High ISO | FUJI X WEEKLY

ISO 51200 — Why?!? — Or, is it actually useful?

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*Fujifilm X-T50 – ISO 51200 – Nostalgic Negative*

Today’s digital cameras are exceptionally good at high ISO. For those unaware, ISO can be understood as a measurement of the sensitivity of a digital sensor or film emulsion to light. The more sensitive, the more grainy or noisy, which degrades the image quality. My question is: why do our Fujifilm X-series models even have ISO 51200? Who would ever use it?

I remember way back in the film days that ISO 400 was considered to be “high ISO”—that’s what the “H” stands for in Fujicolor PRO 400H, actually. ISO 800 was largely used only if you really had to (or for the novice that didn’t know any better—Kodak made a lot of sales of ISO 800 and ISO 1000 film back in the day marketed specifically to the uninformed). ISO 1600 was basically for emergency situations. ISO 3200—the upper limit—was for the truly brave. The higher ISOs were more acceptable (and more widely used) for B&W than color, where the grittiness could be used artistically. Still, the rule of thumb back then was to always use the lowest ISO that you thought you could get away with.

Nowadays, with modern gear, I use ISO 800 without even batting an eye. ISO 1600 is more like how ISO 400 was back them—perfectly usable, but the high-ISO limit for some. ISO 3200 on my Fujifilm cameras is actually much more usable than ISO 800 film ever was—ISO 6400 is probably a closer parallel to ISO 800 film, yet cleaner.

*Fujifilm X-T30 – ISO 25600 – Ilford HP5 Plus 400 Push Process Recipe*

For color photography, ISO 6400 is often my upper limit, but sometimes I’ll use ISO 12800, like with the GAF 500 Recipe. For B&W, ISO 12800 is often my upper limit; however, there are times when I’ve used ISO 25600 or (more rarely) ISO 51200, like with the Ilford HP5 Plus 400 Push-Process Recipe. I feel like ISO 25600 is probably the closest equivalent on Fujifilm X cameras to ISO 3200 with film.

The fact that I use ISO 6400 and sometimes ISO 12800 (particularly for B&W) without being too concerned about the quality is mind blowing. Even going back just 15 years… I remember accidentally shooting at ISO 1600 on my first DSLR, and the pictures were essentially ruined by it. ISO 800 was pretty much the upper limit for that camera before the image quality degraded too much. Some people probably don’t realize just how good their Fujifilm cameras are at high ISO photography.

Several people have told me that they avoid Film Simulation Recipes that use DR400 because the Dynamic Range settings are ISO-dependent, and DR400 requires a higher ISO than they are comfortable using. Everyone has their own tastes and preferences, but I would encourage anyone who is afraid to try higher ISOs to just give it a try and see what you discover. Don’t be afraid to bump it up a little.

*Fujifilm X-T5 – ISO 25600 — Ilford HP5 Plus 400 Push Process Recipe*

On Fujifilm models that don’t have a dedicated ISO Dial, I will use the front Command Dial to adjust the ISO. The unfortunate aspect of this is that I occasionally bump the Command Dial, which changes the ISO—most often, to ISO 51200, which is the camera’s maximum ISO. I usually catch it right away, but sometimes it’s not until after a few exposures.

Whenever this happens, I wonder why Fujifilm even has ISO 51200. Why not top it out at ISO 25600? While ISO 25600 isn’t especially useful for color photography, it can be good for gritty B&W. ISO 51200 is marginal even for gritty B&W, and is pretty much unusable for color. And who needs ISO 51200 anyway? Certainly the situations are extremely rare where ISO 12800 is too low, let alone ISO 25600.

Just recently, though, I had a change of heart. Actually, I had an epiphany: ISO 51200 on Fujifilm is a lot like Kodak Kodacolor VR 1000 film. When Kodak released that emulsion in the early 1980’s, it was the highest ISO color film available. However, the pictures were quite grainy and textured, and the film was shunned by most “serious” photographers at the time (and discontinued after just four years). Nowadays, there are actually some people who search out the film (which has long since expired), and shoot it for its aesthetic. Instead, they could simply use ISO 51200 on a Fujifilm camera and get similar results. You won’t want to print very large, but for web use or small prints, it’s surprisingly fine.

