Camera Labs

Well, got back my photo book, printed through www.blurb.com, and I must say, I am very very very happy with the quality of the photos. I have at least 10 photos shot at ISO 1600, printed at 12x12 with minimal noise reduction (mainly because I really don't know how to do it properly, yet!), and they look great.

The noise looks really well controlled, not at all distracting, and in some cases, actually add to the intent of the photographs. Granted, these were black and white, but all in all, looks much better than I anticipated, and just goes to show that your computer monitor can sometimes deceive you (must be a resolution thing, or something else I don't understand) into thinking a problem is much worse than it really is (or better in some cases ).

I highly recommend getting some photos together and printing a book (you can get for as low as $50.00, and compared to what you normally spend on photography, that's nothing). It will really, really improve your photography IMO and probably help you to get to that next level.

Best of all, the clients were very happy.

_________________
I wish there was a way to randomly cycle through click-able thumbnails of my most recent images :'(

http://www.laroygreen.com (under construction)

i believe u can also design and sell your books there (blurb)

_________________
RadiantLite - Cameras and Lenses Comparison Reviews, buying guide, photo taking techniques and other tips
My Portfolio - Some photos from my work

Sony does a good job with image noise, the only real problem they had with it was the cooked raws, which has since been fixed with firmware updates. All the goons complaining about Sonys ISO noise are simply ignorant.

That said, the best way I've come up with to reduce noise is to work in layers, duplicate bottom layer and apply high pass filter to top at 2-8px radius and set to overlay @ ~ 40-75% opacity, then apply a median filter to original layer. Erase the high pass around the bokeh. Probably sounds more difficult than it is.