High ISO race - Your thoughts...


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godzilla60

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Nov 25, 2005
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Hi all.....

I did not get sucked into the high megapixels race that DSLR manufacturers are in, mainly due to my area of photography... but am wondering about the need for high clean ISO for digital SLR....:confused:

my question specifically is.. now we can shoot up to ISO6400 with almost clean images but do we need high and clean ISO capability especially for low-light situations where flash/tripod is not allowed or not feasible?

i mean...back in the film era, the highest one can go is ISO 400 right? (If i am not wrong about it) so what do photographers do when faced with low-light situations like concert photography where flash/tripod is not allowed or feasible?:bigeyes:

Pls share your experience and thoughts on this matter....

am asking this as i foresee being sucked in the high and clean ISO race... and yah, i know it is the photographer behind the gear that matters...:bsmilie:
 

Hi all.....

I did not get sucked into the high megapixels race that DSLR manufacturers are in, mainly due to my area of photography... but am wondering about the need for high clean ISO for digital SLR....:confused:

my question specifically is.. now we can shoot up to ISO6400 with almost clean images but do we need high and clean ISO capability especially for low-light situations where flash/tripod is not allowed or not feasible?

i mean...back in the film era, the highest one can go is ISO 400 right? (If i am not wrong about it) so what do photographers do when faced with low-light situations like concert photography where flash/tripod is not allowed or feasible?:bigeyes:

Pls share your experience and thoughts on this matter....

am asking this as i foresee being sucked in the high and clean ISO race... and yah, i know it is the photographer behind the gear that matters...:bsmilie:


Actually for film, it was up to ISO 3200 with films up to 400 commonly seen in neighbourhoods shops. Only the specialised shops carry the high speed films.

Right now, as it is, with even f2.8 lenses, you can get into situations where you need a higher shutter speed to freeze action in low light scenes. That's when you really want to have a camera which can offer you up to 1600 or even 3200 with relatively clean results.
 

Actually for film, it was up to ISO 3200 with films up to 400 commonly seen in neighbourhoods shops. Only the specialised shops carry the high speed films.

Right now, as it is, with even f2.8 lenses, you can get into situations where you need a higher shutter speed to freeze action in low light scenes. That's when you really want to have a camera which can offer you up to 1600 or even 3200 with relatively clean results.

ah......i didn't know that film can go up to ISO 3200! But u hit the nail on the head....i have to use ISO1000-1600 to get a decent shutter speed of 1/100s when using my 70200 f2.8 or 24-70 f2.8 in the places i shoot at....sigh

was wondering how the film cameras did it til u told me of ISO3200....:embrass:
 

To me, it's pointless to go for large megapixels as i believe most of us don't print photographs larger than A4... To most of us who print photographs, i guess 10MP is sufficient... Though more MP is good for cropping..

and yes, i do believe that a camera that can deliver high ISO performance is more important than a camera that try to "out-pixel" their rivals :)
 

To me, it's pointless to go for large megapixels as i believe most of us don't print photographs larger than A4... To most of us who print photographs, i guess 10MP is sufficient... Though more MP is good for cropping..

and yes, i do believe that a camera that can deliver high ISO performance is more important than a camera that try to "out-pixel" their rivals :)
In fact, in a way the megapixel race is exactly opposed to the high ISO race. IIRC with any given sensor size, lower MP = lower pixel density = better high-ISO capability.
 

High clean ISO is always a good to have for me. But personally, 1600 with a big bright lens is always almost sufficient for my use.
 

For my shooting style, resolution is more important than high ISO.
 

Different people have diffeernt uses. I liked the D3 for its low MP count and high ISO capabiliies.
 

Different people have diffeernt uses. I liked the D3 for its low MP count and high ISO capabiliies.

Exactly. If that's what best suits your shooting style, it's a good choice. I have the opposite requirements... I need high resolution and high DR, and rarely shoot above 400 anyway.
 

Whatever the race or competition between the companies, the customers benefit.

I will still buy what I need.

