Instant HVX200 Noise Reduction

As most of us know (and for those that don't) the HVX has noticeably more noise than other the other sub-$10k HD cameras and we've all been looking for the best ways to deal with it.

I previously had posted results from my extensive color test, but for some reason glossed over dealing with noise.

Today, I've stumbled across an exquisitely simple method for cleaning up HVX200 noise. The best part? Anyone can do it!!

The Trick: in SCENE FILE menu under GAMMA settings, use the B-PRESS gamma and, voila!  About 50% to 60% instant reduction in overall image noise. And that gamma setting does not adversely affect color space or other chroma settings.

I think someone had mentioned that they felt the CINELIKE V gamma had better noise characteristics, but after todays testing the clear winner by a huge margin is in fact the B PRESS gamma.

For an analogous comparison, the improvement is likened to that of a Nikon DSLR going from ISO 400 to 100 or, a Canon DSLR going from ISO 800 to 100. The difference is completely obvious.

Note that the HVX200 does not become noise-less at the B PRESS gamma it's simply allowing the darker gamma to hide the noise characteristics without killing shadow detail or affecting other areas of the image.

Try it!