# Up to what ISO are you willing to set? Aperture?



## eninja (Jan 23, 2013)

I want to learn from you guys:

Added: What aperture you normally use? when you dont intend bokeh.

In low light,
Up to what ISO you willing to go?
When handheld at 28mm, how low is shutter speed you willing to go?
which camera you refer to?

Mine:
2000
10th-20th
G12

Thanks in advance.

Background:

I got 6D recently, coming from a G12 I was carried away, use Av Mode and set aperture < 2.8, ISO range up to 25600. After Christmas, I checked my pictures and a lot of the shots was in 12800 above. And my G12 old pics looks better, in the past I used manual mode on G12 and carefully not go > 1600 ISO and < 1/30 shutter speed.


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## bseitz234 (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*

I mean, it's going to change a lot by camera body. I have a 7d so I hate going above 1600. Really I try to avoid much over 800, but in low light that can be difficult to avoid. If I had a 5d3, just from looking at comparison charts, I'm guessing I'd be willing to go to 6400 in most cases. 

Shutter speed at 28mm is most limited by subject motion. I can handhold 1/30 pretty easily if people aren't moving around, but realistically with candids we're talking 1/125, sports 1/250 or as fast as I can afford given the light


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## Don Haines (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*

I shoot mostly with a 60D. I have shot handheld right up to limit of the extended range of the camera (iso12800) at a 30th of a second with a 100L at f2.8..... if that's what you need to do, do it! Far better than to let the picture escape...... and yes, the picture would have less noise with a newer and better camera, but the picture would not have been as nice. 

A lot of these things are guidelines... like never shoot slower than 1/focal length, but guidelines are not hard set laws and sometimes the result of breaking them is a great picture.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*

I used my 5D MK III up to 25600 the other night at a local play, and that was with fast primes. You do lose lots of image detail, and you will not win any awards for quality, but up to 8X10, it looks fine.

There were some that I just could not capture, since I was at 1/20 sec f/1.8 on my 85mm 1.8 lens, and motion blur was bad.

Fortunately, only a handful required 25600. 

Obviously, I would not chose to use high ISO's like that if it wasn't required. Flash is not allowed, and would ruin the liighting. So fast primes, marginal shutter speeds, and high ISO is sometimes the only choice.
ISO 25600:






ISO 25600





ISO 12800:






ISO 6400


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## dr croubie (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*

I shoot my 7D at 800 for good shots where I can accept maybe a little motion blur, 1600 where i'd rather have noise than motion blur (noise is easier to get rid of), and 3200 or even higher if it's only going to be a 6x9cm print or 1200x800 web-view.

My EOS 3 I shoot up to 800, which is either BW400CN or TMAX400 pushed a stop, or occasionally when I'm shooting Provia 400 and cross processing, then I set the light-meter to 800 to not blow out the highlights.

And my Pentacon6/Kiev60/Kiev88/Mamiya645AF I shoot Ilford Delta P3200, have shot at 3200 and 4000, and frankly i get better results (less grain than noise) than on my 7D at the same speeds, reducing those huge negatives masks a lot of the grain out. It's hard to compare when my fastest MF lenses are f/2.8, but i'll take my EF 85/1.8 at iso800 on my 7D over the Zeiss Sonnar 180/2.8 at iso3200 on MF (it's also 3kg lighter that way).


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## bdunbar79 (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*

Even on a 1DX, the highest I'm willing to shoot is 8000. Beyond that, even with NR, I cannot meet my own unrealistic expectations.


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## crasher8 (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*

8k to 12800 on 5D3. In extreme cases only. Usually my auto is 100-6400.


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## digital paradise (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*

I just got my 5D3. I had no problem shooting 6400 with my 5D2 but have not tried higher than that on the 5D3 yet. NR for all images using CS6 or LR

5D2 @ 6400 with flash











7D @ 1600






7D @ 12,800


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## M.ST (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*

I use to:

85 % ISO 50 to 200
10 % ISO 400 to 800
4 % ISO 1600 to 3200
1 % higher than 3200.

I don´t use Auto-ISO.


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## Hillsilly (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*

No limit as such and I've been known to go all the way to the dizzying heights of 3200 (my 1Ds Mkii's limit). But 90%+ of the time, I'm at ISO 100 and I rarely go above 400 or 800. Interestingly, though, I've started playing around with night time timelapse photography and have been pleasantly surprised how well ISO 1600 works for this.


