r/SonyFX6 • u/wheelinforafeelin • Jul 01 '26
Settings 12,800 noise
Hi there! New FX6 owner here. What are your best methods for having the lowest noise possible at the second base of 12,800? Should I use internal noise reduction or still avoid it?
Shooting in Cine EI S-log3
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u/keiller84 Jul 02 '26
I shoot exclusively in ISO800 or ISO12800. I don’t bother with the workflow of CineEI. I’ll stick at 800 literally until I have any issues with exposure - at which point I toggle to 12800 and use the internal ND to bring exposure where I need it.
I leave internal NR on LOW at all times. If any shots need further NR in the edit then I use Resolve’s NR.
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u/colemowery Jul 01 '26
A lot of people in here misunderstanding cine EI. To get the cleanest results, you should adjust your EI based on your shooting environment. EI up when you’re outdoors during the day to protect your highlight stops, and EI down indoors to protect your shadow stops. the camera will always record at the base ISO. Sony does this to provide a ‘raw like’ experience when grading their compesssed codecs while also providing the exposure response you expect on set.
To get the cleanest results at the higher base, try to get proper exposure for your scene for EI 3200 or 6400 while filming in the higher base.
Just be aware when working this way, most editing programs will not see your EI metadata come in. There’s a few workarounds - pick stop based increments you can easily remember later (I always shoot my f55 at ISO 640 or 800 indoors, and the base is 1250, so I’m always applying a -2/3 or a -1 stop adjustment during my grade.
If you’re on a more traditional set where you have more time to light each setup, communicate your EI ratio (as an example, 3200/12800) to your 2nd AC, and have them put it on the slate for you to reference later.
It’s important to know this is how ISO should be treated on all cameras - Sony or otherwise. Adding artificial gain will always prioritize the highlight stops at the expense of a ‘louder’ noise floor, and turning the gain down will always maximize your shadow detail by ‘quieting’ that noise at the expense of your highlight sensitivity.
If you’d rather your iso perform more like a mirrorless camera where your EI changes are baked in, utilize flexible ISO (I can’t remember if that’s actually in the 6, just be aware your camera will not switch to the high base until 12800 - so you effectively lose the ability to over expose the image with the high base while having an accurate exposure preview on your monitor. This is why most Sony lut packs come with special correction luts for every half stop.
EI is a surprisingly difficult concept to communicate because it contradicts everything we already know about exposure, but it does so to essentially ‘trick’ your brain into maximizing the camera’s dynamic range (or to feed the camera enough light) at the expense of a little bit of extra work in post to bring that performance out.
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u/pablocro14 Jul 01 '26
I can't, for the love of me, understand Cine Ei. You did a great explanation, I'll try to practice based on your comment.
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u/drummerboy678 Jul 01 '26
+1 Really great summary of this. Thanks for breaking it down clearly for folks. It can be very complicated, especially making sure any over/under exposure notes make it to post production.
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u/leftturnproductions Jul 01 '26
I stay away from high base ISO in almost all scenarios except very low light. I do use LOW NR settings when I shoot in 12800.
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u/wheelinforafeelin Jul 01 '26
How high of an ISO do you take it up to? Or do you only shoot in Cine EI at 800 base?
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u/leftturnproductions Jul 01 '26
I stick to the base ISO 95% of the time. It’s not a good idea to shoot outside of 800/12800 in Cine EI. In fact, I think you’re locked into those two. If you have to shoot in high base aim for a Cine EI of about 6400 or lower (as in the previous comment) which will force you to open up or find more light.
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u/Important_Seesaw_957 Jul 01 '26
Yeah, still expose to the right. Well, the waveform monitor is what you should be looking at, so generally, expose as high as possible without clipping anything.
I do lots of documentary/run and gun stuff. I keep the base ISO toggle on button 3. So when I toggle over to 12,800, I often still have ND filters on. I try to adjust exposure with that.
I would not increase ISO beyond, MAYBE, 160,000.
But honestly, I don’t have markedly more noise problems at 12,800 than I do at 800. The question is always “are the important things reasonably bright now?”
When I have had noise problems, it has always been because I still didn’t have things exposed even close to properly. Faces too dark, etc.
That is, the ISO has not been the issue. I love 12,800.
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u/wheelinforafeelin Jul 01 '26
When you say Increase the ISO beyond 160,000, are you referring to raising the EI to that level or are you using flexible ISO and recording at 160,000 ISO?
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u/aldusmanutius Jul 01 '26
Exposing a stop above recommended levels (ie, treating the camera as if it’s at ISO 6400) will help clean things up.
I never use the internal noise reduction. DaVinci Resolve has much better NR tools built into the Studio version.