noise? what is it exactly?

[joe vt]

i read/hear the term noise when speaking cameras. what is it exactly and what does it do to the picture.

[Phil Magistro]

Noise in digital used to be referred to as grain in film.  It makes the photo look fuzzy or cloudy instead of sharp and clear.  There are programs like Noise Ninja or Neat Image, that can be used to remove noise from digital photos.

Noise typically appears at higher ISO settings and some cameras are better at handling (or creating) it than others.

Here is a link with more information than you probably need but it will explain it.

 http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/key=noise

Phil

[five-oh]

Exactly what Phil said.  I will add that it usually happens in low light and the sensor size seems to play a big part in how much noise there is in low light conditions.