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## BrandonKing96 (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*

on my 60D, I wouldn't go past 1600 (I'd daringly use 3200 every now and then if I had to), but most of the time it wasn't a worry because I'd use my 580EX II.

On my 5D III, I have no problems going up to ISO 8000, with 12800 being my max that I'd actually shoot at.


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## R1-7D (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*

Never about 6400 on my 5D Mark II. I'll go all the way to 25, 600 in extreme cases on my 5D III, though!


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## Marsu42 (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*



eninja said:


> Up to what ISO you willing to go?



On 18mp aps-c: Max iso800 for 100% crop usability, maybe iso1250 if I know I don't have to raise shadows in postprocessing and keeper rate would be too low otherwise.

Anything higher imho is only usable if the shots are downsized (which they aften are), that's why I want a 6d, even though higher iso capability doesn't mean more dynamic range at high iso than older sensors...


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## sanj (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*

This may sound simplistic but the ISO choice for me is the minimum to get the job done.

Getting the job means getting a non blurred photo of the subject in the light. ISO selection may be very high but if that is what the photo requires, that is what I put. I cant not take a picture just because it requires higher ISO than what I find pleasing. 

If me or my client is picky about the noise then I need to get wider opening lenses and cameras with high ISO capabilities. Even then lowest ISO principle applies.


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## vbi (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*

As low as possible...as fast as necessary!


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## sanj (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*



vbi said:


> As low as possible...as fast as necessary!



Bingo. You word this much better than me...


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## eninja (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*



sanj said:


> vbi said:
> 
> 
> > As low as possible...as fast as necessary!
> ...



I understand, I'm already there.
But, I am referring to a limit/situation where you say, I can not push ISO anymore else it would be too noisy. 

In low light fast means in the range of 15th - 60th.
In what shutter speed can you say, I can not get low anymore, else there would definitely camera shake.


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## RLPhoto (Jan 23, 2013)

ISO wise

Canon 10D - 100-800 useable - 1600 extreme

7D - 100-3200 usable - 6400 extreme

5Dc - 100-3200 usable. 

5D3 - 100-12800 usable - 25600 extreme

Aperture is not limited for me. I use what needs to be used.


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## K3nt (Jan 23, 2013)

Can't remember who said it but it went something like: A sharp image with noise will always outsell a blurry image with no noise. 

And there's of course the artistic exception, where blur might be the point. Then go for it.


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## ewg963 (Jan 23, 2013)

My ceiling is usually 3200 but have gone 6400 on my 5D MKII. Im hoping soon that I'll get the chance to "play" with the 1 DX!!!


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## eninja (Jan 23, 2013)

Thanks guys, really appreciate it.
It will save me a lot of testing, I can only shoot when weekends,
I'm new shooting RAW, I am still getting used to on my workflow.
These inputs will save me precious time and precious pictures.

Additional quick question: What aperture you normally use? when you dont intend bokeh.

Again, I am used to with my G12, I always shoot at maximum at 2.8. 
So when I got the 6D, its 2nd nature to me to shoot < 2.8. 

So i want to know your side guys.
My current lens is 28mm F1.8


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## tomscott (Jan 23, 2013)

On my 5DMKIII I have my range set to 100-6400. 12800 is useable but im not overly keen on it.

6400 is more comfortable and cleans up nicely


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## agierke (Jan 23, 2013)

eninja,

your comparison of apertures between the g12 and the 6D will be problematic. you are dealing with a lot less depth of field on your 6D.

for max apertures i will only go to 2.8 or wider if i am dealing with a single subject and it depends greatly on the lens. on the 35L i am comfortable with the IQ down to F2.0...on my 70-200 2.8L i feel better at F4 but will go to F2.8 with the understanding that i will probably be getting soft results on a percentage of shots.

for group small shots (2 to 3 people) i dont feel comfortable going wider than F5.6 but i will sometimes fudge it at F4 if i am desperate for light. for corporate head shots i try not to go wider than F8. for creative head shots i'll go to an F2 if i can.

for sports i tried to stay at 5.6 or smaller as i wanted greater depth of field to compensate for the players movement throughout the frame. if i tried to shoot at F2.8 often times the players had moved out of my depth of field in the fraction of a second that it took the camera to focus and release the shutter. this was on the 5D series cameras which of course were less than ideal for action in terms of that focusing system. 

its all highly dependent upon then lens (focal length) that i am using and what the situation calls for. the full frame format is an entirely different animal in terms of Depth of Field and you should not reference your experiences on your G12 as to what apertures will work in certain situations.


