5DII Banding at high ISO

<p>Hello.<br>

I'm holding my breath on this one. I used my 5DII for the first time under a low light condition and as the ISO was set at 3200, took pictures wide open and in burst mode. The result of the three successive shots are attached and the problem is obvious. I shot at lower a ISO and stopped down to f/4 and the problem isn't as apparent. Can anyone please offer to explain how this happened? Is it with the lens or the camera and is it something that can be fixed?<br>

Thanks in advance.<br>

JC</p>

<div></div>

<p>second shot</p><div></div>

<p>third</p>

<p>I don't see any banding,it seems there is some texture in BG, like painted wood surface(?) Where is the banding? </p>

<p>Ditto... Looks like the sensor picked up the texture of the paint on the wall. Have you tried photographing a white piece of paper in low light at high ISO?</p>

<p>Well, I only see two examples and on my big graphics monitor, it doesn't appear too bad. But that's because I can't help but compare it to the banding that my 5D was prone to at 3200 under low light conditions, which was horrible.<br>

The best thing to do if you are unhappy with what you see is to return it or send it to Canon for testing and adjustment.</p>

<p>I'm wondering if he's talking about the varying colors? Were these scenes lit with fluorescent lighting by chance? Could be fluorescent lighting cycles your seeing.</p>

<p>Look in the upper left corner of the first image. That's definitely the scan lines of the sensor, but it ain't bad--all things considered.</p>

<p>Where do you see banding? There is none! Could you point out exactly what you are talking about?</p>

<p>Thanks for the responses. I may have termed the problem incorrectly as 'banding'. But the problem shifts horizontally. The shots were taken in burst mode and yes, the room uses fluorescent light. I couldn't post the 3rd shot as rules apply.</p>

 

<p>No banding in those shots.</p>

<p>Jose,</p>

<p>high ISO banding from the 5D MK II has been the topic of <em>massive </em> amounts of discussion since its release - there was even a firmware release specifically to address the issue.</p>

<p>Did you do <em>any research at all</em> before posting here?</p>

<p>Thanks Keith. I didn't. I should've and will.</p>

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<p> the room uses fluorescent light</p>

</blockquote>

<p>What shutter speed did you use..? I do not see banding (in the digital photography sense of this term) in your posted samples but take a moment and look up how to photograph under fluorescent lights, i.e. how these light operate and what shutter speeds are needed. This topic is widely discussed, also on photo.net.</p>

<p>If you are talking about the "Yellow" light that is in the center of the first image, then near the top of the second image, I agree it is likely fluorescent lighting cycles.</p>

<p>Thanks Michael and Michael<br>

I read between posts and found a few information on the effect of fluorescent light. I'm about to try and do side by side shots with a 30D, same lens, ISO, aperture and shutter speed. I would expect to find the same results but hope the 5DII would do better.<br>

PS I shot at 1/500</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I would expect to find the same results but hope the 5DII would do better.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Fluorescent lights pulse rapidly and the quality of light varies depending on where in the cycle you catch it. Faster shutter speeds are the worse as you can catch an odd color or dark spot and slow speeds (e.g., 1/15) merge several cycles together for a more natural look. It's a timing issue and has nothing to do with choice of 30D or 5DII. </p>

<p>No banding in the shots. Damn good for ISO 3200.</p>

<p>I see some jpeg compression artifacts but no camera banding. Looks great, to me- your camera is performing as expected and is far better than my 20D.</p>

<p>Thanks again for the responses.</p>

<p>Here's a link to the same question on a Flickr thread..<br>

It is in fact your fluorescent lighting. "Steve.Korn" gives a really good explanation..</p>

<p>http://www.flickr.com/groups/canoneos5dmarkii/discuss/72157612415728330/</p>

<p>Remember the good old days of film? Grain and more grain.....extreme color casts. Todays photographers really are in a different world.</p>

<p>Peter</p>

<p>Architectural Photography by Peter Montanti, www.mountainphotographics.com</p>

<p>If these are 100% crops shot at ISO3200 with anything short of perfect exposure, I think that perhaps your expectations are out of alignment with reality. ;-)</p>

<p>Dan</p>