Below are some pictures that I captured recently using ISO 51200 on a Fujifilm X-T50. It began as an accident, but then I did it on purpose. The “Recipe” is a modification of an upcoming Film Simulation Recipe that I’ve been working on. Most of the pictures below are the Nostalgic Neg. film simulation, and one is Eterna. Those two film sims seem to be the best for ultra high ISO color photography.

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X-T50 in black:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
Fujifilm X-T50 in silver:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
Fujifilm X-T50 in charcoal:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex

Creative Collective 055: Serendipity of Accidental Noise

Posted on September 25, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Dark Cloud Over The Dark Mountain* – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Ilford HP5 Plus 400 Push Process Recipe – ISO 25600

Most people don’t use ultra-high ISOs like 25600 on their Fujifilm cameras. But maybe it’s underutilized? Perhaps it’s not appreciated nearly as much as it should be. While I have utilized ISO 25600 and higher on purpose in the past, a couple of recent accidental uses of this ultra-high ISO has made me pause and reconsider if I should be using it more often than I do.

So let’s take a look at some ultra-high ISOs!

7 Film Simulation Recipes for Ultra-High-ISO Photography

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Garden Spiderweb* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – GAF 500 Recipe – ISO 12800

I remember when ISO 400 used to be consider high ISO. In fact, the “H” in Fujicolor Pro 400H means high ISO. When I shot film, I usually didn’t go higher than ISO 400, although on a rare occasion I did go wild and use an ISO 800, 1600, or (gasp!) 3200 emulsion (those were ultra-high-ISOs back then), when the expected light was dim and a tripod wasn’t practical. When I started shooting digital almost 15 years ago, I remember that ISO 1600 on my first DSLR was barely usable in a pinch, and it was best to stay at or below ISO 800. Nowadays those limitations are long gone.

Thanks to the X-Trans color array, Fujifilm is better able to differentiate color noise from color information (than with a Bayer array), allowing more control over how noise is rendered. Because of this, the APS-C sensor on Fujifilm X cameras does pretty darn well at high-ISO photography. Yes, it can get noisy, but the noise is more organic-looking and less color-splotchy (perhaps even a little film-grain-like) than non-X-Trans cameras typically produce.

Still, a lot of photographers are hesitant to try high-ISO photography. I’ve had someone tell me that they never go beyond ISO 800 on their Fujifilm cameras. Someone else said that they don’t use Film Simulation Recipes with DR400 because it requires an ISO that they’re not comfortable using. Everyone has their own preferred upper ISO limit—mine might be higher than yours, and that’s ok. What I’d like to do, though, is encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone, and try some ISOs that you would not normally—or perhaps ever—use.

You might want to use ultra-high-ISOs—which I consider to be ISO 12800 and higher, but your definition might be different—in dim light situations, such as at night or in a poorly lit room. That’s probably the most common reason. I will sometimes use really high ISOs in daylight when it’s not even necessary just for the aesthetic of it. Crazy, right?! I think sometimes digital can appear too clean, and an ultra-high-ISO can give the picture a grittier look, more similar to some film emulsions.

Of course, using ultra-high-ISOs in daylight can be problematic because the light is strong. My Fujifilm X100V has a built-in ND filter, which makes it more practical. Otherwise, screwing an ND filter onto the end of the lens will help. If you don’t have one, be sure to use your camera’s electronic shutter (instead of the mechanical one) because it is capable of faster shutter speeds. You might also have to use small apertures like f/11 or f/16 to reduce the light entering the camera.

If you want to give it a try, below are seven Film Simulation Recipes that use ultra-high-ISOs. Many of them go “up to” an ultra-high-ISO, so in that case you’d want to purposefully choose a high ISO instead of a low one. Give one or more of these Recipes a try today! Leave a comment to let me know which one (or ones) you like. My personal top favorites are GAF 500 for color and Kodak Tri-X 400 for B&W.

ISO 12800

Up to ISO 12800

Up to ISO 25600

ISO 1600-12800

Ilford Delta Push Process

ISO 12800

Kodak Tri-X Push Process

ISO 3200-12800

Ilford HP5 Plus 400 Push Process

ISO 25600-51200

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and nearly 300 more on the Fuji X Weekly — Film Recipes App!

