K5 High ISO banding?
Here's a test shot at 1/200th, f4, and ISO 51200 I made a couple of nights ago. The light was from a low power energy saver bulb.
I'm quite happy that if I ever needed this extreme setting, I would get a shot I could use, where others will fail, unless they also use a K5 of course.
www.chrismillsphotography.co.uk
" A Hangover is something that occupies the Head you neglected to use the night before".
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K1 - Sigma 85mm F1.4, Pentax DFA 150 -450 F4.5 / 5.6, Pentax DFA* 24 - 70 F2.8
Samyang 14mm F2.8, Pentax DFA* 70-200 F2.8
K3iii + K3ii + K5iis converted to IR, Sigma 17 - 70 F2.8, Pentax 55 - 300 F4.5 / F5.6 PLM
I think your subject and lighting are bound to show any tiny flaw in the K5's sensor at these settings.
Here's a test shot at 1/200th, f4, and ISO 51200 I made a couple of nights ago. The light was from a low power energy saver bulb.
I'm quite happy that if I ever needed this extreme setting, I would get a shot I could use, where others will fail, unless they also use a K5 of course.
Great example Peter.
Best regards
In the mean time its true that I rarely shoot high ISO (above 3200/6400) so it shouldn't be an issue (I've not noticed it for 4000 shots, but will check again later). Nevertheless if my k5 does have an issue, it's not right, and I'd like to know so I can get it addressed by Pentax.
Edit: probably is the 'subjects' in the above photos which make the banding obvious - couldnt resist and took my batteries off charge and snapped some more normal photos around the house (ie of actual things I'm likely to photograph) and at those high ISO's the banding is only visible in darker, under exposed areas, such as shadows.
The issue doesn't bug me and I can live with it, and if it does get worse I always have the 2year warranty to help me out
Nevertheless I'm going to swap RAWs with JohnBee at the other forums, and see if it is worse on my k-5. Will keep you all updated - perhaps this could serve as a useful reference in the future
Using the colour noise reduction in LR3 seems to get get rid of it easily enough though. So not much of a problem really and my k5 seems fine.
I sent some raws to JohnBee over at PF to check out and like others have said my k5 seems fine and they don't see the banding too - I just think it was a problem caused by my poor noise reduction (inexperience), and me over examining my photos and wanting to find a problem.
anyway for those interested, and so that this might possibly serve as a type of reference here's what JohnBee said:
I think you've likely encoutered that artifacts such as banding can and are often times dealt with by the RAW developer. However in other cases, its not so easy or possible and so you may notice banding appearing in certain images, and not in others at the same sensitivity.
On the other hand, the ISO51200 sample didn't exhibit any banding on my end using both RAW Therapee and Adobe Camera Raw(without NR). Though I still wouldn't recommend ISO51200 for anything but extreme measures given that the limited amount of detail available at this level.
Having said that, I did notice a significant magenta case in your table DNG. And at first glance(without looking) I'd say this was most likely due to underexposure. To which I'd add, one helpful tip I've discovered, is to lean to the right as far as possible without blowing highlights when shooting at higher sensitivities. Which helps reduce overall artifacts and more importantly... the type of problems such as the ones seen here.
Other than that, I'm happy to report that your sensor seems pretty much identical to my own in terms of high ISO performance. And so I'd say you are safe! and that there is no need to send out your unit as far as this goes.
FRT. here's some RAW Therapee/Topaz Denoise output from your ISO51200 sample. And while its not the greatest! - I'd say its good enough for emergency use if/when needed
PS. I used to shoot at max sensitivities with my K20's on a regular bassis. However, with the K-5, I've gotten into the habit of limiting my output to ISO2000. And that's not because I'm afraid of max ISO, but because I don't like the low level noise reduction that the K-5 applies to RAW files. Which kicks-in at ISO2200. And therefore, by keeping the meter bellow 2200, you can push process in post(RAW developer) and avoid the detail loss that comes with the K-5 prime engine. The downside on the other hand is that you have more noise to deal with(so its a give and take).
Anyways, based on what I've seen here, I'd say you're K-5 is in good hands! - Take care and thanks for participating.
Sincerely,
JohnBee
Vince
Stop by my flickr and say hi here =)
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118 posts
13 years
Cheshire
I noticed some banding at high ISO on my k5 and started a thread at the other forums (link)
and just wondered if anyone noticed banding at high ISO here?
Here's what I said over there:
Hi guys,
Just shot my K5 at high ISO for once and noticed 'banding' appearing at ISO 9000. I then took a few more shots to see if this was normal and it seemed to get progressively worse the higher the ISO, begins only faintly visible to obvious and is most obvious in darker scenes.
This occured regardless of the Noise reduction setting (it appeared at all strengths, on or off)
I did a google search and nothing came up, so thought I'd ask. I'd appreciate it if anyone else can test for this.
It looks similar to the 'Panasonic GH1 banding issue' (google it), and I can post images if necessary.
I'm just surprised that no one else has said anything about it so thought i would, could just be my k5 though
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions/ideas
Thanks guys, its harder to see around ISO9000-12800 I'd say
For now I've got jpegs - I dont know how to upload raws, but I can assure you its on RAWs too.
Heres ISO12800 from my k5
12800 Banding 2 by VinceChu89, on Flickr
12800 Banding 1 by VinceChu89, on Flickr
ISO 25600
25600 Banding 2 by VinceChu89, on Flickr
25600 Banding 1 by VinceChu89, on Flickr
ISO 51200
51200 Banding2 by VinceChu89, on Flickr
51200 Banding1 by VinceChu89, on Flickr
I know that I rarely use above ISO 6400, but still I'd like to know if this is normal I also have to say that this banding is more noticeable in different settings, mainly where there are darker colours or shadows.