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## K3nt (Jan 23, 2013)

agierke said:


> eninja,
> 
> your comparison of apertures between the g12 and the 6D will be problematic. you are dealing with a lot less depth of field on your 6D.
> 
> ...



+10


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## jeffabbyben (Jan 23, 2013)

My experience with the 5d iii is that i cannot go above 3200 without losing significant sharpness. Interestingly I was shooting at a high school basketball game with a guy using a nikon D4 and the pics were tack sharp at iso 8000. Will the 1dX tolerate this high of ISO? This is an honest question not a nikon vs canon comment.


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## K3nt (Jan 23, 2013)

jeffabbyben said:


> My experience with the 5d iii is that i cannot go above 3200 without losing significant sharpness. Interestingly I was shooting at a high school basketball game with a guy using a nikon D4 and the pics were tack sharp at iso 8000. Will the 1dX tolerate this high of ISO? This is an honest question not a nikon vs canon comment.



1D-X does better than that. It is unbelievable the shots they are able to pull out of that sensor.


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## crasher8 (Jan 23, 2013)

I see no sharpness loss until over 12800 on my 5d3, must be lens choice and PEBCAK errors.


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## FatDaddyJones (Jan 23, 2013)

eninja, what lens/lenses are you shooting with on the 6D? Your questions would be better answered specifically referring to your actual equipment rather than general settings from random body and lens types.


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## m (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Up to what ISO are you willing to set?*



vbi said:


> As low as possible...as fast as necessary!


I agree.

Some (light) situations allow for higher ISO than others.


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## rpt (Jan 23, 2013)

5D3: 100 to 12800. 25600 is grainy and I have not shot much so I can't comment.

300D: 100 to 400. 800 is grainy and I don't like the 1600 but one particular shot turned out ok after I cleaned it up in LR.

f-stop and shutter speed as per exposure. I don't have fast primes so my aperture is usually 4 and above...


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## jeffabbyben (Jan 23, 2013)

crasher8 said:


> I see no sharpness loss until over 12800 on my 5d3, must be lens choice and PEBCAK errors.



Maybe you are just special ;D


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## bdunbar79 (Jan 23, 2013)

I shoot at ISO 5000 and 6400 all the time with a 1DX and 5D3. There is certainly sharpness loss from 3200 to 6400. 8000 and 10,000 get even worse. The detail loss is signifcant, especially of someone's face.


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## NormanBates (Jan 23, 2013)

jeffabbyben said:


> crasher8 said:
> 
> 
> > I see no sharpness loss until over 12800 on my 5d3, must be lens choice and PEBCAK errors.
> ...



I'd bet on that ;D

These are some crops I took from dpreview when the camera was released:
http://www.similaar.com/foto/iso/5d3.html
Keep in mind that I was interested in video, so these crops are not 100%, I first resampled the stills to 1920x1080 and then cropped the area of interest. So, if you're seeing softness there it's going to be huge on 100% crops.

Anyway, this is what I wanted to post...
This is very useful for anybody wondering about this kind of things:
http://filmmakeriq.com/2012/12/reuters-best-photos-of-2012-the-cameras-and-settings-used-to-capture-them/


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## extremeinstability (Jan 23, 2013)

This should be highly dependent on subject detail or lack of. I shoot a lot of clouds or fog or just something with a lot of sky and well even the base ISO can wind up annoying. Where as if I shot something with a bunch of detail the ISO could go far far higher before there's an annoying aspect to it. Doesn't take long with a digital camera to see what sucks and what doesn't for each type of scene though.


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## jdramirez (Jan 23, 2013)

I have a 50mm f/1.4 that I try to shoot at f/2.8 and I have a 100mm f/2.8L IS macro that I shoot at f2.8. With both, depending upon the circumstances, I can shoot at 1250 and be pleased with the results in an indoor setting. I'm willing to go up to 2500...

this on a 60D...


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## bycostello (Jan 24, 2013)

all depends on what you want.. any iso if a picture is better than no picture...


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## eninja (Jan 24, 2013)

I am using EF 28mm 1.8. As per the sales guy, this is the last piece in stock from Canon.
I don't know if they mean, they stop producing this lens already.

