Optimum ISO to get the highest quality image on a 5D MkIII

[tim_hodges]

<p>Can anyone tell me if what is the best ISO to use to get the best image quality on a Canon 5D MkIII?<br>

I think it is ISO100 but a friend reckons it is ISO200 which is the same as Nikon.<br>

Thanks<br>

Tim</p>

[mark from thailand]

<p>If, by 'best image quality', you mean least noise; that is usually by using the lowest ISO setting.</p>

<p>This is assuming you use the appropriate ISO to get the right Aperture and Shutter Speed needed for depth of field and exposure.</p>

[paddler4]

<p>Base ISO for the 5D3, which the best to use if lighting permits, is 100. However, you have to be an extreme pixel peeper to see the difference between 100 and 200 with that camera.</p>

[dan_south]

<p>The answer is that it depends on what you're shooting. </p>

<p>ISO 100 will have the least noise and the highest dynamic range.</p>

<p>But let's say that you're shooting a basketball game at night in a poorly lit gym and you aren't able to use flash. No matter how fast your lenses are, if you shoot the action at ISO 100, the players will be blurred. If you want sharp photos of the players, you might need to shoot at ISO 1600, 3200, or 6400. The results will have more noise and grain, but the details will be sharp.</p>

<p>I would question the "image quality" of a blurry sports photo. I don't think that a photo editor would accept it for publication. "Image quality" cannot be separated from the intended use of the image, and sometimes that requires a higher ISO for a sharper image.</p>

[bobatkins]

<p>100</p>

[jamie_robertson2]

<blockquote>

<p>but a friend reckons it is ISO200 which is the same as Nikon</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>LOL</p>

[neill_farmer2]

<p>Gee I can't tell any difference in my images from 100 to 400 ISO, even at 100%. I leave it on 400 ISO to get a higher shutter speed to remove any camera shake and obtain the sharpest possible hand held photo.</p>

[zelph_young]

<p>You will need someone from Canon or a good testing outfit to tell whether it is ISO 100 or 200. "Native ISO" is the finest image quality for most sensors. A number are 200 and lose a touch when shooting at a lower ISO.<br>

It is not like film where lower ISO was so easy to understand and deal with. Sensors and their native ISO sensitivity are a different ballgame.<br>

Check with Canon, CPS or similar and you may find a 'white paper' on this or get the tech guys who can settle it for you.</p>

[mark from thailand]

<p>I thought 'Native ISO' is the range the sensor is designed to cope with (eg 100 - 25600), EXCLUDING the extended range you sometimes get.</p>

<p>I think "Base ISO" is the increments the sensor naturally increases sensitivity in. These are typically increments of 160 or 100. Anything in-between these increments is delivered through digital under or over-exposure. I guess this is why a Canon sensor, with Base ISO of 100, 'over-exposing' to get from ISO 100 to ISO 160 can look worse than one with a Base ISO of 160. However, the Canon sensor at ISO 200, will probably look better than the ISO 160 based sensor 'over-exposed' to ISO 200.</p>

<p>However, I suspect most of this is theoretical and, for the majority of us that do not pixel peep, we will get the best DR and lowest noise by sticking to the lowest ISO possible.</p>

[tim_hodges]

Thanks for taking time to respond. I know that in reality one cannot tell the difference say between ISO 100 and 200 and high ISO 's say,

1600 and 3200 deliver amazing results when the situation demands that sort of low light capability.

I was just really interested in the theory without trying to be a pixel peeper.

I will ask Canon.

Many thanks again

Tim

[dcstep]

<p>There's a lot of difference between ISO 100 and 1600, particularly if you're pushing DR or you've under-exposed. That's not to say that ISO 1600 can result in a better image than one at ISO 100, if higher SS is needed or the lighting is poor. A properly exposed high-ISO shot can look better than an under-exposed shot taken at ISO 100 and corrected in Raw conversion.</p>