Digital noise. You’ve got to hate them like the smell of sun-baked scalp poised under your nose while you travel via the MRT, one typical rush hour Friday.
I’ve been toying around with the ISO settings of the Sony DSC-H10, an 8.1 mega pixel point and shoot camera with 10x optical zoom and full manual settings, under a normal, single, energy saver light. To judge whether it is up to the challenge of capturing clarity under feeble lighting, I took several shots of a letter I recently received under different levels of ISO. Now, don’t go whining about my choice of subject. Its importance, we will later on find out.
At ISO 400:
(Just look at that full regalia of stamps! In the now where electronic email has probably rendered the snail mail obsolete, getting mail the old fashion way is a treat!) If you observe carefully, there are some ugly noise levels going on in the midtones and whites of the image but it’s nothing that Photoshop CS4 can’t handle. The thumbnail on the right shows us just that. Adjusting “curves” and softening the “noise” give me this “ho-hum” version. *yawns* boring picture.
Owing to the Sony DSC-H10′s manual setting function, levels for record mode (where users may even opt to set the cam to shoot thrice in bursts with .03, .07, or 1 different levels of exposure. Now, that’s hot technology right thurr right thurr!), color mode (normal, vivid, quiet, sepia, and B&W), ISO (up to 3200), metering mode of the exposure function (balanced, center, spot), focus (multi, center, spot, or .5m, 1m, 3m, 7m away, or at an unlimited distance), white balance (auto, daylight, cloudy, three levels under fluorescent lighting, incandescent, and flash), flash level (adjust flash levels from -2.0 to +2.0 of the normal flash level), red eye reduction (auto, off, or always on), contrast (decrease, normal, increase, or auto), sharpness (minus, normal, or plus), and steady shot (at half-press when shooting, always on, or off) can all be set depending on the user’s needs. Since I practically got grainy shit with ISO 400, let’s see how well the cam’s sensors can capture image at ISO 800.
At ISO 800:
Setting ISO levels at 800, the image appears to obviously look brighter and yet digital noise is reduced to a more manageable threshhold (unlike this one Verzio model I used where all my photos turned out to be REALLY SERIOUSLY worthless. Not to mention grainy).
It took a few fine tuning with “curves” and some not-so-serious tweaks on the “noise” level to come up with the image on the right.
So, what could happen if we up the ISO further at 1600?
At ISO 1600:
If you observe the elements of the image closely, not only will you notice that there is practically no noise left, you will also read about my passing the Mensa IQ Challenge I took last November 15. HUZZAH! HUZZAH! HUZZAH!
That’s it for ISO levels. Tune in next time for more exciting news (read: more gloating LOL) only here at fritzified.com.
Twitter Updates
10 December 2008 at 6:30 pm
Mr. Tentativa, isa kang alamat…
… na mataas ang IQ.
at rakstar pa. Ibang klase.
10 December 2008 at 6:43 pm
Of course, the point of this post is not really the Sony’s ISO levels now, is it? :P
10 December 2008 at 10:19 pm
are we looking at high ISO levels or high IQ levels? ;)
11 December 2008 at 12:34 am
moar! MOAR! LOL kaibigan talaga kita, Kring XD
11 December 2008 at 12:36 am
Point is the ISO, I promise! Gloating is incidental. Believe me please! HUHLOLOLOLOLZ!
11 December 2008 at 12:37 am
My IQ dictates the answer to be “both,” giving more favor to ISO at a fraction of a percentage in weight. ;) LOL
11 December 2008 at 2:45 am
ok yan ah :D mas maganda focus nya compared sa W300 :D
11 December 2008 at 8:19 pm
My cam sucks bleh. Set to ISO 1250, pics are super grainy =/
12 December 2008 at 10:55 am
HAHAH This post cracked me up. I thought it was about photography but, as it turns out, it’s more on GLOAT, GLOAT, GLOAT.
I hatez you for this.
12 December 2008 at 12:13 pm
HINDI MO NAMAN SINABING THIS POST IS ABOUT PWNAGE! *facepalm*
congrats congrats congrats. not only are you cool, you are also NERDx10,000. you are made of win!
12 December 2008 at 1:47 pm
Unlike the W300, the H10 has 3 conversion lenses na option sa loob mismo ng cam: Wide, Telephoto, and this other thing that has something to do with macro (super macro or super or ultra focus, I forgot the exact term). Tama ka, if that’s the basis, mas OK ang isa pang dagdag na conversion lense sa H10 as compared sa W300 :D
12 December 2008 at 1:48 pm
In a way, maliwanag yung environment ko eh. Under the light naman ako pero not so bright light. Under what lighting yung super grainy mong setting?
