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CT Rail at 12,800-ISO (working with image processing)

Action photos at night are among my most challenging photographic endeavors.

The ability to increase the camera’s ISO to extremes makes capturing moving trains in the inky gloom easier than in my film days. Further aiding these efforts is AI technology used to minimize noise and other camera induced visual defects.

Previously on Tracking the Light, I’ve explored night photos enhanced using DxO Pure Raw software, which I’ve found remarkable.

For this image exposed at Windsor Locks, Connecticut of a southward CT Rail Hartford Line commuter train, I used Lightroom’s ‘denoise’ feature instead of DxO’s Pure Raw.

At some point, I made preform a more detail comparison.

I found that the ‘denoised’ image was in many ways superior to the straight RAW image.

You should see three images below. In addition to a scaled version of the full-frame RAW image, I’ve included two enlargements, one before and one after applying Lightroom’s ‘denoise’ feature.

Full frame RAW file following Adobe Lightroom’s ‘denoising’. This uses an AI interpretation to minimize the high noise in the original file as a result of working with 12,800 ISO. Original image exposed using a Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set at 24mm, 1/80th of second at f4.0.
Enlarged portion of the RAW file prior to ‘denoising’.
Enlarged portion of the RAW file following AI ‘denoising’ using Lightroom. Notice the lack of ‘pixelization’ (or granularity).

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