Sony A6300 High ISO Noise Reduction

The Sony A6300 offers only three High ISO Noise Reduction settings: "Off", "Low" and "Normal" (default). The user manual doesn't say at what sensitivity High ISO Noise Reduction begins to be applied, so we've included crops from ISO 100 on up to find out.

See for yourself how the the default and lowest noise reduction settings compare to RAW files with no noise reduction or sharpening applied. Click on any of the crops below to see the corresponding full-sized image.

High ISO Noise Reduction Comparison
In-Camera JPEGs vs RAW
Simulated Daylight
Normal
Off
RAW (No NR)
I
S
O

1
0
0
Normal
Off
RAW (No NR)
I
S
O

2
0
0
Normal
Off
RAW (No NR)
I
S
O

4
0
0
Normal
Off
RAW (No NR)
I
S
O

8
0
0
Normal
Off
RAW (No NR)
I
S
O

1
6
0
0
Normal
Off
RAW (No NR)
I
S
O

3
2
0
0
Normal
Off
RAW (No NR)
I
S
O

6
4
0
0
Normal
Off
RAW (No NR)
I
S
O

1
2
8
0
0
Normal
Off
RAW (No NR)
I
S
O

2
5
6
0
0
Normal
Off
RAW (No NR)
I
S
O

5
1
2
0
0

As you can see, the Sony A6300's High ISO Noise Reduction already has a noticeable effect at sensitivities as low as ISO 100, and the "Off" setting really isn't off (which is often the case), as the A6300 still applies obvious noise reduction.

Overall, the Sony A6300's noise reduction algorithm is less heavy-handed than the A6000, leaving more detail intact rather than smudging it away to produce a slightly cleaner image.