Grain Scores! - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

10/24/2005 12:46:53 PM · #76

Originally posted by BrennanOB:

I it just me or is there a lack of grain in many of the entries? I expect the majority of the light on white will be very white, but here in the grain challeng I think our love of silky tones and use of neat image has lessened our notion of grain to the point where anything that is not as smooth as silk is concidered grainy. I want chunky, dirty grainy blobs of tone, not just a touch too much USM. A rough look can be an effective and emotional choice to convey a mood. Bring back the noise, bring back the funk!

I did a little experiment when preparing for this challenge. I normally run at 1600 x 1200 resolution but decided to see what others see at different resolutions. The lower the resolution the more grainy images appear as they loom larger on the screen. I went with something that doesn't appear over the top at 800 x 600. At 1600 by 1200 the grain isn't that obvious (to me anyway).

trtfeasor

Nikon D50

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6G ED

10/24/2005 01:14:40 PM · #77

Originally posted by lepidus:

Wow, I must really suck!!

Votes: 10
Views: 18
Avg Vote: 4.3000

Welcome to my world. Btw, I have noticed a pattern that on the first couple of days the voters are brutal giving out lower scores than, speaking somewhat objectively, the image deserves. Then about mid-week the scores climb sometimes dramatically. Anyone elsse notice this pattern?

trtfeasor

Nikon D50

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6G ED

10/24/2005 01:20:39 PM · #78

Originally posted by stare_at_the_sun:

seems like scores always go up...for me at least. They start low...and climb very slowly.

Glad to know its not just me

Rikki

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

10/24/2005 01:33:04 PM · #79

oh dear! it's a long week...

Votes: 61
Views: 95
Avg Vote: 5.1967
Comments: 1
Favorites: 0
Wish Lists: 0
Updated: 10/24/05 01:28 pm

wavelength

Nikon D300

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

10/24/2005 01:35:28 PM · #80

Whew!, I was at a 5.2 when I woke up today. Glad to see the daytime folks are less cranky.

Votes: 62
Views: 79
Avg Vote: 5.5161
Comments: 1
Favorites: 0
Wish Lists: 0
Updated: 10/24/05 01:34 pm

Message edited by author 2005-10-24 13:35:44.

DrAchoo

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

10/24/2005 01:43:47 PM · #81

Originally posted by cpanaioti:

I noticed my picture looked different on my 1900x1200 vs. my 1024x768. I'm going to do my voting on the low res, just in case the grain is too subtle on the other screen.

stare_at_the_sun

Canon EOS-10D

10/24/2005 01:44:09 PM · #82

Votes: 63
Views: 87
Avg Vote: 4.5714
Comments: 2
Favorites: 1
Wish Lists: 0

I checked my score for the last time...but now I turned off the scores on my home page. I don't really want to watch it anymore. I'm still excited about my 1 favorite...yay!

I'm ready for the delicate challenge...I think I actually have a chance at placing in the top 10. Can't wait!

idnic

Canon EOS-60D

10/24/2005 01:48:46 PM · #83

Votes: 61
Views: 86
Avg Vote: 5.2623
Comments: 0

I'm going to cry for a while! OK, maybe I'll work on my Light/White shot instead.

scamp

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

10/24/2005 02:29:49 PM · #84

This sucks! I really thought this would do well, at least in the mid to upper 5's. The one comment is a nice compliment, so somebody sees what I see. This is my worst score EVER! :o(

Votes: 65
Views: 85
Avg Vote: 4.1692
Comments: 1
Favorites: 0

PhotoRyno

10/24/2005 02:35:52 PM · #85

I think voters are scoring low overall on this challenge.
Why? I do not know, maybe everyone is familiar with pretty (neatimaged) images, and do not know how to judge photos with grain.

peecee

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

10/24/2005 02:40:41 PM · #86

I see many images which just have added noise, but many excellent topical shots too.

kenskid

Nikon D700

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

10/24/2005 02:50:52 PM · #87

I was sure to take out any give aways....I edited the post more...

Thanks for the heads up.

KS

Originally posted by Alienyst:

Hey kenskid - you should further edit your post. I now know exactly which image is yours based on the first comment you posted.

mocabela

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

10/24/2005 02:52:21 PM · #88

I took sooo many images at high ISO levels and I just couldn't get the kind of grain I wanted. I ended up doing a badly lit last minute shot that wasn't even necessarily for the challenge and, after tweaking the curves and stuff, ended up with a very grainy image. Thus far, one comment... and no complaints about my lack of grain. But then, I do grain even when it's not in the challenge description.