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Making the Fujifilm X-T5 Make a Lot of Noise — Testing High-ISO on X-Trans V

Posted on November 28, 2022 by Ritchie Roesch

*Lights from a Frosted Window* – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – “Kodachrome 64” – ISO 6400

A lot of people have asked me if the Fujifilm X-T5, with the new 40-megapixel X-Trans V sensor and processor, is better or worse than the 26-megapixel X-Trans IV cameras when it comes to high-ISO noise. Conventional wisdom would suggest that the lower-resolution sensor would be superior. Is it? Or did Fujifilm pull a rabbit out of a magic hat and somehow make X-Trans V better at high-ISO despite more megapixels?

I’ve spent some time pixel-peeping, comparing X-Trans V to X-Trans IV. Right off the bat I can tell you that both are pretty similar to each other. You’ll have a very hard time noticing the differences without pixel-peeping, and with pixel-peeping, they’re still quite similar. Below I’ve included a massive crop from an X-Trans V camera and an X-Trans IV camera. If these crops were sections of the whole pictures printed, I don’t know how large the prints would be, but they would be very large, so keep that in mind. The picture on the left (revealed by moving the bar to the right) is X-Trans IV, and the picture on the right (revealed by moving the bar to the left) is X-Trans V. Take a look at these two images.

You likely notice that the X-Trans V image is a little more detailed with noticeably finer digital noise, while the X-Trans IV picture is a tad fuzzier with chunkier digital noise. This is a result of the higher resolution sensor of the 40mp X-Trans V camera. What might be less obvious is that there seems to be just a bit more color blotchiness in the X-Trans V image. Perhaps even less obvious, I believe the X-Trans V camera is applying a slightly heavier-handed noise reduction to the picture than X-Trans IV, despite both set to -4 High ISO NR. However, please take all of this with a grain of salt, because we’re seriously pixel-peeping here. In real world photography, both cameras are pretty darn good at high-ISO, and neither are significantly better or worse than the other, and there’s no practical variance between the two. Unless you print posters or crop deeply, you’re not going to even notice a difference—even if you did print large or crop massively, the differences are pretty minor, but I guess you can feel confident that ultra-high ISO pictures will look slightly better (for the most part) on X-Trans V than X-Trans IV. That’s the takeaway, I think: high-ISO on X-Trans V cameras are just a hair better than X-Trans IV, but not enough to make a practical difference for most people. What I will add, though, is that it’s pretty amazing that they could do this while also increasing the resolution. I do wonder, though, if Fujifilm could make—say—a 20mp X-Trans camera with significantly increased dynamic range and high-ISO performance—that’s something I would be highly interested in.

Below are a few more high-ISO examples from my Fujifilm X-T5 camera.

*Polar* – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – “GAF 500” – ISO 12800

*Train Wheels* – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – “GAF 500” – ISO 12800

*Tracks* – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – “Kodachrome 64” – ISO 6400

*Polar Express Passengers* – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – “Kodak Tri-X 400” – ISO 12800

*Tree Lights* – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – “Kodachrome 64” – ISO 6400

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X-T5 in black: Amazon B&H
Fujifilm X-T5 in silver: Amazon B&H

Pal2Tech Film Simulation High-ISO Video

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

Pal2Tech posted a video today discussing the noise performance of various film simulations when using high-ISO photography on Fujifilm cameras. I like the videos from this channel, as they’re always entertaining and educational. I’ve learned several things myself, so I definitely recommend following him if you don’t already.

I wanted to mention this particular video (which you’ll find above) specifically because I think it misses the point on high-ISO photography. Or several points, really. I do still recommend watching it—I found it interesting, personally—and I appreciate the effort put into it. But I want to add my own commentary, so here we go!

The first point that’s missed is that Fujifilm’s digital noise doesn’t look like typical noise from digital cameras. Fujifilm’s programming makes it appear more organic, a little more film-grain-like, and much less hideous than that from other brands. So having some noise in an image isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Digital noise can actually be more than just “not bad” but can actually be a positive thing, and you might be missing out by avoiding it.

Which brings me to point two: in the digital age we’re too often striving for “perfect” images with its squeaky-clean aesthetics. In my article No Edit Photography: 7 Tips To Get The Film Look From Your Digital Photos, I stated, “Perfect pictures can be perfectly boring.” And, “Creativity is rarely born out of perfectionism.” Avoiding digital noise is ok, I suppose, but never at the expense of things that are more important.

