How do you eradicate the grainy look in digital photos?

Question

When photos are taken, people's faces look grainy, as do some furniture

I am using a Vivitar 4100, any suggestions for settings or a higher pixel camera?

thanks....

Answer 1

dpreview.com for all your camera research...great reviews there as well..

as for grain, you can do post-production in Photoshop or a free program called GIMP. There are advanced techniques you can search for in google - search "noise reduction techniques" a bunch should come up. Some use plug ins like Noise Ninja, but I don't like those, I rather have FULL control using photoshop tools and channels.

Answer 2

One reason, if these are indoor shots, is that there is not enough light and the camera is "straining" to capture SOMETHING.

If you are not using flash, make sure your camera has enough time to use it's auto exposure features. This is why the manuals tell you to press the shutter button halfway down and hold it for a moment or two. The camera will "read" the light, and adjust itself to make the best exposure it can.

Even with the flash on, the camera will still need a moment to make sure the exposure is done properly. For example, the distance the subject is from the camera will effect how wide the shutter needs to be, because farther objects will not be as well illuminated as the closer ones.

Answer 3

If the grain is whats called digital 'noise' then having the ISO at the lowest possible should help, Some cameras go as low as 100 or even 50 ISO. Obviously then you have to have to get the exposure right too.

You can post process with various programs to remove grain and/or noise.

Digital noise usually occurs with digital cameras in areas of one colour, like the sky, or dark areas of the photo. Some cameras are less prone to it than others.