Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

Yes ISO performance can vary between cameras.
It will help our way of approaching ISO to realize that it is not the same as ISO/ASA from the film days in the sense that the ratings for film were related to the film's sensitivity. Digital cameras and ISO are different. For digital it is not a sensitivity rating but an indicator of how much gain (or amplification) is applied to the signal from the sensor. You do not (can not) change a sensors sensitivity when changing the camera's ISO. When you add gain to the sensor output you also add gain to noise inherent in the camera's electronics. Progress in sensor design may give a stronger output. That coupled with better circuit design is what has given us lower noise in the more recent cameras.
Bottom line, increasing the ISO amplifies inherent noise as it amplifies the base signal and of course it varies from one camera model to the next.

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

Mute point. You use what you have to in order to get the shot and do the best you can in PP. Your other choice is to pass on the shot. I'm just grateful I don't have to wish I had higher speed film in my camera anymore.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

David, did you do any noise reduction in post? For 10,000 ISO I am really impressed.

SonyBug

Yup, this ain't yo mama's sensor. Things have really improved!

ole sarg Loc: south florida

The caveat here is what YOU consider unacceptable!

philo Loc: philo, ca

Since 99% of my printing is 8.5x11 noise is never a problem. for email is send low jpeg and for the computer i don't worry about it. Bottom line is i will use whatever iso that i need. I/m more concerned about shutter speed then noise.

Bison Bud

Yeah, I guess "sensitivity" is the wrong word to use, but it's hard to change one's way of thinking about it after using film and that the end result is basically the same. So, to re-phrase my question, do the associated gain levels adjusted by our ISO settings track from camera to camera or is that also a factor when comparing ISO performance. In other words is 200 ISO basically the same gain level across the board or does considerable variance in these gain levels also effect direct comparison of ISO performance from camera to camera?

Raz Theo Loc: Music City

Amen.

DHooch

I'll come into this discussion from a little different direction. My first, and only, DSLR is a Pentax K5 II. I have seven new and older Pentax lenses that I either bought recently or had from my old film camera. They all work with my new camera. The new lenses are zoom lenses and auto focus. The old lenses are just auto exposure, only one is a zoom lens.

I was starting to question the quality of my camera or the new zoom lenses. Most photos seemed not to be very sharp. The shots taken outdoors, in bright sunlight were pretty good. In not so perfect lighting conditions, my shots were substandard.

It took me a couple of years to figure out what was wrong. I always used ASA (ISO) 100 film in the past. So, with my new DSLR I assumed that I should be shooting at ISO 100, too. My problem was that I was hand-holding a slow zoom lens at mid to maximum zoom length, at a slow ISO. Once I changed my ISO to 800 and above, my shots were crisp, with very little noise. My particular Pentax goes from ISO 80 to 51,200, so I was near the bottom of the ISO scale, anyway. Pentax promotes their DSLRs with high ISO and minimal noise, as a feature. It looks like that is the case for my camera.

So, in my case, a higher ISO solved my particular problem that I was having. A little noise in my photos was far better than having blurry photos.

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

My grandson has a little rock band and plays in small dives with crazy dim and bad lighting, often strobes with alternating blue, green, and red light. The only way to get any photos is to shoot at extremely high ISO, up to 25,600. I shoot at around f3.6, shutter speed about 1/100 with an f2.8 lens and can usually get useable images. The attached image was shot at f3.5, 1/100, ISO 12,800. I'm using a FF Canon 6D2 with a Tamron 24-70 lens. It's either this or no pics (flash is a major no-no).

(Download)

wapiti Loc: round rock, texas

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

I don't judge the camera by how high it's ISO can go, but how high the ISO can go that is usable in a picture. In other words, how high it can go before I wouldn't use it because it's too grainy.

RRS Loc: Not sure

You can say that again!!! Maybe he doesn't fully grasp all that can be done in PP.

Mortsid

Everyone has a choice, my choice is to get the picture. Therefore I will use whatever ISO it takes to get the photo. If I need Iso 12000, I will use it. Rule number 1, first get image. Worry about noise later on. Great photos were take in the 40's, 50's and 60's. They may have had noise, but so what, they were sill great images and many were iconic.

rcarol

I find it ironic that in the days of film shooting, grain was somewhat considered a badge of honor. It meant that the photographer did everything he or she could to get the shot. And grain was proof of that effort. Not so much today.