Point number three (for those keeping track) is that digital noise (from Fujifilm cameras) can actually make your digital pictures appear less digital and more film-like (that’s tip six in that article I linked to in the last paragraph). In fact, my Ilford HP5 Plus Push Process film simulation recipe purposefully uses a minimum ISO of 25600, and it looks shockingly good when printed! If you’re striving for “perfection” and you are pixel-peeping at 300% magnification, noise might bother you a little. Otherwise, the “imperfection” of it can be incorporated beautifully into your art.

The simple takeaway is this: don’t be afraid to get a little noisy. Don’t worry so much about squeaky-clean pictures, but embrace the messiness of photography, and worry about the things that actually matter (like storytelling). Don’t be afraid to shoot at high-ISOs. Certainly if you are limiting yourself to below ISO 3200 for Acros, Classic Negative, and Eterna Bleach Bypass, you are missing out on some lovely pictures (you’ll find an example of each below). It’s ok to pixel-peep, but just know that nobody outside of some photographers care what an image looks like when inspected so closely, and most people who view your pictures won’t be impressed or unimpressed by how an image looks at that magnification, because they only care if the picture as a whole speaks to them in some way.

Fujifilm X-E4 – Eterna Bleach Bypass – ISO 5000

Fujifilm X-E4 – Classic Negative – ISO 5000

ISO — How High Can You Go?

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Dark Cloud Over The Dark Mountain* – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Ilford HP5 Plus Push Process” film simulation recipe — ISO 25600

When it comes to ISO, how high can you go? On your Fujifilm camera, how high is too high? 3200? 6400? 12800? 25600?

This article will explore the topic of high-ISO photography on Fujifilm X cameras. Can you bump it more than you think? Will it look good printed? How does it compare to film? Those are the questions that this post intends to answer.

Note: this was a Creative Collective article, but now it’s available to everyone.

This all started by accident. Two accidents, actually. The first one was back in 2019 when I mistakenly chose ISO 51200 instead of Auto-3 ISO on my Fujifilm X-T30, which happily turned into the Ilford HP5 Plus Push Process film simulation recipe. The second accident was similar, and happened in July of this year. I have the front wheel of my Fujifilm X-E4 set to adjust the ISO (because the camera doesn’t have an ISO dial), and I mistakenly pushed it and unknowingly set the ISO to 51200! I snapped what I thought could be a wonderful picture while at an aquarium. A couple of minutes later I realized my mistake—and I initially panicked, because the opportunity came and went. Then I remembered the Ilford HP5 Plus Push Process recipe, which requires a minimum ISO of 25600, and I knew that I could RAW reprocess in-camera the picture with that recipe, which is what I did (except that I set Grain to Weak and Small instead of Strong). You can see the photograph below:

*Fujifilm X-E4 at ISO 51200 — click here for bigger*

The results, honestly, are pretty darn impressive. Seriously, this is ISO 51200! I remember back in the film days that ISO 400 was considered to be high-ISO—that’s what the “H” stands for in Fujicolor Pro 400H. ISO 3200 was crazy high, and only for extreme situations or the truly brave. The fact that I use ISO 3200 on any of my Fujifilm cameras—going back to X-Trans I—and don’t even think twice about it is a testament to the advancements of digital technology. It’s truly amazing! And it’s not uncommon to go even higher than that. But would my ISO 51200 picture look good enough when viewed larger than internet and social media sizes? Would it look good printed?

With color photography, on X-Trans I & II cameras, I like the results up to ISO 3200. On X-Trans III cameras I like the results all the way to ISO 12800. On X-Trans IV cameras I like the results up to ISO 6400. Black-and-white is another story, though. On X-Trans I & II I like the results up to ISO 6400. On X-Trans III & IV, you can max it out. While some digital cameras are known for their high-ISO performance, and ISO 51200 is no big deal, going that high on an APS-C sized sensor is nothing short of incredible! Fujifilm does not get enough press for just how miraculous this is.

Wanting to see how the aquarium picture would look printed, I sent it off to the lab. I also printed the Dark Cloud Over The Dark Mountain photo because it was captured at ISO 25600 and I was curious how it would compare to ISO 51200. For the fun of it, I also printed a picture captured on actual Ilford Delta 3200 film. I had the lab make 8″ x 12″ prints of all three images.

