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S
seantrow
Participating Frequently
April 2, 2022
Answered

Noisy conversion of RAW files from Olympus/OM OM-1 in Lightroom / Camera Raw

  • April 2, 2022
  • 5 replies
  • 19836 views

Issue: Noisy conversion of RAW files from Olympus/OM OM-1 in Lightroom / Camera Raw

  • Lightroom Classic Version Number: 11.2 - Camera raw 14.2
  • OS Version Number: Windows 11


Steps to reproduce:

  1. Import ORF files from OM Systems OM-1
  2. Turn off all detail corrections (noise filtering) for image if necessary

Expected result: Relative noise-free pixels at ISO 200 (verified in OM Workspace app)
Actual result: Noisy pixels (screenshots shown)

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer deejjjaaaa

> I believe that Adobe Camera Raw is not converting the raw sensor mosaic data to pixels accurately,

in this case OM software applies NR behind the scenes ... ACR shows typical results of conversion for severely underexposed raw shot

5 replies

S
seantrowAuthor
Participating Frequently
April 5, 2022

I feel like I did not express the intent of this post very well.  I got lots of helpful suggestions on improving my photography or processing, which I am thankful for but was not the goal of my post, which was to report a suspected bug in Adobe Camera Raw.

 

I believe that Adobe Camera Raw is not converting the raw sensor mosaic data to pixels accurately, This bug report is trying to demonstrate why I believe this.   This is a brand new camera sensor and it is not even clear if it has explicitly received engineering attention yet or not (although it is listed as supported in the official docs.)  I would appreciate if somebody on the Adobe Engineering side could investigate or comment.  I'm happy to provide more data if it helps diagnose this issue (or prove/disprove it.)  (Latest files are in https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/146EHjgnnUb3Zw8xb30Qb0z3A0c3WnpQD?usp=sharing).

 

Of course I understand that even with perfect RAW conversion the photos will still contain some noise, really the key here is the apparent mismatch of results betwen Olympus's software and Adobe's.

 

Alternately if there is a more effective way to submit a potential bug report please advise.

 

Thanks

    TheDigitalDog
    TheDigitalDog
    Inspiring
    April 5, 2022

    "I believe that Adobe Camera Raw is not converting the raw sensor mosaic data to pixels accurately"

     

    Got nothing to do with accuracy.

    Again, at least the image whose raw data I analyzed completely outside an Adobe raw converter is very under-exposed; not 'a bit'. That's why you got so much more noise than you could have with optimal exposure.

     

    "Alternately if there is a more effective way to submit a potential bug report please advise."

     

    It's all spelled out here:

    https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/how-do-i-write-a-bug-report/idi-p/12386373

    Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
    S
    seantrowAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    April 5, 2022

    Got nothing to do with accuracy.

    Says who? Even an under exposed image can be converted accurately or inaccurately.  I don't really care about the quality of this specific image, I'm trying to make sure my camera software pipeline is operating correctly.

     

    That's why you got more noise than you could have with optimal exposure.

    Not relevant. I'm comparing results of raw conversion by two different methods, not making any claims about value of optimal exposure.

     

    TheDigitalDog
    TheDigitalDog
    Inspiring
    April 4, 2022

    I'm in total agreement with Per; one of the major issues here is underexposure which increases noise.

    I'm not sure why you uploaded so many different documents but I did examine one: P3300702.DNG, in RawDigger, you can see all the pixels that clip to black and the overall report of the under (and overexposure: none) exposure:

    "You are right that that photo was underexposed a bit"

    No, quite a lot actually. RawDigger shows this above.

    Optimally exposing your raw data (rather than suboptimally for a JPEG) will go a long way in reducing noise.

     

    Articles on exposing for raw:
    http://www.onezone.photos
    http://schewephoto.com/ETTR/
    https://luminous-landscape.com/the-optimum-digital-exposure/
    http://digitaldog.net/files/ExposeForRaw.pdf
    https://www.fastrawviewer.com/blog/mystic-exposure-triangle
    https://www.fastrawviewer.com/blog/red_flowers_photography_to-see-the-real-picture
    https://www.rawdigger.com/howtouse/exposure-for-raw-or-for-jpegs
    https://www.rawdigger.com/howtouse/beware-histogram
    https://www.rawdigger.com/howtouse/calibrate-exposure-meter-to-improve-dynamic-range

    Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
      S
      seantrowAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      April 3, 2022

      orf & dng attached here.  (camera-converted jpg too just for fun.)

      https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/146EHjgnnUb3Zw8xb30Qb0z3A0c3WnpQD?usp=sharing

       

      deejjjaaaa
      deejjjaaaa
      Inspiring
      April 3, 2022

      OM WS app still applies NR that is very clear from the screenshots ... do not think that you can completely turn it off though UI in it... 

      S
      seantrowAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      April 3, 2022

      Note in the UI the noise reduction is disabled.  Of course you may be right that there is still something going on behind the scenes. But I am also comparing noise levels with similar photos from my old OM-D mark III in similar circumstances.

      Per Berntsen
      Community Expert
      Per BerntsenCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 3, 2022

      The noise is mainly caused by underexposure (about 1.5 stops).

      By increasing the exposure in ACR or Lightroom, you are moving noisy shadow tones into the mid tones, where the noise becomes much more noticeable.

      If the image had been exposed properly (as much exposure as possible without blowing the highlights), there would have been much less noise. For more information, see Exposing a digital image

       

      Another thing that contributes to the noise is that it has been sharpened.

      Use the Masking slider under Sharpening to protect flat (and noisy) areas from being sharpened, in this case the sky.

      Press the Alt key while dragging the slider to see the effect. White areas will be sharpened, black areas will be protected.

      By setting Masking to 70, the noise in the sky will be reduced considerably.

       

      Also, the sensor on your camera only measures  13 x 17.4 mm, so images will be noisier than from cameras with larger sensors, like APS-C (15.6 x 23.5 mm) or Full frame (24 x 36 mm)

        TheDigitalDog
        TheDigitalDog
        Inspiring
        April 2, 2022

        Upload a DNG (to something like Dropbox) so we can examine the raw plus edits.

        FWIW, the ISO setting isn't a factor here per se.

        Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
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