What does gain do on a camera

Quantum efficiency is the percentage of photons that an imaging device can convert into electrons. It is dependent on sensor material and wavelength of light being detected. Camera Gain Educational Notes. Find Out More. Quantum Efficiency Quantum efficiency is the percentage of photons that an imaging device can convert into electrons.

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Thread starter saltwater Start date Jan 5, I have several cameras and I'm in the process of fine-tuning all of them. Under the Exposure menu setting, what is 'gain'? Is gain the same as ISO in normal photography terms?

The lesser the gain number, the lesser grain noise and conversely the higher the gain number the more grain noise in an image for a given shutter speed. This means that it requires less light than the LtRC to produce an image of similar brightness with the same camera settings. Below are two cropped images of the resolution target taken with each camera. They were both captured using an analog gain of 3. The exposure time used for the LtC was A digital gain of 4 was added to both images to help the human eye see the visual data.

As expected, the LtC produce a noisier image in a shorter period of time since it is more sensitive than the LtRC and has a higher read noise level. To illustrate this, the exposure time of the LtRC was set to The results of these changes can be seen below in the cropped image of the same area seen in the previous images digital gain of 4 added, once again. In the digital age the process of compressing the image adds noise.

So any gain added in post production amplifies not only the camera signal but also the added recording or compression noise so generally gives an inferior result to adding gain in camera. With an 8 bit signal the stretching of the relatively few grey shades results in banding. Now, however the use of lower noise sensors and much improved 10 bit or higher recording codecs or even uncompressed recording means that adding gain in post as opposed to in camera is not such a bad thing.

In some cases you can use post production noise reduction prior to adding post gain and by leveraging the processing and rendering power of a computer, which will normally be of greater quality than the in camera processing, you can get a cleaner, lower noise output than you would using in camera gain.

So before you flick on the gain switch of your camera, if your using only very light 10 bit or higher compression HDCAM SR, Cineform, ProRes HQ or uncompressed do consider that you may actually be better waiting until you get into post before you add gain.

EI gain does not actually add any gain to the recorded signal or signal output in the case of the F3.