*Actual Ilford Delta 3200 film — click here for bigger*

I captured some images of the prints, which you’ll find below. It’s hard to tell anything by looking at them on the web, so I want to talk about them. First, all three pictures appear good printed at the 8″ x 12″ size. The lab seemed to print the aquarium picture a little darker than I had expected—by maybe 1/3 stop. That was disappointing, but otherwise the quality was good, and I wouldn’t have any issues displaying these on my wall. I think all three could have been printed larger. I suspected that 8″ x 12″ would be the largest that I’d want to print an ISO 51200 exposure before it would degrade, but after examining the print, I do believe it would look fine even larger, perhaps 12″ x 18″. The ISO 25600 exposure could probably do well printed at 16″ x 24″ and maybe larger.

The obvious thing about the ISO 3200 film picture is the size of the grain. It’s huge! This was 35mm film, so the grain from Ilford Delta 3200 in 120 format wouldn’t appear quite so large. This brings up a point about Fujifilm’s faux grain and the digital noise, which is a little film-grain-like on Fujifilm cameras, that I’d like to mention: the size of it is more like medium-format than 35mm. This isn’t universally true—low-ISO films often had extremely fine grain. Generally speaking, however, even with Grain set to Strong and Large at a high-ISO, it’s not going to be anywhere close to the size of 35mm ISO 3200 grain, and not ISO 1600, either, and maybe not even ISO 800. Medium-format film is much larger, so the magnification isn’t nearly so much when printed, and the grain appears finer, and a lot of times I think Fujifilm cameras produce a grain-look that’s more similar to that.

Let’s look at the prints!

Like I said, there’s not much that you can really tell by looking at these pictures of the prints. It’s something you have to view for yourself. If you’ve captured an ultra-high-ISO picture on your Fujifilm camera, try printing it, so that you can see for yourself the surprisingly good quality. I think you’ll be shocked at just how usable these supposedly unusable ISOs actually are.

And that’s the point of this article. Is ISO 51200 or even ISO 25600 ideal? No. If you are after optimal image quality, my advice is to keep the ISO at and below ISO 800. But if a little graininess doesn’t bother you, and you’re not planning on pixel-peeping or printing posters, the photographs captured at these ridiculously high ISOs are sufficiently good. In fact, their graininess and softness actually gives them a more analog-like feel.

While I made the mistake of accidentally shooting at ISO 51200, you might try using high-ISOs on purpose, especially for black-and-white photography. If you are not comfortable going as high as these pictures, start off with something higher than you normally go. For example, if ISO 1600 is your typical max, try ISO 3200. If ISO 3200 is your typical max, go to ISO 6400. And so on. How high can you go? The sky is the limit! Actually, ISO 51200 is the limit, because that’s as high as the camera will go, but you get the point.

When Does ISO Matter?

Posted on January 12, 2019 by Ritchie Roesch

Modern cameras have amazing high-ISO capabilities. Back in the days of film, ISO 400 was considered high-ISO by many (including Fujifilm, who designated all their ISO 400 films with the letter “H” for high-speed), and ISO 1600 was ultra-high-ISO, used only out of absolute necessity or by the brave who wanted a certain gritty look. Nowadays some photographers don’t even think of ISO 1600 as a high-ISO setting, and don’t think twice about using it. For many, high-ISO doesn’t really begin until ISO 3200, and ultra-high-ISO doesn’t begin until you go above ISO 6400. It’s really unbelievable!

The real question is this: when does ISO matter? Since modern cameras make such good-looking images at incredibly high sensitivities, when should you start considering image quality degradation? When is a certain ISO setting too high? That’s what I want to answer.

Of course, since this is the Fuji X Weekly blog, I’m discussing Fujifilm X cameras, specifically X-Trans III. This won’t apply 100% to other cameras, but it’s still relevant to some degree no matter the camera make and model. If you are reading this with another camera in mind, take everything said here with a small grain of salt.

I did a little experiment just to better understand all of this ISO stuff. I already knew the answer from experience even before beginning the experiment, but I wanted to see if my instincts matched reality. I captured a few sets of identical pictures, all straight-out-of-camera JPEGs from a Fujifilm X-T20, using ISO 400 and ISO 6400. I made sure that all of the settings were the same between the identical pictures except for ISO and shutter speed. This isn’t 100% scientific, but it’s a controlled-enough test to draw some conclusions about ISO capabilities.

