New Higher ISO Settings

Back in the days of film only cameras, if you wanted to shoot in poor light and get reasonable results, it was necessary to change your film for a high ISO rated reel or to use the flash. With the invent of the digital camera, changing the ISO became as easy as flicking a switch, turning a dial or adjusting a menu item. With the release of each new digital camera model the ISO settings on offer, get higher and higher. The digital SLR rules in this arena, with ISO settings now at ISO3200 offered on most enthusiast models and ISO6400 on higher end pro cameras.

Using technical wizardry and improved CCD and CMOS sensors our ability to shoot in darker and darker conditions without the use of flash is ever increasing. Below are two images, one from a 400D at ISO1600 and the other from the new ISO3200 setting on the 40D. These images were shot indoors on a dull day with no help from the flash.

The cut out above is the actual size of the original image (3888×2592), and shows that the edges remain quite sharp even at this low shutter speed, also the noise is suppress nicely, without the large amounts of red and blue pixels usually associated with high ISO noise in the dark areas.

In this image you can see once again that the edges remain reasonably sharp , and again there is little evidence of blue and red noise in the dark areas (though there is a slight rise in the red over the first image) even at this increased ISO3200 setting. The first image also lost a bit of saturation in the shaded skin areas, which doesn’t seem to be so obvious in the second, but there are other factors that could account for this. Even so the second definately has better saturation over the whole image.

Most tests available in the media are a close up from a tripod outdoors in good light, so although this is far from a scientific test (as both pictures where taken handheld and not from the exact same position) it gives a clear indication of the capabilities of the latest Digital SLR’s in the type of poor light, we as event or family photographers often find ourselves in.

Most importantly of all, it is best to remember that a noisy photo is often better than losing the moment and getting no photo at all.