High ISO: I have always been extremely reluctant to use high ISO when taking photos. I always felt and experience seemed to prove it out. I soot with a T3i and felt anything over ISO...

larrywilk Loc: Palm Harbor, FL

I have always been extremely reluctant to use high ISO when taking photos. I always felt and experience seemed to prove it out. I soot with a T3i and felt anything over ISO 800 would be unusable.

Well, I was wrong. The attached photo was shot at ISO 6400 and is perfectly usable. This is SOOC with the only change being reduced exposure by almost one stop. Please download to view close up.

I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

Yes, it seems very usable. Nice shot.

larrywilk Loc: Palm Harbor, FL

ebrunner wrote:

Yes, it seems very usable. Nice shot.

Thank you. I realize it does need some noise reduction but I am amazed the photo is as clear as it is. I usually seem to capture them with so much noise they do not seem clear.

amehta Loc: Boston

larrywilk wrote:

I have always been extremely reluctant to use high ISO when taking photos. I always felt and experience seemed to prove it out. I soot with a T3i and felt anything over ISO 800 would be unusable.

I am asking seriously, what do you mean by "usable"?

larrywilk Loc: Palm Harbor, FL

amehta wrote:

I am asking seriously, what do you mean by "usable"?

When I look at a photo at 100%, I would want it to be well focused and with the subject especially clear. If it does not meet this simple criteria I don't feel it is usable. I could not be proud of it. I can eliminate most if not all the noise in post but I cannot fix the focus.

My experience shooting high ISO is my photos do not come out well focused.

amehta Loc: Boston

larrywilk wrote:

When I look at a photo at 100%, I would want it to be well focused and with the subject especially clear. If it does not meet this simple criteria I don't feel it is usable. I could not be proud of it. I can eliminate most if not all the noise in post but I cannot fix the focus.

My experience shooting high ISO is my photos do not come out well focused.

How much is noise a factor in your evaluation? I believe noise is stronger in shadows than highlights, so that may also be a consideration for a particular shot.

amehta Loc: Boston

larrywilk wrote:

When I look at a photo at 100%, I would want it to be well focused and with the subject especially clear. If it does not meet this simple criteria I don't feel it is usable. I could not be proud of it. I can eliminate most if not all the noise in post but I cannot fix the focus.

My experience shooting high ISO is my photos do not come out well focused.

The AF sensor does better when it has more light to work with. Part of this has to do with the lens's maximum aperture, but part has to do with the overall brightness of the scene. You may find the camera does not focus as well if the exposure would have been ISO 6400, f/5.6, 1/25th, which would be 4 stops less light than you had here. You may find that high ISO combined with a fast shutter speed lets you autofocus well, while high ISO with a slow shutter speed does not.

larrywilk Loc: Palm Harbor, FL

amehta wrote:

How much is noise a factor in your evaluation? I believe noise is stronger in shadows than highlights, so that may also be a consideration for a particular shot.

I agree, I think noise is more predominant in darker areas. It is a consideration but can often be reduced in post. Attached is another photo from today this is heavily cropped but ISO was set at 12800. Totally unusable to me. While you can notice the noise in the sky, it seems more apparent in the shadow areas.

amehta Loc: Boston

larrywilk wrote:

I agree, I think noise is more predominant in darker areas. It is a consideration but can often be reduced in post. Attached is another photo from today this is heavily cropped but ISO was set at 12800. Totally unusable to me. While you can notice the noise in the sky, it seems more apparent in the shadow areas.

Yes, this would be a definite limit. It's good to know what your camera will do for you when you need it. :-)

GPS Phil Loc: Dayton Ohio

larrywilk wrote:

I have always been extremely reluctant to use high ISO when taking photos. I always felt and experience seemed to prove it out. I soot with a T3i and felt anything over ISO 800 would be unusable.

Well, I was wrong. The attached photo was shot at ISO 6400 and is perfectly usable. This is SOOC with the only change being reduced exposure by almost one stop. Please download to view close up.

I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!

A very good test Larry, I think you suffer from the same fear that most old time film users suffer from (me). High ISO fear.
I'm just discovering that 1000,1250, 1600 free me from carrying a mono-pod or a tri-pod on many shoots. Thanks for posting this, makes me realize I am not alone. The new camera's are wonderful!!
I was shooting a frozen waterfall a couple of days ago, and a young man beside me was struggling with a mono-pod on the ice. I ask him what he was shooting with, a 5D MkIII , ISO 200 1/60 sec. and F22. With that wonderful camera, I was amazed but didn't say anything. I was shooting @ ISO 1250, F7, and 1/500 sec. The picture came out wonderful. Sad to say, I had been doing the same thing with my D7100 until just recently. Like you, live and learn.

Phil

Heirloom Tomato Loc: Oregon

That seems pretty good for high ISO! Download is nice.

amehta Loc: Boston

Heirloom Tomato wrote:

That seems pretty good for high ISO! Download is nice.

Isn't the question whether it seems pretty good, regardless of ISO?

zneb240 Loc: New South Wales - Australia

larrywilk wrote:

I have always been extremely reluctant to use high ISO when taking photos. I always felt and experience seemed to prove it out. I soot with a T3i and felt anything over ISO 800 would be unusable.

Well, I was wrong. The attached photo was shot at ISO 6400 and is perfectly usable. This is SOOC with the only change being reduced exposure by almost one stop. Please download to view close up.

I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Nice one Larry. Like many on this forum, I too cut my teeth on film and joined those recalcitrants who were always reluctant to wick up the ISO for fear of noise. ISO was always at 200/400 max and I'd sort out the exposure adjusting f stops and shutter speeds. I mostly now use auto ISO. I set a generously high maximum ISO, set a minimum acceptable shutter speed then shoot aperture priority for that all important DOF control. The camera has no hesitation in selecting higher ISO if necessary - in fact I often don't see what ISO occurred until I'm into PP - sometimes never! Never ceases to amaze me how good these new cameras handle high ISO.

Regards - Warren (another old dog still learning)

Heirloom Tomato Loc: Oregon

amehta wrote:

Isn't the question whether it seems pretty good, regardless of ISO?

Pardon my semantics, you are right of course.

amehta Loc: Boston

Heirloom Tomato wrote:

Pardon my semantics, you are right of course.

I wasn't trying to make a semantic point, I really want to know your thought on this. Thanks.