:)

Ryan
 

Resolution is essential, good high ISO is great to have, but, trumping everything, I want a 16 bit sensor ... ok, medium format has it already, but that is beside the point. When will Canon start shipping 16 bit sensor DSLR?

The technology is there, its here already, but why the delay?
 

As someone who shot colour transparencies, and used ISO 100 and 400 film in all kinds of situations, to have ISO 3200 on an APS sensor is incredible.

What, its too noisy, you say? Psshhh, obviously never seen grain structure of film at ISO 400 and above. ISO 3200 on the current generation of APS sensors is more than usable, if you expose correctly.
 

Resolution is essential, good high ISO is great to have, but, trumping everything, I want a 16 bit sensor ... ok, medium format has it already, but that is beside the point. When will Canon start shipping 16 bit sensor DSLR?

The technology is there, its here already, but why the delay?

I believe it has always been a matter of marketing and needs.

Just like the cars which have been always designed ahead of it's released times, they retain the technology and do not release it too early as it will kill it's current models and markets....

Keeping them released in stages which will hold the market and of course the price tag too...
 

yes as said different people with different needs. for me i think i'd rather have an ISO race rather than an MP race. salesmen today or even advertisements everywhere still constantly stress on their cameras having high MP, still riding on the misconception that high MP gives better shots. and i would think that a majority of us camera users (not all of course) have never ever utilized the maximum print megal pixel our cams offer. on the other hand, high ISO for low light situations is always useful, as the biggest aperture for zoom lenses are now at f2.8, and at times its still insufficient.
 

I did not get sucked into the high megapixels race that DSLR manufacturers are in, mainly due to my area of photography... but am wondering about the need for high clean ISO for digital SLR....:confused:

someone from a uk photography magazine once said,

"who really needs iso6400 clean unless they live in a dungeon all of the time?"

:bsmilie::bsmilie:
 

someone from a uk photography magazine once said,

"who really needs iso6400 clean unless they live in a dungeon all of the time?"

:bsmilie::bsmilie:

When an inmate needs to take a picture of his room mate.
 

someone from a uk photography magazine once said,

"who really needs iso6400 clean unless they live in a dungeon all of the time?"

:bsmilie::bsmilie:

that same someone must have had first hand experience :bsmilie::bsmilie:
 

Resolution is essential, good high ISO is great to have, but, trumping everything, I want a 16 bit sensor ... ok, medium format has it already, but that is beside the point. When will Canon start shipping 16 bit sensor DSLR?

The technology is there, its here already, but why the delay?
the $$ can earn back from R&D expenses.

Is when can the consumer pay and how much.
 

Well, high ISO capability is a benefit for many I suppose. I'm still, at times, quite irritated that I am constricted to ISO 800... And that's already compromising on quality... Haha...
 

Hi all.....
my question specifically is.. now we can shoot up to ISO6400 with almost clean images but do we need high and clean ISO capability especially for low-light situations where flash/tripod is noallowed or not feasible?[/t quote]

In short, yes.

Any advantage (in the pro's bag) is another option that may allow for shots that were not previously possible, or possible but only with great compromise.

i mean...back in the film era, the highest one can go is ISO 400 right? (If i am not wrong about it) so what do photographers do when faced with low-light situations like concert photography where flash/tripod is not allowed or feasible?:bigeyes:

Kodak first released the TMAX3200 to the public, but way before that, most photographers who needed faster film speeds simply pushed their ASA 400 films. Speeds like 1600 or 3200 were common starting with an ASA400 film base.

Having to shoot stage or low-light subjects in color was simply painful, as pushing color trans usually yielded quite atrocious results. That's why a far larger amount of low-light, dance and stage work exists in B&W.

I may be wrong, but there might have been super-sensitised emulsions made for scientific usage. There certainly was one spectacular scientific film (Kodak Tech-Pan) that was so insensitive that using the usual ASA rating was not possible! But if you did some darkroom heebie-jeebie, you could use Tech-Pan at ASA 6 or 12 and get an almost full range of tones with virtually ZERO grain even at billboard sized enlargments. :bsmilie:
 

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