acceptable noise/iso settings

[howard b. schwartz]

<p>i have a canon 5d mark II camera. i generally shoot on a tripod with cable release and mirror lock up. i enlarge my prints to 32x40. i have been using iso 100, but i was wondering if there is a higher iso to use that preserve my image without a lot of noise. i have read that iso 400 does not add that much to the noise equation, if at all with this camera. could i even go higher? i should also add that i use noiseware professional as a cs4 plugin when necessary. thanks.</p>

[g dan mitchell]

<p>There is <a href="00VzIc">another thread on this topic</a> about five posts below yours.</p>

[nathangardner]

<p>If you shoot from a tripod and print large, why would you want to use a higher ISO?</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>And to ask another question, why would you be afraid to go above ISO 400? Granted 32x40 is big, but unless you're looking at a print from a few inches away, most noise is not going to be very noticeable even above 400.</p>

<p>By the way, is your shift key malfunctioning or are you a cockroach whose real name is mehitabel? Or do a lot of texting, do we? ;)</p>

[g dan mitchell]

<blockquote>

<p><em>"By the way, is your shift key malfunctioning or are you a cockroach whose real name is mehitabel?"</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>ahem...</p>

[steven_f1]

<blockquote>

<p>If you shoot from a tripod and print large, why would you want to use a higher ISO?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Depth of field requirements or motion or q subject in the image may require a higher shutter speed than what is possible at iso 100.</p>

<p>We should all keep in mind that not everyone that posts on this forum has learned English as there first language. We shouldn't criticize others for errors unrelated to the photography question.</p>

[nathangardner]

<p>No DOF field requirement can't be achieved with ISO 100. Manipulating the DOF and fstop will change the shutter speed, but from a tripod, its not a factor. Motion I can understand, but you wouldn't use MLU with motion either. I guess when he says he uses tripod, MLU, cable release, the whole nine yards, that tells me he's shooting a still landscape, which would not benefit from a high ISO.</p>

[steven_f1]

<blockquote>

<p>No DOF field requirement can't be achieved with ISO 100. Manipulating the DOF and fstop will change the shutter speed, but from a tripod, its not a factor. Motion I can understand, but you wouldn't use MLU with motion either.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>You hike 3 hours and you find a nice landscape with a tree that requires F22 to get the minimum necessary depth of field. At iso 100 that is not a problem since you have a tripod. You use the 2 second mirror lockup to prevent the introduction of vibration in the tripod. However it is a little windy. Your shutter speed is not enough to freeze the small amount of motion in the tree. But iso 800 will get the shutter speed to 1/40 which is just fast enought to freeze the small amount of motion in the tree.</p>

<p> </p>

[nathangardner]

<p>I see your point Steven. When the situation calls for it, you may have to use a higher ISO to achieve the desired shot, and there's not much you can do about it. I was trying to ask the OP why or if he wanted to use a higher ISO when it wasn't necessary, but since he hasn't been back I guess we don't know what his scenario is. Anyways, I always use the lowest ISO possible to get the shot. If ISO 400 is it the lowest I can go, then I use that, but if I can use ISO 100, I'm not going to raise it to 400 for no reason. Also, I know this is a little stray from the main topic, but in the scenario above with the windy tree, if I was worried about noise I would set the ISO to 400 and overexpose by a stop (shooting in RAW naturally) then bring it back in post.</p>

[howard b. schwartz]

<p>thanks for all the responses. the reason i wish to know the answer about using a higher iso and noise, is that even though i use a tripod, i want to shoot in low light. using a higher iso will allow me to use a faster shutter speed even when i use my typical f8 aperture setting.</p>

[mike_oflaherty]

<p>Howard,<br>

I've had my 5d2 set at 400 ISO since it will give me that quick out of the bag chance at a shot that I would normally have missed with a lower setting. Now as for shooting low light it all depends on what you shooting, if it's still set it to 100 ISO, if it is moving and you don't want blur crank it up. There really is not much wrong with noise, in the old days it was film grain which would add that mystique to a shot. Try envisioning your shot before you shoot with different levels of noise or setup your rig and bracket a bunch of shots at various ISO's and see what you like. The greatest thing about doing this in digital it's not like the old days when you had to get everything developed, then see if you got the shot 2 days after the fact and wasted $20 in doing so. Experiment that's what it's all about getting what works for you. There really no right or wrong as long as that's what you set out to do in the first place.</p>

[nathangardner]

<p>I think we want to know "why" you need a faster shutter speed. Is something moving in the frame? If there is no movement, it doesn't matter how low the light is as long as you use a tripod.</p>

[mike_oflaherty]

<p>Nathan I'm only guessing it could be building or street lights in the picture. the longer the exposure greater the burn, signage would completely washed out except for a big glowing blob. Then again like you said until we are informed to what is trying to be captured in low light we can only speculate to what is trying to be done.</p>