5d Mark 3 great ISO until ????

I just upgraded after many years from a 60D to the Mark 3. I hate noise. While i have been playing with it and its obviously vastly better in low light I'm trying to get opinions on where is the sweet spot where you notice the noise much more. I currently have it set to max at 12,800 i believe in the auto ISO mode but want to push it if others have found you notice very little at xyz spot. Any input is much appreciated.

Heya,

Go pick a shadowy corner in your house, setup on a tripod, and do consecutive shots at each ISO value. But stress getting the exposure correct and balanced each time. See how much ISO you can tolerate. But don't lose your mind over noise from ISO if you're not getting correct exposure.

Very best,

it depends on all sorts of things, in addition to your tolerance for noise, including the exposure levels throughout the image, the amount of detail in the image (noise is more noticeable in areas lacking detail), whether you use noise reduction, and how else you process the image.

You have the answer in your hands. Experiment with your camera, and you'll figure out what ISOs make sense for you.

I find 6400 perfectly usable with decent exposure and a touch of NR in Lightroom. 12800 is starting to push it a bit.

I shoot my 6D comfortably at and above ISO12800... would do the same if I had a 5D3. Use a tiny bit of NR and sharpening and noise isn't an issue with these bodies. Go poke through the High ISO sample threads, there are at least 2 of them.

I think it also has a lot to do with cropping and final output size. If you're not cropping heavily and sizing the final image down quite a bit for use online etc then the vast majority of noise will simply disappear. If you're cropping heavily and/or producing large output sizes then it's not masked anywhere near as much.

ISO 20000

Thanks all for the input. Exactly what i was looking for. Much appreciated. I use aperture and the nik suite which includes noise reduction.

EverydayGetaway wrote in post #16881632
I shoot my 6D comfortably at and above ISO12800... would do the same if I had a 5D3. Use a tiny bit of NR and sharpening and noise isn't an issue with these bodies. Go poke through the High ISO sample threads, there are at least 2 of them.

I've just realized first hand what I've feared before, that it's a tough feeling having to say goodbye to the 6D's excellent high ISO performance...

Now that I have a 5DIII, I will need to sell my 6D. But it's tough, since once I'm up at the high ISOs, the 6D is pulling ahead of the 5DIII and I'm reluctant to give that advantage up. I know that the difference is not huge and there are a bunch of other things that make up for it, but still.

...and I also really need my 70D

I know I will have to get rid of one...

gabebalazs wrote in post #16885634
I've just realized first hand what I've feared before, that it's a tough feeling having to say goodbye to the 6D's excellent high ISO performance...

Now that I have a 5DIII, I will need to sell my 6D. But it's tough, since once I'm up at the high ISOs, the 6D is pulling ahead of the 5DIII and I'm reluctant to give that advantage up. I know that the difference is not huge and there are a bunch of other things that make up for it, but still.

...and I also really need my 70D

I know I will have to get rid of one...

I've shot with my friend's 5DIII a few times and the difference seemed pretty minimal to me, definitely a slight edge with the look of the 6D files to my eyes, but I chalk it up to mostly bias I'm also just more familiar with the 6D being that I own it.

As I said, I would shoot either comfortably at or above ISO12800 though, enjoy your new camera!