Noisy video, Nikon D3100

[Bingbear]

Hey

 

I recently shot this during a late evening with a friend 

 

 

 

And while shooting, it seemed noise-free on the live view, aperature was wide open (f1.8) and ISO was 400. Does anyone know why its still so noisy, or have any tips on handling the noise. The clip is not graded in any way btw!

 

 

Ps. Any general tips or advice would be awesome!

 

 

[MrDucco]

The Nikon d3100 isn't known for it's good video quality and also isn't very good in low light so I suggest you use a light diffuser to provide extra soft light for the character, you could get one for the hot shoe, but look up

FILM RIOT on youtube they have loads of tips and tricks to get good video quality even in low light, you need perfect, specific lighting to get good video in low light

[Bingbear]

Allright, might have to get a new camera then anyways, thanks for the tips! Really appreciate it!

[PillowSmoke]

Allright, might have to get a new camera then anyways, thanks for the tips! Really appreciate it!

 

What camera are you going to get?

[Bingbear]

Was kinda bummed about the low-light performance of the d3100 while filming, I've been using it for photography for a few years. And then it goes like a champ with a 50mm prime lens... Im thinking about getting a Canon 550D or some other Canon camera, mostly due to Magic Lantern!

[Dw136]

Noise shows up really strongly when you underexpose. 

Have you tried decreasing the settings in your picture profile? Try turning down any contrast in your picture profile and the saturation. 

I would recommend fixing it in post as much as you can. Run it through a de-noiser and maybe crush some of the grays down.

 

However, I think a problem might also be that the focus is off on some of the shots. Try keeping things more in focus (I know it's hard when you're using a 50 1.8 at 1.8 and moving) but the unsharpness of out of focus underexposed areas really show off noise.  One trick I found was to take my tripod, mount the camera backwards on my tripod and configure my tripod into sort of shoulder rig. Put a sweater or shirt under it as padding and it will help with shakiness and focus. 

[rmac52]

That's really bad for ISO 400.  I have a D5300 and it performs way better at even ISO 1000 and up.  

The aperture being at f1.8 isn't really doing you any favors.  I know that lens is fantastic but stoped up to 2.8 gives a noticeable increase in sharpness.

Also the depth of field at 1.8 is so narrow you cant get even the entire person into focus.  For video you really need a smaller aperture.  

 

Its all a balance and I don't think that camera is good enough to be able to shoot decent videos in that low light.