What is grain and what are the benefits?

[Deciazulado]

Some general pointers about grain on photographic film:

A: low light scenes tend to be shot with faster more sensitive film that has more grain than the slower less sensitive film used for brighly lit shots like in daylight.
B: B/W negative film (silver based) tends to be grainier in the highlights (bright parts of the image) while color negative film (dyes) tends to be grainier in the shadows.
C: smooth uniform pastel color areas (like shots of clear blue skies) tend to show more grain.

Electronic noise from digital capture might exhibit similar patterns.

For more reading about grain or noise in images you can peruse this other threads too:


Grain... How to deal with Grain...

Film Grain

I now see film grain

2001, Close Encounters, Pirates - Film Grain

Poll Would you prefer 300 with or without grain?

The "300 is grainy!!" thread

"What's all that stuff on the picture?" "That's GRAIN."