noise with Canon 7D

I have the older model 7D. I find if I shoot in low light I have so much noise in my pics that they are almost useless. I mean over ISO800. is this the norm? I use the Sigma 17-55 F2.8 lens.

Are you shooting in RAW format and processing in PS or LR?

I'm shooting 1600 for concerts and setting NR at 80 in LR 4.4.

I just got my 7D's a couple months ago, so only my last 2 concerts were shot with it. I tried 5000 but was not pleased, so backed off to 1600.

Useless/useful is pretty subjective. What is your workflow, what is your output, what are you comparing the results to?

Imo, the 7D should be able to give you acceptable results up to ISO1600, maybe 3200 with some NR and processing, and you can go beyond that depending on the processing and output requirements. It is very important to expose the image correctly in camera as exposure and shadow recovery will certainly degrade your results.

I shoot a lot of small birds that tend to stay deep in bushes which require me to use high ISOs in order to keep my shutter speed up and I never hesitate to shoot 6400. It all depends on what YOU consider useless.

Here is a significantly cropped photo shot at ISO 5000 using the 7D:

Canon EOS 7D • Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM @439mm • 1/800 • f/8 • ISO 5000

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/BWS4​5u Rufous Hummingbird by Tim Herbert, on Flickr

Not National Geographic quality, but I like the photo. Noise is fairly easy to deal with in post processing. Search for posts by forum member TeamSpeed as he has some great information about removing noise from 7D shots.

Tim

I just shoot as a hobby. I always shoot RAW and process in LR.

Orogeny wrote in post #17812564
... Search for posts by forum member TeamSpeed as he has some great information about removing noise from 7D shots.

Tim

I second this suggestion. The 7D can produce very high quality images in high ISO. 6400 should be no problem but I have gone higher as well. However, it is not a forgiving camera and requires some up front planing to make sure you capture the original image as best as you can.As with most Canon cameras, it is not forgiving if the image is under exposed.

I would suggest learning how to use ETTR effectively. I find that the 7D likes to underexpose more than my T3i.

YMMV

I upgraded from the 7D to the 6D specifically for low light performance. The improvement in noise levels was significant. I can comfortably use the Auto ISO setting with the 6D where I was afraid to go above iso 800 on the 7D.

Did you post process the noise out of this shot?

Bad exposures usually create noise. My first body(10D) could get clean results at 1,600 . There's no way you should be maxing out at 800.

maverick75 wrote in post #17855364
Bad exposures usually create noise. My first body(10D) could get clean results at 1,600 . There's no way you should be maxing out at 800.

I agree, I have a 7D and ISO3200 is pretty easy with minimal nois processing. Above that, well you have to get a lot more aggressive.

Here is a direct unprocessed 7D ISO 800 shot from one of my old 7Ds. I suspect that you are falling into the trap that others do where you don't want to raise the ISO very high, and that is self-defeating in low light, underexposed shots. Raise your ISO to 3200, get the exposure brightened up a bit and I suspect the noise will be less.

https://teamspeed.smug​mug.com …QD/0/X3/7d_iso8​00a-X3.jpg

Here is ISO 12800 if you learn to expose properly and post process well. This is low light as you can tell from the exif. This exposure is equivalent to an ISO 800 1/20 f2.8, to give you an idea.

Engler519 wrote in post #17855342
Did you post process the noise out of this shot?

Yes, I removed some of the noise in LR4.

Tim

maverick75 wrote in post #17855364
Bad exposures usually create noise. My first body(10D) could get clean results at 1,600 . There's no way you should be maxing out at 800.

This. It's not the high ISO as much as the images sound like they may be underexposed also. Can you post a couple with the EXIF intact?

Yes, I agree, the 7D can do better than iso 800. Most of the issues I had were in a theater setting with mostly poor lighting where I had to keep shutter speed fast enough to stop motion and aperture small enough to control depth of focus. The 6D has been a life saver. When sorting through over 2000 pictures, any post processing steps I can skip saves a lot of time.