ISO:
From given type of camera and different type of user, I want to learn how they approach in setting their
ISO and aperture. Depending on the results they want, some users (photographers) will push ISO just to capture the scene (Scene dependent). Others like me, most of the time, if pushing the ISO will turn out grainy, then find another way as much as possible.

Aperture:
I came from a G12, and I develop the habit that to shoot at wide aperture as much as possible, because thats the only available advantage using G12.
For a given lens, I want to learn how different user approach to setting their aperture.

Because I am happy to learn from user opinion than from charts.
and I want to use similar approach, from few users.


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## nightsky87 (Jan 24, 2013)

60D:
- I keep my shots at ISO 800 or lower if possible.
- If absolutely necessary I bring it up to ISO 1600
- ISO 3200 is too grainy for my taste

5D3:
- Normal limit is at ISO 3200 for me
- In dire situations, ISO 12800 is still usable

In your case, the 6D should be better at handling noise so the 5D3 should be a close comparison. The settings also depend on what you shoot and for me, I tend to follow certain settings depending on what I shoot.

Portrait:
- I keep ISO at 3200 or lower to make sure there's enough detail
- Aperture is usually 5.6 or wider for me depending on what I'm trying to get
- If available light isn't enough, consider using external lighting (not always possible)

Events:
- This is where I usually have to sacrifice ISO. Just get it as low as possible.
- Aperture usually stays between 2.8-4 (on my 24-70 zoom) for individuals and it can stretch to 5.6 for groups (again, the limits depend on what you're trying to do)
- Consider fill lighting if possible

Landscape/Cityscape:
- LOW ISO! I stay at ISO 100-200 for this one
- Longer exposures + tripod is usually the best solution unless you don't wan't trailing lights at night

That's me of course - and photography is just a really expensive hobby for me. Others might have other preferences.

On your 28mm, it doesn't take much to not have bokeh (assuming you don't shoot your subjects in front of their face ;D). I don't personally own one, but at 24mm, I get less bokeh starting f/4 (or even f/2.8 ) assuming I'm far enough from the subject.


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## digital paradise (Jan 24, 2013)

Just curious why you choose 3200 for portraits? That is my preferred setting for my 5D3 and like you will go higher but that is for dark venues while run and gun shooting.

If I set up a couple of lights I shoot at 400. I may have misread what yo mean by portraits.


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## nightsky87 (Jan 24, 2013)

digital paradise said:


> Just curious why you choose 3200 for portraits? That is my preferred setting for my 5D3 and like you will go higher but that is for dark venues while run and gun shooting.
> 
> If I set up a couple of lights I shoot at 400. I may have misread what yo mean by portraits.



Oh, by portrait I generally meant single subjects even if lighting isn't controlled. So that includes dark locations where 3200 might still be needed. If lighting is an option, I agree with 400. Great quality at those ISO levels!


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## oscaroo (Jan 24, 2013)

50d:
- Upto 800 day to day
- 1600 if i'm desperate.

6d:
- Normally till 6400.
- OK to do 12800
- With a grumble i'd go to 25600
- If i'm taking happy snaps of friends for non professional uses i'll go up to H2. This quality is good enough for facebook for me.


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## V8Beast (Jan 24, 2013)

With the 5D3, ISO 6400 is as high as I like to push it. Noise doesn't start becoming objectionable until 3200, and I don't bother with noise reduction on anything shot between 100 and 1600.


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## digital paradise (Jan 24, 2013)

nightsky87 said:


> digital paradise said:
> 
> 
> > Just curious why you choose 3200 for portraits? That is my preferred setting for my 5D3 and like you will go higher but that is for dark venues while run and gun shooting.
> ...



That was what I thought. Just wanted to clarify. .


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## Nishi Drew (Jan 24, 2013)

oscaroo said:


> 50d:
> - Upto 800 day to day
> - 1600 if i'm desperate.
> 
> ...



