20D Question about ISO Expansion

I am shooting with my 20D and I love it. I'll eventually upgrade, but for now, I need 5 fps more than I need the extra mp's of the 5D. OK HERES THE QUESTION.

If I am shooting with the ISO Expansion on in the custom functions, will this affect my images if I am shooting at ISO 100, 200, 400 etc?

No.

The ISO expansion is optional because it is faked by firmware. Enabling this option makes ISO 3200 available as ISO "H" and does not affect any other ISO settings.

Get ready for some noise!!!

ISO 3200 is to be used in a "pinch" at best.

I find ISO 3200 virtually unusable on the 30D bucause of excessive noise so I disabled the "H" setting after trying it out.

jnevin wrote in post #3607882
I find ISO 3200 virtually unusable on the 30D bucause of excessive noise so I disabled the "H" setting after trying it out.

Why disable it ..... better a shot at 3200ISO then no Shot at all!!!

BUT if its ON and Im not using it will it affect other settings like lower ISO's????

DallasPhoto wrote in post #3609189
BUT if its ON and Im not using it will it affect other settings like lower ISO's????

No.

DallasPhoto wrote in post #3609189
BUT if its ON and Im not using it will it affect other settings like lower ISO's????

Why would it?

Overkill wrote in post #3607720
Get ready for some noise!!!

The 20D handles noise at 3200 ISO very well. Granted, you can see it at 100%, but it's not objectional at normal viewing sizes.

Here's a couple shot with a 20D at 3200 ISO. The only thing done to these from the RAW files is a little cropping. There have been no other adjustments made to these images--no contrast, sharpening or noise reduction.

This is a far cry from the old days of having to deal with 400 ISO Tri-X and some of the high ISO color films that came later.

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The noise in Bright pictures is always less noticeable!

Try it out a low light conditions and you will see what i mean..

But then again... better a noisy picture than no picture.

There seems to be enough light in the room, why did you shoot at ISO 3200...
(where you using a dumb lens)!

Overkill wrote in post #3609373
The noise in Bright pictures is always less noticeable!

Try it out a low light conditions and you will see what i mean..

But then again... better a noisy picture than no picture.

There seems to be enough light in the room, why did you shoot at ISO 3200...
(where you using a dumb lens)!

I used Canon's 28-135 IS, but the reason for shooting at ISO 3200 was to see how the camera handled high ISO exposures, especially under flourescent lights. I'd had the camera only about a month when these were taken. In that room with that lens it would have been impossible to get a properly exposed image at a lower ISO without using flash.

I have taken thousands of images at ISO 3200 with my 20D. When you're shooting moving people in a low light environment without flash, sometimes you don't have an alternative. There have even been times when I decided to use ISO 3200 so I could stop down for more sharpness and DOF.

With skillful post-processing and the right software, the noise can be dealt with. For prints 5x7 or smaller, and certainly for web images, the noise can be basically eliminated. I have made prints as large as 20x30 from images taken at ISO 3200. The customers loved them.

It's important to keep noise concerns in perspective. ISO 3200 allows you to get shots that simply wouldn't be possible with a P&S, and horribly soft and grainy with film. Let your customers decide if the images are useable.

Nail the exposure or shoot to the right.
That will go a long way towards controlling the noise.

I agree, noise is less noticabel in brighter pics.

ISO 3200 is OK on my 5D. But really it depends on the scene. If I am shooting a person in a dimly lit place, and underexpose even a little, the shot is lost...too much noise.

Otherwise, if you have plenty of light to work with and you make sure you nail it, then it can work for you, especially at < 100% viewing.

Curtis N wrote in post #3610032
I have taken thousands of images at ISO 3200 with my 20D. When you're shooting moving people in a low light environment without flash, sometimes you don't have an alternative. There have even been times when I decided to use ISO 3200 so I could stop down for more sharpness and DOF.

With skillful post-processing and the right software, the noise can be dealt with. For prints 5x7 or smaller, and certainly for web images, the noise can be basically eliminated. I have made prints as large as 20x30 from images taken at ISO 3200. The customers loved them.

It's important to keep noise concerns in perspective. ISO 3200 allows you to get shots that simply wouldn't be possible with a P&S, and horribly soft and grainy with film. Let your customers decide if the images are useable.

Great result!!