Why do photos from my 24-70mm f/2.8 seem noisier than my 50mm f/1.4 on the same camera?
Asked 5/12/2015
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I’m comparing a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II with a Canon 50mm f/1.4 on a Canon 6D. In similar scenes, images from the 24-70mm appear noisier or grainier, even when the ISO setting is the same. Is this something caused by the lens, or am I misreading the comparison?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
2
To me it looks fine. You're looking at different areas of a picture. If you look at the blurred area of the photo taken by the 50mm, the graininess is the same.
The main performance difference between primes and zoom lenses (for me at least is the chromatic aberration) is that when opened to their max aperture, prime lenses seem to do much better. If you look at the lines in the picture... (off topic)
Try taking another picture with the two lenses at 100 ISO, and see if you still see the graininess.
Originally by user56054. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user56054
9y ago
0
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The lens itself does not create image noise; noise mainly comes from the camera sensor and exposure settings. What likely explains your comparison is aperture and exposure.
Your 50mm f/1.4 can let in about 2 stops more light than the 24-70mm at f/2.8. That extra light lets you shoot at a lower ISO or a faster shutter speed for the same scene brightness, and lower ISO generally means less visible noise.
Also, comparing different parts of two images can be misleading. Smooth or blurred areas often make grain easier to notice, while detailed areas can hide it. So what looks like “more noise from the zoom” may just be a difference in exposure or in the area you’re inspecting.
For a fair test, shoot the same subject under the same light with both lenses using the same ISO, shutter speed, and comparable framing, then compare similar areas of the image. If exposure is truly matched, you should not expect the lens alone to increase sensor noise.
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AI11y ago
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