ISO in Relation to Noise

[Modest_Man]

For stars you don't need (or want) light. Or a high ISO. Stars should be shot at the lowest ISO possible because it's so easy to tell when you have noise with the dark sky. You want a long exposure on a tripod away from sources of light pollution...

I try not to shoot over ISO 200.

 

[Chaitika]

D700
ss 1/100th
f/7.1

ISO3200
No alterations other than to size it down to 1200 pixels

 

[jcardona1]

all my fish shots are at ISO 200. kenrockwell.com has some nice ISO comparisons between different camera models under controlled conditions. it will be too difficult to make a conclusion based on pics posted by different people under different conditions.

generally, the better the camera body the better the pic will look at high ISOs. there's a reason nikon's D3 at ISO 102,400 looks better than the D40/D3000 at ISO 800

 

[jcardona1]

D40 vs D3000 (d3000 is terrible at high ISO compared to the D40)
http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d3000/high-iso-comparison.htm

various DSLRs high ISO comparison
http://kenrockwell.com/tech/iso-comparisons/2007-10/index.htm

D90 / D200 / D300 / D3 high ISO comparison
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d90/iso-3200.htm

 

[zypher]

why do you guys worry about ISO so much?
Have you guys printed your photos shot with
high iso? if you haven't, maybe you should try that
out. same static subject and with the lowest to
highest ISO on your camera. you see difference in
prints...

check my photo out. shot at ISO 6400
this was shot last January 2010. the watermark wasn't updated..hehe

 

[SteveR]

This shot is a D700, no flash, just tank lights and crap room lighting. (I have a SB-900 but just wanted to show the power of this baby).

This was shot at ISO 4000, 24mm, F/5.6 1/160...

Then it was cropped by 50percent...

Then i saved it once (originally shot in JPG). On Raw, it's even better...

I've shot more in the poorest light now with no flash than I ever have these last few days and the results are absolutely amazing. The grain doesn't show up for ages and the ISO goes up to 25600, and it's useable at that for a small print.

 

[jcardona1]

why do you guys worry about ISO so much?
Have you guys printed your photos shot with
high iso? if you haven't, maybe you should try that
out. same static subject and with the lowest to
highest ISO on your camera. you see difference in
prints...

check my photo out. shot at ISO 6400
this was shot last January 2010. the watermark wasn't updated..hehe

yeah, good point about ISO and actual prints. i would say ISO noise is more noticeable on a digital image versus and actual print. i'd say most of the photos here are never printed, it's only for web viewing. and that is why people worry about it

that is an awesome shot btw

 

[FSM]

Higher end cameras perform better at high ISO levels. There are numerous controlled comparisons (the Ken Rockwell site is good) which will show you a lot more than two images taken of different subjects with different lighting, aperture, shutter speed, etc

 

[devder1]

thanks a lot guys, that ken rockwell comparison is great, and chai yes that was exactly what i am looking for thank you