7D - maximum useable ISO?

I usually max out at 3200, but if needed I use 6400.

This was @6400 and quite acceptable to me. Who cares what others think, if you are happy that's what counts.

artyman wrote in post #14663899
This was @6400 and quite acceptable to me. Who cares what others think, if you are happy that's what counts.

I agree. Shots like this are usually fine. My biggest struggles with the 7d are with a subject against a blurred background. The noise in the bokeh is usually the worst. I find myself using a lot of selective sharpening/noise reduction, even at low ISO's

One thing that is nice is the level of detail at high ISO's. That makes the shots much more useable than older models in my opinion. If you're willing to put in some pp work, the 7D really delivers.

i've used 3200 once - by mistake - and was surprised at how good the shots looked.

NeoTokyo wrote in post #14662683
I just cant get myself past 3200, 1600 is still even iffy and do you know how long it took me to be able to accept that?! lol

I don't have a 7D but the 60D shares the same sensor... I went to disney on ice once and refused to go above 1600 and later realized all my shots had motion blur and sucked... next time I went I took her up to 6400 and yup... had alot of keepers!

Talley wrote in post #14666861
I don't have a 7D but the 60D shares the same sensor... I went to disney on ice once and refused to go above 1600 and later realized all my shots had motion blur and sucked... next time I went I took her up to 6400 and yup... had alot of keepers!

Good call. I will always choose a higher ISO over a slow shutter speed with moving subjects. The 7D also seems to show more motion blur easily so high shutter speeds and good technique are vital to pleasing images.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #14662168
ISO 6400 all the time, 12800 when I felt adventurous... I just picked up another 7D recently, which makes my 4th since its introduction.

You, sir, are a basket case!

Seriously, though, you might actually consider keeping this one. I haven't figured out why you got rid of any of the previous ones to begin with, considering the fabulous results you get with them...

As others have pointed out, acceptable is a relative term. What's acceptable for a casual snapshot for your web page won't be the same as if you're taking the Queen's official portrait. Learning proper noise reduction techniques is much cheaper than buying a camera that will give equivalent results straight out of the camera. The short answer is: use the lowest ISO that will still get the shot. If the result isn't acceptable, you can always delete it, but you can't un-delete a shot you never took. With my humble T1i, I've gotten acceptable shots at:

1600 ISO

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Bluemax wrote in post #14662406
Excu my ignorance but what is the NR guiide?

Check here: https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1079217

If I am looking for a blurred background, then 1600 is the absolute max I will go to, and usually I am not happy with that. Typically I like to stay 800 and under. I use PSE 10 for PP and I am still learning how to use it, if I had better NR software I may be more willing to go with a higher ISO.

Chiefy wrote in post #14675299
If I am looking for a blurred background, then 1600 is the absolute max I will go to, and usually I am not happy with that. Typically I like to stay 800 and under. I use PSE 10 for PP and I am still learning how to use it, if I had better NR software I may be more willing to go with a higher ISO.

Have you tried the surface blur action in photoshop? It can help mask out noise in blurred smooth backgrounds.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #14676217
Have you tried the surface blur action in photoshop? It can help mask out noise in blurred smooth backgrounds.

I don't have Photoshop (just PSE), but I'd think it would have an automatic action to create a "detail mask" that selects areas with apparent detail. Just invert that, and you've selected areas without detail that you can then apply a small amount of gaussian blur (e.g., radius 1) to.

Here is an unprocessed ISO 6400 shot from my 7D, and then a partial crop.

Now here is what the differences look like where I just simply do a surface blur, versus a full blown NR action. It helps a little in a pinch with blurred backgrounds.

ScubaDude wrote in post #14668569
The short answer is: use the lowest ISO that will still get the shot. If the result isn't acceptable, you can always delete it, but you can't un-delete a shot you never took. With my humble T1i, I've gotten acceptable shots at:

I think it would be neat to have an ISO bracketing option.