experience of using the camera at ISO6400 or higher? Are you able to comment on its noise performance, especially compared to either the GFX50 models or the 645Z? There's no point getting higher resolution if I will lose any quality gain to noise. I am interested in pixel level noise as well as noise at a given print size...

Would be great to upgrade, but I am wary of doing so without this specific information. It's such an important part of my usage that I would accept my current lower resolution in good light if addressing it compromised my high ISO results.

Any experiences would be gratefully received...

Thanks in advance!

Ed
 

PeterA

Well-known member
Hello chums,

As regular members of this site will know, I make quite extensive use of my Pentax 645Z for high ISO, astro work. Milky Way shots quite often use ISO6400 or occasionally higher. I am reasonably happy with the results, but feel that more recent sensor tech might be able to do better. And I would like to achieve better noise performance while also improving resolution.

The GFX50 variants didn't represent a strong option for me. The sensor is the same as the 645Z. The high ISO noise is, if anything, slightly worse than the way that Pentax implemented the sensor.

However, with the GFX100 (higher resolution and newer sensor), there seems to be the potential for better high ISO noise performance. I first asked this question when the camera was being launched, and no one had sufficient experience with the camera to help. Does anyone here have experience of using the camera at ISO6400 or higher? Are you able to comment on its noise performance, especially compared to either the GFX50 models or the 645Z? There's no point getting higher resolution if I will lose any quality gain to noise. I am interested in pixel level noise as well as noise at a given print size...

Would be great to upgrade, but I am wary of doing so without this specific information. It's such an important part of my usage that I would accept my current lower resolution in good light if addressing it compromised my high ISO results.

Any experiences would be gratefully received...

Thanks in advance!

Ed
Ed I can't comment on usefulness for your purposes (or not) since I don't do night time shooting. However, you are welcome to have a loan of my GFX100 and test yourself. My lens collection is limited to 23/4 | 32-63/4 |45/2.8|110/2 and 250/4 + TC together making it 5.6.
Pete
 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
ISO 102400, but it's B&W. Still, surprisingly usable. I almost never use noise reduction, unless it's color speckles.



This is ISO 3200. I don't have any 6400 shots, but I'd be happy to try some.



Matt
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
Ed I can't comment on usefulness for your purposes (or not) since I don't do night time shooting. However, you are welcome to have a loan of my GFX100 and test yourself. My lens collection is limited to 23/4 | 32-63/4 |45/2.8|110/2 and 250/4 + TC together making it 5.6.
Pete
Wow, Pete! That is a ridiculously amazing offer... I will certainly take you up on it, once I manage to psych myself up to allow myself to use someone else's gear - such a responsibility.

Maybe we should meet for a beer first, since we both live close to each other. I'll shoot you a PM.

Thanks again, mate...
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
ISO 102400, but it's B&W. Still, surprisingly usable. I almost never use noise reduction, unless it's color speckles.



This is ISO 3200. I don't have any 6400 shots, but I'd be happy to try some.



Matt
Thanks, Matt. Those shots look promising. I think the challenge is what the results are like in dark areas, when shot at high ISO.
 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
Ed,

Here's a series I just shot from ISO 3200 to ISO 102,400. I'll send you a link to the RAW files, too. I think I corrected the light falloff in the corners of the first image, otherwise, they are straight OOC converted in C1. Not that you can see a lot at web size.

ISO 3200


ISO 6400


ISO 12800


ISO 25600


ISO 51200


ISO 102400


ISO 6.023 x 10^23
Just kidding

Matt
 
Last edited:

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
Ed,

Here's a series I just shot from ISO 3200 to ISO 102,400. I'll send you a link to the RAW files, too. I think I corrected the light falloff in the corners of the first image, otherwise, they are straight OOC converted in LR. Not that you can see a lot at web size.

ISO 3200


ISO 6400


ISO 12800


ISO 25600


ISO 51200


ISO 102400


ISO 6.023 x 10^23
Just kidding

Matt
Those look pretty damn good to me, Matt! Thanks for the RAWs too - I will download over the next day or so. It's tremendously helpful of you. What a wonderful group of people we have on this site :)
 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
100% crops, that is, 1200x900 pixels. This is about 1% of the frame, so bear that in mind. No NR...

ISO 3200


ISO 6400


ISO 12800


ISO 25600


ISO 51200


ISO 102400


ISO 102400 with C1 NR


Matt
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
100% crops, that is, 1200x900 pixels. This is about 1% of the frame, so bear that in mind. No NR...

ISO 3200


ISO 6400


ISO 12800


ISO 25600


ISO 51200


ISO 102400


Matt

Difficult to be certain, but my impression is that noise is as good or slightly better at pixel level (compared to 645Z) for a given ISO, which would mean (given higher resolution) that the overall effect is superior for a given print size. Encouraging!
 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
Those look pretty damn good to me, Matt! Thanks for the RAWs too - I will download over the next day or so. It's tremendously helpful of you. What a wonderful group of people we have on this site :)
Ed,

Happy to help! It's a lot easier to run test series than it is to produce art :ROTFL:

Matt
 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
Difficult to be certain, but my impression is that noise is as good or slightly better at pixel level (compared to 645Z) for a given ISO, which would mean (given higher resolution) that the overall effect is superior for a given print size. Encouraging!
I added a NR version of the ISO 102400 crop above. I just used C1 - probably one of the fancy new AI de-noisers would do a better job. But with the RAW's, you can process and print yourself. Always hard to tell from online posts!

Matt
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
I added a NR version of the ISO 102400 crop above. I just used C1 - probably one of the fancy new AI de-noisers would do a better job. But with the RAW's, you can process and print yourself. Always hard to tell from online posts!

Matt
You're a gentleman as well as an artist
 
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