Thanks so much for this video it’s been a revelation for me. I have a G9 and have spent the last couple of years tiptoeing around high ISO’s for photography in general. After watching this I have trialled Topaz denoise with higher ISO shots on the G9. Amazing … this has now allowed me to shoot with Manual settings with the option to shoot up to and, in some cases, over ISO3200 and denoise the raw file to create a sharp photo. The results are excellent and open the G9 up to some many more shooting opportunities that I would previously have not even considered. Thanks so much 🙏🏼
Hi Rufus. I agree. I have many high ISO photos that I’m re-visiting since I started using Topaz DeNoise. I sometimes use it on photos with very little noise too, as it produces photos with an extra kick! Thanks for stopping by to chat. Cheers!
That’s awesome Jack! Thank you so much for checking in with me. I took some time off RU-vid this summer. Regrouping now and trying to figure out what to make videos about in future. I’m getting tired of gear videos but they get the most views so can’t be ignored. All the best! Cheers.
Dxo Pure raw blows my mind, I can take low light photos up to 6400 iso and over and they still come out great. Its like having a new camera. Definitly dont need full frame for low light. No more stressing out over high iso.
Thanks so much Michael. I'm in a bit of a summer slump as far as new content goes. I've been gardening more than shooting. But that's good for my soul too. Cheers.
Great tips thanks for the info, you may also be interested in these shortcuts in Lightroom to help speed up your culling of photos, if you leave the caps lock on the keyboard this will auto advance to the next photo, then if you like the image press ( P ) if you don't press ( X ) so P = KEEPER and X= REJECT you can also press ( F ) for a Large view and ( Z ) for an even larger view, You can still select the colour 6 - 9 and the rating 1-5. when you get to the last photo you can then delete the rejects by going to the menu ( Photo ) and selecting ( delete rejected photos ) this is the way I do it, I hope this is of some use to others.
@@ImageMaven No worries, I hope it helps some people because using the gpu really speeds it up. Also recommend using Nvidia studio and not game drivers like I used to (I play a lot of games) because the game drivers tend to mess things up.
I’ve been looking at getting editing s/w for some time, so many options and so many recommendations. I currently use Photos which comes with my MacBaook and iPad, but I need selective editing and I’d like pano stitching and bracket blending too. I didn’t really want to pay a subscription, I just wanted to pay a one off, so had sort of dismissed Lightroom. I think I’m just going to have to do it, I guess it’s so popular for a reason! Thanks for the demo, it really does help. I love the Merlin shot 👌
Hi Sue, Yes there is a lot of choice with Photo Editing software. I think that for the most part, the Photos app does a good job. But as you say, you're looking for next level stuff. You can get Photoshop with LR in a package for a pretty cheap monthly fee, or LR on it's own. I guess you'll be watching LR tutorials next! But yes LR does Pano stitching too. But you probably already know that. Hey, if you don't like it, you can cancel your subscription. And, you can also try it for 30 days free.
Thanks for yet another helpful video! Love your images, a great array of birds. I am a big Topaz fan. Using their products have definitely enhanced my photos. Sharpen AI has even saved some blurry images and made them acceptably sharp. Another great tool for Photoshop is Tony Kuyper's TK8 panel for luminosity masking. At only $29 it makes Photoshop an even more awesome program for tweaking edits. Dave Kelly's RU-vid station The Joy of Editing has a series of TK8 tutorials. Every Friday he comes out with a new one. Sorry for rambling on that but it is one of my most favorite tools and deserves more notoriety. So Marlene, anxious to see your newest shots from your 100-400 lens. Enjoy the summer!
Thanks for all this info Steven. I will definitely check out Tony's tutorials, although I must say I don't use Photoshop as I find that whole workflow way too time consuming. I can't believe I'm saying this out loud as I used to teach Photoshop at the art school here in Calgary. But you are not the first to mention Luminosity masking. I post a lot of bird photos on my Community Tab here on RU-vid so you can see some there in between videos. You can check it out here: ru-vid.comcommunity Always great to hear from you! Cheers and hope you're having a good summer too.
Thought provoking! It's always interesting how someone else approaches their editing. I followed along your clear presentation while imagining how I would do this in my editing process. I don't use Lightroom, but there's much in common with the programs that I use (DxOPhotolab5, AuroraHDR2019, Luminar Neo). I'm still waiting for an AI editor that smart enough to produce a starting edit that's almost good enough. Until then, I'll keep learning from others through videos like this to improve playing the editing brain game.
Hey Jason, Yes most photo editors have the same functionality so it’s easy to transfer techniques to other software. I find the Ai ones frustrating though. I guess I’m impatient. And I really don’t like spending time on the computer, especially in the summer when it’s beautiful outside. I love LR because of its image management and am happy that it does so much more now than when I first started using it. I never use Photoshop anymore. Don’t miss it. Thanks for watching. Always appreciate your thoughtful insight. Cheers.