Crappy score, but it's better than what I was expecting, since it's a little over 5.

CEJ

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

10/24/2005 02:54:13 PM · #89

Originally posted by PhotoRyno:

maybe everyone is familiar with pretty (neatimaged) images, and do not know how to judge photos with grain.

I don't think this is true. I think there are just a lot of images that do not meet the challenge very well. A lot have no grain at all and rely on poor focus or motion blur which neither is image grain. There are some where only a portion of the image has grain. I never saw a picture where grain was selective until this challenge. There are a lot of pictures where texture of the items in the image is supposed to represent the grain. Again, does not meet the challenge. If the scores are low then it is reflective of the voters opinion, not their lack of ability.

LeeD

Canon EOS-30D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

10/24/2005 02:54:57 PM · #90

I've just started voting, but I've actually been rather impressed with what I've seen. Then again I'm a little partial to "grainy" shots. I've been giving higher scores than I normally do.

gaurawa

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

10/24/2005 02:58:01 PM · #91

Originally posted by mocabela:

I took sooo many images at high ISO levels and I just couldn't get the kind of grain I wanted.

I just took at shot at ISO100 and added grain in photoshop, sharpened and more grain...

mocabela

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

10/24/2005 03:01:40 PM · #92

Originally posted by gaurawa:

I just took at shot at ISO100 and added grain in photoshop, sharpened and more grain...

I sharpened a little, but the shot I entered couldn't really do with sharpening too much... a pity, because this was a challenge where a person could actually oversharpen and HELP their standings lol

The shots I did earlier in the week for this challenge used some added noise, but they still looked too smooth to me. :)

I probably should have just used my G5.

gaurawa

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

10/24/2005 03:04:19 PM · #93

Originally posted by mocabela:

I probably should have just used my G5.

... and send me that 20D, its not doing good to you :)

peecee

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

10/24/2005 03:07:12 PM · #94

On my full sized image the grain was blatant but on the 640 image it wasn't as pronounced, I even had one comment stating the lack of grain,
Can't win em all I wasn't willing to spoil it by more.

wavelength

Nikon D300

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

10/24/2005 03:11:54 PM · #95

Originally posted by Alienyst:

Originally posted by PhotoRyno:
maybe everyone is familiar with pretty (neatimaged) images, and do not know how to judge photos with grain.

I don't think this is true. I think there are just a lot of images that do not meet the challenge very well. A lot have no grain at all and rely on poor focus or motion blur which neither is image grain. There are some where only a portion of the image has grain. I never saw a picture where grain was selective until this challenge. There are a lot of pictures where texture of the items in the image is supposed to represent the grain. Again, does not meet the challenge. If the scores are low then it is reflective of the voters opinion, not their lack of ability.

Mine has texture and grain, and I think people are using too high a resolution to see that "traditional style" grain that I used. More image grain than grunge.

I think, like DrAchoo said, that many people are voting low because they're using too high a resolution on their monitor to see the grain properly. Another reason to go to 800x600 :oP

CEJ

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

10/24/2005 03:15:06 PM · #96

I wanted to enter this challenge but fell in the hole it seems some others did - the grain just wasn't there. I tried at high ISO but gave that up real quick. Then went with black and white and added film grain (PI has a filter specifically for film grain as opposed to adding noise) and they looked great until you went to 640 size. So reedited and added the film grain last. But then, at 640, it looked like crap so at like minutes before the deadline I unsubmitted my shot.

Message edited by author 2005-10-24 15:18:03.

mocabela

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

10/24/2005 03:16:23 PM · #97

Originally posted by gaurawa:

Originally posted by mocabela:

I probably should have just used my G5.

... and send me that 20D, its not doing good to you :)

Oh, I know.. it's so horrible! :( :) I wonder how many people with dSLRs broke out their P&S cams for this? :)

cpanaioti

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

10/24/2005 03:20:56 PM · #98

Originally posted by mocabela:

Originally posted by gaurawa:

Originally posted by mocabela:

I probably should have just used my G5.

... and send me that 20D, its not doing good to you :)

Oh, I know.. it's so horrible! :( :) I wonder how many people with dSLRs broke out their P&S cams for this? :)

Not me. I shot at ISO 800 and added grain.

DrAchoo

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5