Here are the original pictures:

ISO 400 – my Ektachrome 100SW recipe

ISO 6400

ISO 400 – my Velvia recipe

ISO 6400

ISO 400 – my Acros Push-Process recipe

ISO 6400

There’s not a lot that can be learned by looking at the above images, other than when viewing images on the web the ISO doesn’t matter whatsoever because it’s incredibly difficult to spot the differences even when comparing side-by-side. In real life nobody does side-by-side comparisons, that’s pretty much an internet-only thing, so it would be impossible to tell if a picture was captured using a low-ISO or high-ISO just by looking at it on your screen. We need to look much closer to really gain anything from this test. Below are some crops from the above images.

ISO 400

ISO 6400

ISO 400

ISO 6400

ISO 400

ISO 6400

If you study the color crops carefully, you’ll notice that the ISO 400 images are cleaner, sharper and have just a hair more dynamic range, but the differences are quite small and subtle. You really have to look carefully to find them. With the black-and-white image, the differences are even less obvious, and I actually prefer the ISO 6400 version, as it seems to have a more film-like quality. Looking at the crops clarifies things a little, but what kind of conclusions can we really draw?

My opinion with regards to color photography and ISO is this: if I’m printing smaller than 16″ x 24″ or displaying the pictures on the web, I don’t find any practical difference between base ISO and ISO 6400. Even ISO 12800 can be acceptable, especially if I’m not going to print the picture. If I’m going to print 16″ x 24″ or larger, a lower ISO is better, preferably less than ISO 3200, but it’s not a big deal to use up to ISO 6400. The ISO that I select does not make a huge difference to the outcome of the image, so I don’t worry a whole lot about it. Put more simply, if I print large, it’s preferable but not critical that I use a lower ISO, and if I don’t print large it doesn’t matter at all.

My opinion with regards to black-and-white photography and ISO is this: the ISO doesn’t matter much at all no matter how large I’m printing, and I often prefer (just by a little) high-ISO over low-ISO because it looks more analog. I freely use without hesitation any ISO up to 12800. Thanks to the Acros film simulation, Fujifilm X cameras are some of the best monochrome cameras on the market, and with that film simulation, often times the higher the ISO the better.

These are, of course, my opinions, and not everyone is going to agree with them, and that’s perfectly alright. Find what works for you. Use a higher ISO or lower ISO if that’s what you need for your pictures, because, after all, they’re your pictures. I’m not here to judge your camera setting choices, only to offer mine, which I’m hoping is helpful to some of you. I hope that this article makes sense and clarifies some things regarding high-ISO on Fujifilm X cameras.

Below is a video that I made on this topic:

The Noise Reduction High-ISO Curve

Posted on March 4, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Snowfall – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-A3 & Jupiter 21M with 2x teleconverter

The noise reduction that Fujifilm applies to their JPEGs increases in strength as the ISO increases. The idea is to get pleasing results at ridiculously high ISOs. This shouldn’t surprise anyone, and I think it is true of all camera brands. I call it the noise reduction high-ISO curve.

Even if you set Noise Reduction to the lowest setting (-4 on my X100F and -2 on my X-A3), the camera is still applying some noise reduction. There’s no way to turn it completely off. I believe even in RAW there is a small amount of noise reduction that’s automatically being applied. As ISO increases, the noise reduction is applied more aggressively.

Digital noise is the modern equivalent of film grain, except that film grain is aesthetically far superior to noise. Fujifilm has programmed their cameras in such a way that the digital noise looks less digital and more analog-esque, and so it is more visually pleasant than what you find with other camera brands. Still, you don’t see very many people purposefully including noise in their photographs because they like the look of it (which you might see with film grain). Instead, most people try to eliminate it as much as practical.

The problem with noise reduction, whether on the camera or via software on a computer, is that it softens the image as a whole. You lose a little crispness. Applying noise reduction becomes a balancing act. Too much noise reduction and the image will look clean but soft, too little and it will look very noisy but crisp.

