How do you guys trades off Sharp-ness vs Noise

I don't often shoot wide open, simply because I like having a bit more depth of field than wide open gives me. Also, regarding the "sweet spot", different lenses will have different characteristics, and it's useful to get to know your gear in that regards -- if you have a lens that is noticeably soft wide open, well, that would be good to know. Also if you have a lens that stands out for wide open sharpness, that would also be good to know.

There are exceptions to my tendency to shoot somewhat stopped down, and I am quite comfortable with those exceptions, just like there are times when I'll stop down a bit beyond the "diffraction" f-stop for specific reasons. Get familiar and comfortable with the conditions and "best practices/techniques" of the shooting you do, and things will fall into place.

There will of course be "learning moments" when you get home and review a shot "or maybe a bunch of shots" and your response will be "FAIL!!!", but these can be valuable lessons, not just a time when you want to ditch all your gear and take up another hobbe!

tonylong wrote in post #9086928
There will of course be "learning moments" when you get home and review a shot "or maybe a bunch of shots" and your response will be "FAIL!!!", but these can be valuable lessons, not just a time when you want to ditch all your gear and take up another hobbe!

and or a moment of glory when you found out that one of the shots looks much better in a big screen.

Back in the film days, we pretty much had to live with the grain, but the decision path was about the same. The last factor to consider was ISO, after determining the shutter speed and aperture necessary for the picture we had in mind. Digital just makes that final factor even less of a worry.

Some people will say, "But you had to choose the film (thus the ISO) first--before even setting out on the shooting session." Well, not really. I, at least, determined before loading the film what range of shutter speeds and apertures I'd need. I loaded film for the shutter speeds and apertures I expected to use in the situation I was heading in to. If I were going to shoot indoor sports, it was the known need for high shutter speeds that dictated the film choice.

RDKirk wrote in post #9089301
Back in the film days, we pretty much had to live with the grain, but the decision path was about the same. The last factor to consider was ISO, after determining the shutter speed and aperture necessary for the picture we had in mind. Digital just makes that final factor even less of a worry.

Some people will say, "But you had to choose the film (thus the ISO) first--before even setting out on the shooting session." Well, not really. I, at least, determined before loading the film what range of shutter speeds and apertures I'd need. I loaded film for the shutter speeds and apertures I expected to use in the situation I was heading in to. If I were going to shoot indoor sports, it was the known need for high shutter speeds that dictated the film choice.

I never shot much film - apart from a Kodak automatic 35mm and a 110, but even as an inexperienced guy, you knew that you needed a fast film for action but could use a slower film for scenery. but you would certainly try to avoid shootiing landscapes with ISO 800+ film. I didnt know about shutter speeds/apertures at the time though.

Now i wouldnt hesitate to use any ISO (apart from H2 on the 50D)if i felt i needed it because its so easy to reduce the noise.