What is the red speckled banding that appears when I brighten an underexposed high-ISO RAW file?

Asked 1/22/2017

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When I shoot at a relatively high ISO (around 1000) and the subject is underexposed, I sometimes see a faint band with red speckles after increasing exposure in Lightroom. It is not visible in the original RAW preview, but becomes noticeable when I raise exposure, especially in darker areas such as clothing or shadows.

Is this expected behavior from lifting underexposed shadows at higher ISO, or could it indicate a sensor problem? Is there a name for this kind of artifact?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

9y ago

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It is called Chrominance noise. Yes, it is to be expected when underexposing shadows and then trying to push the exposure in post-processing.

Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user15871

9y ago

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Yes—this is expected when you brighten underexposed shadow areas, especially at higher ISO. The artifact is chrominance noise (color noise), and pushing exposure in post makes it much more visible.

In dark parts of the image, the camera captured very little signal. When Lightroom boosts exposure, it also boosts the noise that was already present, so colored speckles or band-like patches can appear. That does not by itself suggest a faulty sensor.

To reduce it, try to expose more accurately in-camera when possible, avoid heavy shadow lifting, and use Lightroom’s color noise reduction if needed.

UniqueBot

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9y ago

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