which camera strictly on IQ at high iso.

[enerlevel]

hi everyone,
i owe a canon 550d. i am usually using it for night group photos without flash and without tripod... therefore i end up using high iso for more light . i am not very satisfied with the grains produced by 550d at high iso...... which camera whould you choose strictly on high iso low noise...

canon 7d
canon 600d
canon 60d

i have a 17-55mm f2.8 and a 70-200f4 L lens ... which is why i am not considering nikon as i will have to change almost everything.. however if shifting to
nikon d5100
nikon d7000
will really solve my problem by a large margin, then i will surely shift to nikon.
thanks...

ps:- i am not worried about ergonomics or weather sealing etc... just want it to be better in IQ in high iso.

 

[Hickeydog]

It looks like the sensor is the same across that line. They will all yield very similar low light performance.

 

[jake337]

Add D3S and pick that one!

 

[Overread]

Late night - low light - no flash and group shots I wouldn't be looking at any of those cameras. Instead I'd hit the market for a second hand/reconditioned 5D (5DMII would be the perfect tool if you had the funds) which would give a larger angle of view for those group shots and also have high, clean ISOs to work with. You would have to look to replacing your 17-55mm lens since the fullframe bodies won't take EFS mount lenses, but otherwise that would be the ideal tool for the job. In addition the 5D will have a better, bigger viewfinder image to work with which will help with those low light focusing and composition factors.
A prime lens or two might also be worth considering - an 85mm, 50mm type lens with a good fast aperture, if not to shoot with (tiny depth of field) but at least to make focusing and composition easier with a brighter viewfinder.

Otherwise the 600D or 7D would produce very similar results; sharing the same/similar sensor though the 7D will have the considerable edge with focusing and would be my ideal choice. Further whilst its still crop sensor the 7D will have a generally bigger and better viewfinder image to work with.

 

[analog.universe]

The 7D, 600D, and 60D all use the same sensor, so they will be very similar. The metal body of the 7D will help you a little, but not significantly. However, if you can afford a 7D, you can likely afford a used 5D MkII, which has much better ISO performance than the 3 you mentioned. From sample photos I've seen, the 5D MkII at 3200 looks really nice, and still alright at 6400. Probably about 1.5 stops better than my 60D, from a subjective standpoint. You can check out dxomark for actual tests.

Also, if you're running into ISO limitations, neither of your lenses is helping you out much. An f/1.4 prime would be 2 stops faster than your 17-55 (and cheaper than a high performance body). f/1.4 at ISO 1600 gets you the same shutter speed as f/2.8 at ISO 6400.

I think personally I'd be looking at a 24mm f/1.4L, instead of a new body.

 

[jaomul]

As already said your camera is pretty much as good as it gets for a crop sensor. You will prob only improve it by going full frame so see if you can improve the speed of your lenses

 

[enerlevel]

As already said your camera is pretty much as good as it gets for a crop sensor. You will prob only improve it by going full frame so see if you can improve the speed of your lenses

thanks for the opinions everyone..... these pics are just random family gathering shots or friend shots. just a hobby not a profession therefore getting a mark II or d3s is a little bit too much money involved for a hobby...
also getting a 50 f1.4 will not get my problem solved as i need to take group photos , f1.4 will get too narrow to focus 3-4 ppl in a frame.

 

[analog.universe]

This is why I recommended a wide 1.4. 24mm focused 2.5m away at 1.4 gets you over half a meter of field. 50mm is also tight for groups on a crop body.

 

[jaomul]

One thing you could try is set your 17-55 at 35. If its wide enough for what you want there is an EF35 f2 which is a stop faster than your zoom and its not overly expensive. There is also a 28 f1.8 which may suit. The EF24 1.4 woud be nicer but its a massive price to pay for a lens if your not a pro IMO

 

[analog.universe]

its a massive price to pay for a lens if your not a pro IMO

You do have to kind of draw an arbitrary line to decide what's massive and what's not. I only suggested it because the OP seemed to be considering a 7D, which is even more expensive.

 

[Derrel]

How about this "dream camera"???

 

[enerlevel]

You do have to kind of draw an arbitrary line to decide what's massive and what's not. I only suggested it because the OP seemed to be considering a 7D, which is even more expensive.

the 7d is still get able for me but d3s or d3x is too much. humm so changing thr camera will have no effects on high iso noise...... right?

 

[jaomul]

its a massive price to pay for a lens if your not a pro IMO

You do have to kind of draw an arbitrary line to decide what's massive and what's not. I only suggested it because the OP seemed to be considering a 7D, which is even more expensive.

Was not dismissing your suggestion, just giving a more cost effective (but probably not as high quality) alternative suggestion. But in my opinion (IMO) the 24L is a lot of money unless you can relatively easily afford it or you will make money from photography

 

[jaomul]

the 7d is still get able for me but d3s or d3x is too much. humm so changing thr camera will have no effects on high iso noise...... right?[/QUOTE]
Different cameras have different specs and more modern ones are getting better with noise and full frame are better than crop,but lenses that are a full 1, 2 or 3 stops faster than what you own will allow you use an ISO 1,2 or 3 srops lower. You would be hard pushed to find a camera that will give a cleaner image than your own set at 3 stops ISO higher

 

[enerlevel]

the 7d is still get able for me but d3s or d3x is too much. humm so changing thr camera will have no effects on high iso noise...... right?

Different cameras have different specs and more modern ones are getting better with noise and full frame are better than crop,but lenses that are a full 1, 2 or 3 stops faster than what you own will allow you use an ISO 1,2 or 3 srops lower. You would be hard pushed to find a camera that will give a cleaner image than your own set at 3 stops ISO higher[/QUOTE]

i do have a 50mm f1.8 but whenever i try to shoot it at 1.8 for more light, i always end up getting too much dof and 90% of the time shots are blurry