You're better off post raising exposure unless you're that (Seriously) lazy/out of time for shooting at those expanded ISO settings... and the 'fine for FB' attitude, sure that's a reality, but that iPhone is perfectly fine for FB, wish I had a 6D to treat like a pocket cam- aside

I go 3200 max with 5DII, I would rarely go above 800 on my T1i and by then the image can be ruined in bad light already


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## oscaroo (Jan 24, 2013)

Nishi Drew said:


> You're better off post raising exposure unless you're that (Seriously) lazy/out of time for shooting at those expanded ISO settings... and the 'fine for FB' attitude, sure that's a reality, but that iPhone is perfectly fine for FB, wish I had a 6D to treat like a pocket cam- aside
> 
> I go 3200 max with 5DII, I would rarely go above 800 on my T1i and by then the image can be ruined in bad light already



Gday.
I agree that I'm better off doing things in post. But I only postprocess some pics.
The iphone is perfectly fine for facebook, but, at times when a room is lit by only a TV in the corner and my flash is out of juice to flash, but enough to AF-assist beam and someone's kicking a ball around and it's 1am, and I'm drunk and the 24-105 is the only lens I have .... iso H2 was the only thing that would let me take a photo. (attached)

Also! I just realised, this pic i attach shows the exif as having iso set to iso 65535 
Lightroom must have truncated the ISO value when I exported me a little jpeg.

Both photos at iso H2 (100k) and 1/15 @ f4 AF assist beam, no flash, 130am, everyone is drunk.


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## oscaroo (Jan 24, 2013)

Here's ISO 25600
The GF driving my car.

Nothing but street lights shining some light.
It's amazing!

f4, 1/25


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## FatDaddyJones (Jan 24, 2013)

Coming from the 7D to the 5D Mark III, I am amazed at the ISO noise performance. Here are some shots I took of the Hulk from my kid's Happy Meal at high ISO settings starting at 6400 and going up to H2 (102400). Even though you can see a slight degradation in sharpness and increase in noise, I could be perfectly happy shooting with 12800 ISO on the 5D3 if it was called for and even 25600 when I had to. The H1 and H2 could provide useable shots in emergency situations (Total EM blackout, sun turning to sackcloth and moon to blood, etc.) 

Ultimately, you'll have to decide for yourself what is acceptable and not acceptable.

(All photos have LR4 luminance Noise Reduction set to 25)
ISO 6400 
ISO 12800


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## FatDaddyJones (Jan 24, 2013)

ISO 25600
ISO 51200
ISO 102400


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## FatDaddyJones (Jan 24, 2013)

100% Crops 
ISO 6400
ISO 12800
ISO 25600


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## FatDaddyJones (Jan 24, 2013)

100% Crops
ISO 51200
ISO 102400


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## eninja (Jan 25, 2013)

Regarding high ISO hulk shots above. For me, it is not the best way to show quality of High ISO by these examples. With these lighting, you already get good exposure at 6400, that means, with the same lighting on higher ISO, All parts of the image is within the limit of ISO sensor bucket if you will.

Its a different scenario where in, you are in dark places, then even at 25600 ISO, u still get 1/2 stop underexpose image.

I am an amateur with less than a month experience on DSLR.
What I am saying is, for me, you can not gauge ISO performance in well lighted conditions, also,
the subject in your example is too big and maybe detail less in the first place. 

I have not intelligently shoot my 6D yet, unlike my G12, I know its peak.
Hopefully soon, I will know its peak performance.. and see what peak is peak.


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## FatDaddyJones (Jan 25, 2013)

The lighting for the Hulk shots wasn't very bright. Actually, it was fairly dimly lit. I agree that you'll get different noise and color banding patterns in different lighting conditions, so no tests or photos online are going to show you how your photos are going to turn out. The point is how much (or little) noise you are getting at these high ISO settings, and there aren't many systems out there that can touch the ISO noise performance of the current Canon FF cameras.


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## Efka76 (Jan 25, 2013)

I have 7D. The largest part of my photos are shot at ISO 100-200. If there is a need i go up to ISO 1000-1200 in order to avoid blurred pictures. However, when i was on vacation in Roma and shoot in quite dark churches I increased ISO up to 3200 and good really good pictures (of course, there was noice, which was expected).

In other cases I use flash or do not shoot at all  I have tripod, however, never used it as it is quite inconvenient to carry it. In specific cases (shooting night photos, landscapes, etc.) of course I would use tripod.

Regarding aperture: when shoting portraits I usually go to 2.8, but in other cases when more of DoF is required I shoot at 5.6 and higher.


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## cocopop05 (Jan 25, 2013)

I have a 5D Mark III and ayhting up to ISO 6400 looks superb. I will use ISO 12800 and 25600, using noise reduction tends to produce good images even at these high settings. I do not like to go any higher than 25600.


