Who is the king of high ISO?

[griffithimage]

Wow, I recently read this article http://www.daveblackphotography.com/workshop/01-2010.htm describing the high iso capabilities of the Nikon D3s. I've been shooting for 25 years and the advancements in the last few years with higher iso and the ability to shoot with low light is blowing my mind. Its hard to keep up. I was a Nikon guy and then switched to Canon with the 1DS mark 1. Who is the current king of full frame high iso? The canon 5d? the Nikon D3s? I'd like to hear some real world examples and what the highest working iso people are using...

 

[dendronepthya]

I saw a blog comparing the D3s, 1Dmk4, and 5Dmk2. The 3Ds came out on top, but the 5D gave a great showing. To be honest, I would have expected a lot more of a difference than I saw though. The D3s should have been way ahead given the fact that it is a 12 MP full frame while the 5D is a 21mp full frame and the 1D is a 16 MP 1.3x crop camera.

 

[BlueCorn]

It's the D3s this week. I expect the 1DsMIV to leapfrog it when it comes out.

 

[dendronepthya]

In all practicality, if I get a clean ISO 3200 I'm a happy camper

 

[BlueCorn]

I'm a landscape guy. If I'm above 400 it's pretty rare.

 

[griffithimage]

I get excited about the idea of shooting with less supplemental light (flash, strobe etc). Being able to capture more indoor scenes with available light is getting closer.

 

[dendronepthya]

I think we are here right now actually. I have an f/1.2 lens that can take pictures in just about any light level with the camera set at ISO 3200-6400. If the lens was image stabilized, who knows? Maybe I could have gotten that shot at ISO 800.

 

[griffithimage]

I'm waiting for the day that I can shoot a subject in the studio with the modelling lights only on my strobes and not the strobes themselves.

 

[xtm]

In all practicality, if I get a clean ISO 3200 I'm a happy camper

Which body do you use? I shoot street/PJ under less-than-ideal light and I get very little, almost nonexistent noise at 3200. (Nikon D700).

A lot of folks over at the Nikon camp were disappointed with the D3s' capability at 12800 ISO. Remember film grain? These kids are spoiled! lol

 

[Jacob D]

ISO? My own logic is to look at files of equal size where the smaller file is upsized and resampled to match the larger file. It seems to be more popular in blogs/reviews to downsize the larger file but it doesn't make sense to me... I wouldn't purchase an Xmp camera only to downsize images. I'd rather combine Resolution and ISO in the comparison. Personally I just find it more practical since I'm likely to want all the resolution I can get and less likely to be shooting at ISO 6400 and above... well theoretically anyway I still own a first generation 5D for a couple more years


Who's king depends on who you ask of course It seems the war has shifted from MP to High ISO war, and is already beyond ridiculous.

 

[BlueCorn]

I wish that they'd spend as much effort expanding DR as they are inflating ISO.

 

[Jacob D]

I wish that they'd spend as much effort expanding DR as they are inflating ISO.

No kidding. Maybe when the ISO numbers hit 7 digits they'll think about it.

 

[dendronepthya]

Which body do you use? I shoot street/PJ under less-than-ideal light and I get very little, almost nonexistent noise at 3200. (Nikon D700).

A lot of folks over at the Nikon camp were disappointed with the D3s' capability at 12800 ISO. Remember film grain? These kids are spoiled! lol

I shoot with a 5DmkII (and a Panasonic GF-1). The 5D has clean ISO 3200, but it can always be cleaner

 

[griffithimage]

Which body do you use? I shoot street/PJ under less-than-ideal light and I get very little, almost nonexistent noise at 3200. (Nikon D700).

A lot of folks over at the Nikon camp were disappointed with the D3s' capability at 12800 ISO. Remember film grain? These kids are spoiled! lol

I'm still shooting with my 1DS mark 1. I can't really shoot anything over iso 320. It would be nice to shoot the corals in my tank and have some flexibility that more iso would provide.

 

[IPT]

hmm, I am on board with the high ISO capabilities. For nightime (Northern Lights) and wildlife shooting spped is nice to have. Increased DR would be nice too. As for the MP it does seem like they have sort of hit the limit.

Doug, is there actually talk about a 1DsMk1V or are you just speculating about what you expect? Those high end cameras aren't usually upgraded except every few years right? Would probably make a 1DsMK3 a nice price though.

 

[BlueCorn]

The 1DMkIV is out, the S can't be too far behind. Next year some time is my guess.

 

[griffithimage]

I hear the announcement is coming this Spring for the 1ds mark 4. I also hear that it will be 32 megapixels.

 

[dendronepthya]

Gah 32 MP. Please stop Canon!

 

[BlueCorn]

I was just looking at a couple of Popular Photography. According to their tests my 7D and the D3s have the same noise numbers at 3200 ISO. Above that, both cameras are considered "unacceptable." That certainly doesn't mean that you can't shoot above 3200 bt I found it interesting. With it's sensor size advantage, the D3s is slightly cleaner below that 3200 level.

 

[griffithimage]

the rumour is that it will be 32 megapixels but also allow for half of that if preferred.