@@ImageMaven While writing my previous comment, my wife was participating in a research program using brain games to monitor aging. Why do brain games when you have photo editing?😄 Anyways, my curiosity made me look to see if anyone had looked at photography/editing as a way to stimulate cognition in us old folks. I found one study with seniors (so far) , the findings are something for your consideration: Overall, the results suggested that learning digital photography (camera use and photo editing)...had the most beneficial effect on cognition, and that the positive impact was primarily on memory function. The researchers found that only those participants who had learned a new skill experienced improvement on the memory tests. They also discovered that these memory improvements were still present when tested again a year later. The Impact of Sustained Engagement on Cognitive Function in Older Adults: The Synapse Project Denise C. Park, Jennifer Lodi-Smith, [...], and Whitley Aamodt Psychol Sci. 2014 Jan; 25(1): 103-112. So, any time someone asks why you spend so much time editing photos, tell them you're improving your brain!😄👍
@@ImageMaven I’ve had some luck with it. The trick is making it look natural, which is a bit of trial and error. The masking tool (selecting for sky) can help you avoid distorting your subjects. Sometimes the whites on birds can get mucked up when you tweak blue levels.
Its mainly thanks to you that I bought a second-hand G9, to go with my GH6, for taking images. And I have never regretted a single moment of that decision. 😀 Back on topic, have you ever tried Photolabs DxO rather than Light Room for editing your bird images? I have all the Topaz toys as well and find at times that the Sharpening and deNoise can give an unintentional plasticly look to the final edit. However I find that DxO is far superior at controlling noise even at crazy high ISO settings for the RAW files of my G9 and GH6 than Topaz or LightRoom. My mate has Lightroom with the new deNoise update and I still think that DxO outperforms both Topaz and Lightroom. I think that DxO and Topaz Sharpening, as a plug-in, are a killer combo. To be honest there really isn't much between Lightroom + Topaz and DxO +Topaz other than the fact that I don't have to pay monthly fee to Adobe. I may also be biased but I think that DxO does a better job at opening and editing RAW files than Lightroom. DxO gives you a month's free trial if you're interested. BTW did you ever get your hands on a 200mm f2.8 Prime lens? Its on another level of image quality compared to my very competent 100-400 lens.
Hi Frank, I've not tried DxO yet. I've heard good things about it from others as well. The issue I have with it, is that I shoot jpgs 99% of the time. And DxO doesn't work with jpgs nor does the new Ai LR Noise reduction feature. I have tested it though and it's fantastic. I think in very low light situations with ISO over 3200 (my tolerance on G9) I will shoot Raw + jpg. Topaz works with jpgs and I'm quite happy with the results, but I agree, at times not perfect. But for my purposes, it will do. I'm no longer shooting for money, so for me, especially when birding, it's more about the treasure hunt for the birds and adding them to my Lifer list. Although I do love a great photo of them too, whenever possible. Haven't had a chance to test the 200mm, but might be a great time to rent it as the birds are really peaking right now. I'm still enjoying the newness of my fresh 9mm, so have been focused on testing that lens. ;) Cheers, and nice to chat.
@@ImageMaven I bought a 200mm second-hand from a site in the UK. I got it for £825 and from the get-go, I have never resented a single penny buying it. I've changed my Flickr name to the same as my RU-vid channel. Most of this year's images, on the Flickr site, were either taken with the 200mm or 100-400mm lenses. For a hobbyist I'm very pleased with the results. Since I bought a copy of DxO Photolabs 6, I have stopped using Topaz Noise Reduction. Topaz NR made all my images look a little plasticy. Maybe if you've fallen out of love with shooting RAW images, then the improved Noise Reduction and Sharpening abilities of software like Topaz, Lightroom or DxO could persuade you to put up with the extra few steps in your workflow?
Hello Marlene. I just found your website and will check out your videos. I have been a follower of Graham Houghton for years and have a Lumix fz200. I know you don't use a bridge camera but was wondering if you could help me with a problem. I like to shoot in Manual mode and liked that I could press the shutter button halfway to get a "live view" to check the exposure before taking the picture. Recently this stopped working on my camera. Do you have any suggestions for how to resolve this issue? I'm thinking of doing a factory reset to see if that fixes it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Tom.
Do you use auto ISO or set it manually? I’ve been using auto ISO, but at 1/1000 shutter speed for birds in flight, I’m ending up with some underexposed photos with Panasonic 100-400 and LUMIX G9.
Usually Manual exposure and I set Shutter speed and f/stop and use Auto ISO. If my ISO gets too high I lower shutter speed especially if the birds aren’t moving. I can go as low as 1/400s or so handheld. Maybe even lower with IS but I don’t want to take any chances with subject movement. You are likely hitting the limit if you’re underexposed so you need more light. Open your f/stop as much as possible. If that doesn’t work then it’s likely too dark to get usable photos. (Maybe you’re in the woods in low light)
Hi Ken, Yes, I'm taking a bit of time off from video production. I run a non-profit and that takes a lot of my spare time, but it's fairly seasonal. And I work at a full time job too. I hope to be back with new videos soon. Thank you for not forgetting me!