12 December 2008 at 1:50 pm
Tungkol naman talaga sa ISO ah! And how grainy pics could be salvaged using PhotoShop, And levels nung ISO. Hmp. Incidental lang ang “news” of LOL mahahahahahaha! Dun hate meh pleas!!
12 December 2008 at 1:54 pm
Gusto kong term geek medyo may pagka-negativ… DID I JUST MAKE “NERD” MEAN LIKE… ZOMG! “NERD” IS THE NEW “ROCKSTAR!” Thanks Chiqs. Please do me a favor and spread the news further even to those who wouldn’t give a flying fuck. kthnx. LOLOLOLOLOLOL See you around!
16 December 2008 at 9:27 am
Their passing score used to be 132, now you only have to make it to the top 2%… ? IQ recession.
16 December 2008 at 10:20 am
Passing had always and forever been the 98th percentile or that of the upper 2% of the population (read since 1946). I don’t know what the score is for the “passing” or the 98th so I can’t vouch if it’s still 132 or if it had indeed gone lower.
16 December 2008 at 12:14 pm
Top 2% of RP is not 132. Once took a university test and their highest daw is 120.
16 December 2008 at 1:05 pm
By population, Mensa refers to “global” population since it is, after all, an international organization. Also, where’d you get the 132 figure, anyway?
16 December 2008 at 1:30 pm
I’m happy I know so many intelligent people. :P
16 December 2008 at 1:34 pm
I’m quite sure that Fritz’s score is beyond 132. Medyo humble lang siya. lol
16 December 2008 at 1:34 pm
I took and passed the Mensa test before too. I don’t know if the organization has changed since I was a member, but back in my day, I was just paying the annual membership fee and not seeing any activities that I wanted to participate in. So I simply stopped paying.
Balitaan mo kami of any interesting activities they may have in the future.
And so I see your blog is plagued by rodent trolls. You should do something about that (annoyed).
16 December 2008 at 1:34 pm
Under my work desk HUHFUCKENLOLZ XD
16 December 2008 at 1:38 pm
Anong pinipichuran mo duuuuun?! HUHLOLOLOLOLOLZ!!!
16 December 2008 at 1:40 pm
How else can Pau obsess about nanowrimo if he weren’t Mensan? Isang high-IQ apir nga dyaaaaan! (yung hindi nakikita pero yung brain waves nag-ca-clash tas nag-sa-spark sa ere) MAHAHAHAHAAAAY!
16 December 2008 at 1:42 pm
You wrote “Fritz” in the name box LOL, changed it to Marcelle :D I think you’ll pass had you taken it din.
16 December 2008 at 1:59 pm
Ayan kapag may homework si Miguel na di kaya ng brains ko, ipapasa ko siya sa iyo! Nyaharharhar. Nice to have a geeky friend in the universe, global man o local or whatever. Teehee.
16 December 2008 at 2:16 pm
Te Ai, sa talinong yan ni Miguel, at sa pinagmanahan, ano pang tulong ibibigay ko dyan sa wizz kid na yan! XD
16 December 2008 at 2:30 pm
Wahahaha, congrats Fritz! :) Love your mix of gadget review and gloating :P
16 December 2008 at 3:06 pm
Fritz can be called the Genius :) Kahit pa mensan mensan tinotoyo . PEACE!
Or is Suu -per Gen -ius. Hindi siya Golly Bull :)
16 December 2008 at 3:07 pm
My friend Fritz – Peace!
16 December 2008 at 3:18 pm
Dahil dyan, maski Coke Zero bawal na sayo! Hmp. LOLOLOLOLOLOL
16 December 2008 at 3:30 pm
;) oooops! Di mo pwede i-volunteer ang info na yan kung hindi ko pa sya ginagawang public (based on the “creed” mahahahahaha!) LULZ
16 December 2008 at 4:10 pm
Gagawin ko na ngang regular formula sana eh kaya lang baka maumay ang mga gadget companies. LOL
18 December 2008 at 1:47 am
Fritz!!!!
Congrats on making it to Mensa! I do hope to see you soon at our upcoming events. Feel free to email me or call me should you have any questions or concerns.
oh, nice post!!!! hahaha….
Chris Tan
18 December 2008 at 3:12 am
Thanks for inviting us, Chris! I just sent an email reply to Eliza. Can’t make it tomorrow but I will some other time after this crazy crazy time at work. See you soon!
27 December 2008 at 7:53 pm
that depends on the standard deviation your using. If your using SD16, you need to have at least an IQ of 132. If your using SD 24 then you have to attain an IQ of 148 to qualify for MENSA. Both IQ scores are equivalent to be on the top 2 percent. They just used different SD just.