5D iso 1600 and iso 3200 performance

after two concert shoots since thursday using the 5D, i have *zero* reservations shooting @ 3200...often in a concert setting you've got to underexpose just to get a decent shutter speed, so noise is a fact of life. the 5D simply outperforms the 30D in this regard, as both shoots used both cameras. i don't have any 100% crops, but you can browse through my Cat Power shots for examples. i'll have the Vampire Weekend shots done tonight.

I was shooting just today with my 5D @ ISO3200, I also have no doubts about using it in the future, where as with EVERY other body I have owned/tried I have always had to stay well clear of the highest ISO's...

Well, I'll play and provide some examples
Note that post processing (add massive amounts of contrast to remove smoke from smoke machines, for instance) brings out the noise in these, and hotness of small, outsold clubs (body heat from the people inside) are no good either, but it's good to see some not-best-case images:

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Awesome thread!

I recently purchased a Powershot A720IS for those places where I think a 5D would be overkill or where I might not want to carry such expensive equipment with me!

Its not until you try ISO1600 on one of these that makes you REALLY appreciate just how good a DSLR is, especially the 5D, I have no issues with shooting at ISO3200, colours are just as good & the noise is nothing much at all.

Nick_C wrote in post #4965589
I recently purchased a Powershot A720IS for those places where I think a 5D would be overkill or where I might not want to carry such expensive equipment with me!

Its not until you try ISO1600 on one of these that makes you REALLY appreciate just how good a DSLR is, especially the 5D, I have no issues with shooting at ISO3200, colours are just as good & the noise is nothing much at all.

Next time buy a Fiji F30 or F31. GREAT ISO 1600 for a P&S!

microman23 wrote in post #4965910
Next time buy a Fiji F30 or F31. GREAT ISO 1600 for a P&S!

Yep I did think of those but I love the manual controls of the Canon, not to mention the IS system

Just a thought, but for those of us that shot film, did any of you really consider using ISO 3200 speed film? I know I rarely did, and when I did the photos were not good. So why now do so many want to shoot at that level? Just because you can, does not imply you should.

Joe Cyr wrote in post #4966055
So why now do so many want to shoot at that level? Just because you can, does not imply you should.

LOL

Joe Cyr wrote in post #4966055
Just a thought, but for those of us that shot film, did any of you really consider using ISO 3200 speed film? I know I rarely did, and when I did the photos were not good. So why now do so many want to shoot at that level? Just because you can, does not imply you should.

I think most people who are totally anal about low noise / high ISO have never shot film. I know my limit was at 1600 ISO when shooting B&W and 400 ISO for colour. Today's digital cameras way exceed these, and yet we analyze to death with 100% crops of extremely low light shots on our monitors, arguing one camera has better noise ( more film like ) then the next.

Joe Cyr wrote in post #4966055
Just a thought, but for those of us that shot film, did any of you really consider using ISO 3200 speed film?

B&W film? Sure!

I use ISO 1600 & 3200 a lot for times when I'm out at bars or restaurants with friends and I don't want to use flash. Its a great way to get candid shots and not be annoying.

IMO a little noise can be a good thing--I NEVER use Noise Ninja or any of that software, I hate the look it gives pictures. I'd take a little noise over a plastic look any time.

perryge wrote in post #4875162
All of Canon's cameras perform pretty well at high ISOs, the 5D is among the best, no doubt. I just did a quick snap here of my face - hand held in front of myself with the 5D and 50 1.4 (you can see the reflection in my eye haha), a single tungsten light bulb as the light source.

5D, 50 1.4 lens, ISO 3200, 1/60s, f/2.8, 100% crop - ran through ACR for white balance tweaks and the usual tiny bit of sharpening - no other post-processing done; NO noise reduction performed, nothing, pretty much out of camera:

There's a distinct lack of chroma noise in that shot. I've got a 40D and without PP the chroma noise is distinctly visible in a shot I took similar to yours:

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kcbrown wrote in post #4968537
There's a distinct lack of chroma noise in that shot. I've got a 40D and without PP the chroma noise is distinctly visible in a shot I took similar to yours:

(The above is a 100% crop of the straight-from-the-camera jpeg. I had high-ISO noise reduction turned off for it. No tweaks, just a straight crop. Used my Sigma 18-50 at f/2.8. Saved at 85% quality to get it under the attachment size limit).

What do you get if you shoot large+fine jpeg with auto white balance?

I must say I had no idea, because frankly I've never shot JPEG or auto white balance. So I just pounded one out real quick just now - here it is, my picture style settings are probably all f***ed because I never use them. JPEG straight from camera, 100% crop.

5D, ISO 3200, one tungten light, f/2.8, auto white balance, JPEG and very crappy JPEG compression (sorry, it was rushed). Bear in mind my glasses are DIRTY as hell so they certainly soften things up behind them, and my eye is underexposed, so there'll certainly be noise there. I think the catchlight is also reflecting a fluorescent light on the other side of my room, haha. Given all these, it looks half decent to me, but also reminds me why I shoot RAW .

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perryge wrote in post #4968672
I must say I had no idea, because frankly I've never shot JPEG or auto white balance. So I just pounded one out real quick just now - here it is, my picture style settings are probably all f***ed because I never use them. JPEG straight from camera, 100% crop.

5D, ISO 3200, one tungten light, f/2.8, auto white balance, JPEG and very crappy JPEG compression (sorry, it was rushed). Bear in mind my glasses are DIRTY as hell so they certainly soften things up behind them, and my eye is underexposed, so there'll certainly be noise there. I think the catchlight is also reflecting a fluorescent light on the other side of my room, haha. Given all these, it looks half decent to me, but also reminds me why I shoot RAW .

Yeah, that pretty much confirms that the nature of the 5D's sensor is such that it produces relatively little chroma noise. I'm impressed.

The 40D produces somewhat similar results in its jpegs with NR turned on, but that's a postprocessing artifact, not a characteristic of the sensor as it is in the 5D.

kcbrown wrote in post #4968937
Yeah, that pretty much confirms that the nature of the 5D's sensor is such that it produces relatively little chroma noise. I'm impressed.

The 40D produces somewhat similar results in its jpegs with NR turned on, but that's a postprocessing artifact, not a characteristic of the sensor as it is in the 5D.

It's a beautiful, beautiful camera .