........Does a slight overexposure cause noise to surface? I had the impression that it is the brightening of underexposed images that causes noise to surface. I may be wrong as my exposures are usually correct so I have not much experiences in this regards, and due to the lack of time I haven't been studying the D3s hard enough to understand it fully.
I am using mainly zooms like AF-S 24-70mm and AF-S 14-24mm as my job mainly requires me to shoot in that range.
I should clarify about what i mean when i say "over-exposure".
from my own experience, each DSLR sensor has its limitations.
where the limitation is experienced is when the exposure is correct and noise begins to appear. this to me is the limit.
try this: use your exposure compensation to reduce your exposure one interval at a time until you get a result which has no noise. see if you can tell the difference.
enjoy