I don’t mind some digital noise, especially if it’s from a Fujifilm camera because it looks a little more like film grain. I tend to lean more towards sharpness over cleanness. I’ll put up with more digital noise in a black-and-white image than a color image. For monochrome, I typically don’t mind going a stop higher in ISO.

The issue is that pesky noise reduction, which becomes stronger at higher ISOs, and it makes images softer, sometimes too soft. But I’ve found a simple workaround. The picture at the top, Snowfall, was purposefully underexposed by two-stops. I did this so that I could keep the ISO down to where noise reduction isn’t applied so heavily (in this case, ISO 3200). I used the camera’s built-in RAW editor to increase the exposure by two stops, and the results were superior to using the correct ISO (it would have been ISO 12800, which doesn’t look very good on the X-A3).

This isn’t a new idea. I used to do this same technique occasionally on my X-E1. Even on the X100F, it’s better to use ISO 6400 and underexpose one stop, converting the RAW file in-camera and increasing the exposure, than to use ISO 12800 and expose correctly. The difference isn’t dramatic, but there is a difference, as one image will be slightly softer than the other.

Understanding the noise reduction high-ISO curve allows you to make decisions to better achieve desired results when pushing the ISO envelope. It might be better to underexpose and then correct the exposure when converting the RAW file in-camera than to rely on the JPEG with the correct exposure. Perhaps you prefer the way the camera handles noise reduction. It’s all situation specific, and everyone has different tastes. Just know that you have options for handling noise reduction at high-ISO, including underexposure, so as to benefit from a less aggressive noise reduction algorithm.

Fujifilm X100F – Digital Teleconverter + High ISO

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

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I talked about how the Digital Teleconverter on the Fujifilm X100F adds versatility, and I talked about how great the camera does at high-ISO photography, but I never talked about how these two things do together. I’ve noticed some things about using the Digital Teleconverter at high-ISOs that I’d like to discuss.

Does the Digital Teleconverter limit how high you can go on your ISO settings? The answer is simple: yes. But it’s actually a little bit more complicated than that, so let me dig a little deeper.

I’ve already discussed exactly what the Digital Teleconverter is, and I don’t want to spend much time rehashing that, but basically it’s a digital zoom (zoom-by-cropping) that receives some smart upscaling and sharpening to make the file appear to have more resolution than it actually does. It’s a software trick that allows you to print larger than you might otherwise be able to. You can do this yourself with software on your computer, or you can let the X100F do it for you (which is the Digital Teleconverter).

Kepler Cascades – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F 75mm Digital Teleconverter @ ISO 8000

I’ve also discussed that the practical high-ISO limit on the Fujifilm X100F is 12800, which is very high. Yes, some cameras with larger sensors can go a stop or so higher, but ISO 12800 is way up there, much higher than I ever imagined ISOs going even just 10 years ago.

When using the 50mm Digital Teleconverter (16 megapixel crop) setting, ISO 12800 doesn’t look all that usable. If you want soft and grainy looking black-and-white images, you can get away with ISO 12800 using Acros and the 50mm option. I’ve produced acceptable results this way. However, for the most part, ISO 6400 seems like a more practical high-ISO limit for this situation.

Putting Away The Reins – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100F – 75mm Digital Teleconverter @ ISO 12800

When using the 75mm Digital Teleconverter (12 megapixel crop) setting, anything above ISO 6400 doesn’t look all that usable. ISO 6400 looks alright for soft and grainy looking black-and-white images using Acros. For the most part, ISO 3200 seems like a more practical high-ISO limit for the 75mm Digital Teleconverter.

You might have noticed a trend, and that’s a one stop loss for the 50mm option and a two stop loss for the 75mm option. It’s not that the camera is performing worse, it’s that you are looking much more closely at the exposure (because of the crop). You can more clearly see the degradation in image quality that happens at the higher ISOs. It’s kind of like pixel-peeping–you don’t notice certain things when viewing normally, but they become obvious when you zoom in.

If you use the Digital Teleconverter along with auto-ISO, pay careful attention to the ISO that the camera is selecting. You may need to set it yourself (very quickly and easily done via the knob on top of the camera). My recommendation is to go no higher than ISO 6400 with the 50mm setting and no more than ISO 3200 with the 75mm setting. You can get away with higher sometimes (especially if it’s only for web use), but for best results keep the ISO a little lower than you otherwise would.