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## K3nt (Jan 25, 2013)

From the replies I've seen on this topic, people tend to shoot at whatever ISO and aperture gets the shot. Granted, across the board, lower ISO is better, but there doesn't really seem to be a trend where people would consistently not use high ISO, the shot is more important. 

So I guess you could say, don't worry about it too much and get the shot instead. ;D


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## eninja (Jan 25, 2013)

FatDaddyJones said:


> The lighting for the Hulk shots wasn't very bright. Actually, it was fairly dimly lit. I agree that you'll get different noise and color banding patterns in different lighting conditions, so no tests or photos online are going to show you how your photos are going to turn out. The point is how much (or little) noise you are getting at these high ISO settings, and there aren't many systems out there that can touch the ISO noise performance of the current Canon FF cameras.



Thanks, I understand that. 
When did you get your mark iii? 
I will be glad if you can share more 128 and 256 ISO pictures showing noise and details performance.
I will post too, if I have something to show.


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## eninja (Jan 25, 2013)

Thanks for all the inputs.
I really don't have time or should I say lazy on comparing each settings of 6D.
Using 6D, I have used Av mode since.

This is what I will do, i will shoot in manual mode and set the following for normal shots:
Set shutter speed to 1/60, aperture to 5.6, ISO set to minimum or less than 8000.
I will push shutter speed as low as 1/15 and see if I can manage the shake.
I will push aperture until F2.0 and will expect capture still sharp.

After knowing the min shutter speed and minimum aperture i desire.
I will play with 128 and 256, checked noise and details. Then I will know, what dark is dark for this camera.
I will post as soon as I get something.


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## eninja (Jan 27, 2013)

After doing some testing.
using 6D + 28mm F1.8, I can go as low as 1/45 shutter speed and still avoid camera shake.
at 1/30, i get 50% passing rate.

With the new 28mm IS i wonder how low I can go.

Also, I am satisfied with 8000 ISO for my normal low light shots.
Higher than 8000 I can consider not clean after NR.

and learn that to increase ISO with standard exposure is better than going underexpose.

See below for High ISO performance of 6D up to H2 (102400) ISO:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/soa2ndbnr51gpbr/G2F5D3oJh- 

Note: see the filename for details of the shots. n0 means center exposure, n1 means 1 stop under expose.


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## Stewbyyy (Jan 27, 2013)

I have no problem maxing out my 1D Mark IIN, I'm happy shooting at 3200 ISO (H1) once my exposure is set perfectly in camera, it doesn't give much leeway for editing the exposure of the RAW files.

Using a 24-70mm F/2.8 I can get a keeper rate of about 70% when shooting at 1/30th. I typically shoot at F/2.8 all the time, regardless of bokeh. Unless I'm doing a group shot or specifically looking for an image to be extra sharp (like a picture which contains signs with writing or an environmental portrait) then I'll stop down to F/4 or F/5.6.


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## eninja (Jan 29, 2013)

Thanks. So I did testing what's the optimize aperture, and found out that sharpness at F2.8 is not far from F5.6.
but at less than F2.8, edges looks far less sharp.

I am using EF 28mm F1.8.
My Default setting will be:
. M mode
. F2.8
. 1/60
. Auto ISO up to 6400

I will always shoot at standard exposure and RAW only.

If I want to increase DOF then I push to F4 to F8 max.
If I want to freeze motion then I push to 1/125.
If I want to increase exposure then 
. decrease shutter speed to 1/45
. or push ISO up to 8000 to 10k Max 
. or enlarge aperture up to 1.8.

In extreme Low light then 
. decrease shutter speed up to 1/30
. max out aperture to 1.8
. Increase ISO as necessary.

Which one is better? increase ISO from 6400 to 10k or push aperture to F1.8.

// I want to add that, standard exposure at higher ISO is better than underexpose at lower ISO. 
// As a results of my testing: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/soa2ndbnr51gpbr/G2F5D3oJh-


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## FatDaddyJones (Jan 29, 2013)

eninja said:


> Which one is better? increase ISO from 6400 to 10k or push aperture to F1.8.



It depends on what look you want. If you don't mind a more shallow field of focus, then opening the aperture wider would be better because it would allow a faster shutter speed and lower ISO which equals less noise/ cleaner picture. If you need more of your shot in focus, then you'll have to push the ISO up along with the F-stop. If the 6D's noise performance is anything like the 5D3, then 10K ISO should still produce very useable pictures. Use what you need to get the shot you want.


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