OK, thanks, that makes sense. But what would be effect if it was turned off for these long exposures - would it make the images unusable? I'm still working on an assumption that in fact our OP should not really be WANTING to turn it off ?? My own fairly recent shots using it, (the night Canary Wharf buildings) were very clean and sharp I found - no negative 'noise reduction' after effects that I could see.

I appreciate the OP was using extreme long exposures though....

All great sharp shots, nice colour tones as well, well done to you both. Tom, I'd pull down the red & yellow saturation a little on that last one.

That was my experience - despite having the start point for NR set higher, I still had to wait for the extra 'dark frames' to record each time on exposures of 20-45 seconds.

What about my question above on the need for this ? Am I right in surmising that Dark Frame Subraction is NOT a feature that we would want to turn off anyway, in any long exposure situation?

Oh no, its all been going swimmingly so far ...

Yeah, I was hoping David Storm might have had a few before he logs on and sees them!

Thanks Algi, yes that combo is proving its worth - its not good in all lighting situations I have to say, contrast suffers and aberrations soon appear if there's much front lighting. Here I had to knock out all of the magenta channel as well, but pleased with the results. Not sure if the aperture (f16) required for this shot is a positive factor?

Thanks also John, it was hard to go too far wrong on this trip to such a beautiful place with such rewarding subjects, and in two weeks not one day without good light!

Carl, I decided to forget the technical approach with the ultra-wide ones in the harbour - the natural curve of the bay is exaggerated anyway, and having a structure near an edge was asking for trouble so, I just went with it!

I'm pressing on with the preparation of many more images from my Dorset visit. This time I've limited the selection to the Swanage Bay area, near where I was staying, including shots taken from the harbour, from the pier, and also a long view from the Purbeck Hills to the east (which are visible from some of the inner harbour photos). They look higher when you're up on top !

All shots of course with the ever faithful, never failing K7 , and lenses as described with the shots. Thanks for taking a look, and I always appreciate any thoughts or responses.


1) Swanage Inner Harbour, Telezoom : Pentax 'M' 75-150 f4, plus 2x TC = 300mm, at f16






2) Peveril Point, DA 18-55 AL WR f3.5-5.6, at f8






3) Inner Harbour 1, Samyang 14mm f2.8, at f11 .... with these next 3 I have allowed the distortion of the lens full reign, I'm not trying to be technically correct, more a creative approach to the framing and what can be seen






4) Inner Harbour 2 Colour, Samyang 14mm f2.8, at f11 - here I've made 2 versions, colour & mono, again just to try out the creative effect ... which is better ... or neither ? ..






5) Inner Harbour 2 Mono






6) From the Pier, Samyang 14mm f2.8, at f8






7) Swanage Harbour from near Peveril Point, Samyang 14mm f2.8, at f11







Thanks for taking a look, Nigel

I think there's confusion over the termonologies ... Noise Reduction 'as we know it' is (as redbusa99 says) done in PP on the computer. This is the only intelligent approach really, because each image has different NR needs, and may not need it all over, so selectively is the best way.

'Noise Reduction' on the K7 camera (and later models also I'm guessing?)is not 'NR as we know it' .... the camera NR technique and process is 'Dark Frame Subtraction' - I don't know the science behind it (others will I'm sure), but it involves taking an extra exposure, with the shutter closed I think, so that the extra exposure records a 'noise map' of the dark (a dark frame) ... this is then used to 'subtract' the noise from the actual image exposure.

The settings available are to control at what ISO it starts to function. The last time I did bulb shooting I was only using 30-45 sec exposures, and the camera was remaining locked while it took the 'dark frame', so I was waiting twice the time for a single shot (I could hear the shutter close in between). Now my NR settings on the camera are set to kick in at ISO 400, and I was shooting at 100, so it seems that Dark Frame Subtraction functions automatically for any long exposure ?? We may not be able to prevent this - but surely it is a good thing anyway, I don't think you should want to de-activate it (can't imagine the results without it!). Because its not blurring type Noise Reduction then I don't think it has a negative impact on image quality.

I appreciate you need to use the camera again, and 30 minutes is a very long time!. But I wonder , would your images be usable without the Dark Frame Subtraction?

This is a very good set of church interior photos, and it conveys a good sense of the building, spaces and styles inside it. The first long view shot is excellent for its tonal balance & subtle colours. There is really good dynamic range in the scene, nicely handled

I also like the detail shots, especially the 3rd with its crisp shiny tones, sharp gold detail and bright flowers contrasting with the more sober background. The others are well taken, perhaps they could take some more shadow lifting generally, just to reveal a little more for the eye to explore. Thanks for posting a beautiful set Philip!

This seems to accelerate the trend of ever more capable sensors, high-end in fact, being used in bodies not targeted at the 'high end' sector of the market. It makes the cameras even better value - the question is, will such sensor capability & quality be wasted on the majority who might buy it?