What do you consider high ISO? Today's standards

Nwcid · Sep 7, 2019

I am shooting with the Nikon D850. I use manual ISO as much as possible. However when I am shooting highly dynamic, fast moving action in varying light I typically set my ISO to auto with a max of 5000 when capturing people. After that I am typically not happy with the results.

I did some photos in a museum last year and I had my ISO on auto with a max of 10,000 and I had a lot of very usable images.

ac12 · Sep 7, 2019

On my D7200, I consider 3200 my "normal" limit. So I consider "high ISO" to start at 6400.
But when shooting sports, I will go up to 25600 (max that my D7200 will go up to), if I need to. The final image size in the yearbook is relatively small, so max IQ is not needed.

I have not determined this personal limit for my m4/3 cameras, yet.

But related to ISO is lens speed.
There is an old saying "FAST glass wins."
And in my experience, that is still true. I shoot gym sports (basketball and volleyball) with a pair of f/1.8 primes, so that I can shoot at ISO 3200, rather than with my f/3.5-5.6 zoom at ISO 12800.

Having said that, on vacation I will take my slower/lighter f/3.5-5.6 lens, and let the ISO go as high as it needs to go.

andrewdoeshair · Sep 7, 2019

Generally above 800 I get a notice in my brain that it might not even be worth shooting, call it doubt, warranted or not. I’ve had cases as high as 6400 though where the noise wasn’t detrimental. This was with a 5Diii for instagram purposes. Although I never did any personal research to find out how much noise I can get away with on IG, it was more so based on what I’d see during editing, and was 100% about the way I would FEEL about an image, not about what anyone else saw or commented on. When I’m shooting casually I’m typically in aperture priority with auto iso and I have the max set to 6400, although if I’m shooting that way I’m having fun and not worried about how I feel about the image quality. These days I’ve been shooting with an EOS RP and I do feel like it is even worse in the noise department, as far as when it shows up and how much, however I (maybe this is strange) feel like the RP has nicer looking noise than my 5Diii has. Though, still, with the RP anywhere above 800 I start to worry about noise. Although it’s probably not an issue.

DanOstergren · Sep 7, 2019

On my camera (the first iteration of the Canon 5D), I try to avoid going over ISO 1250, and rarely go below ISO 200.

ac12 · Sep 7, 2019

Years ago I shot my nieces wedding with a Nikon D70 at max ISO of 1600.
She and her mother were HAPPY.
So despite the reputation of the D70 being NOISY at max ISO, it worked out just fine.

When the D70 died, and was replaced by the D7200, the major upgrade for me was not the 24 MP sensor, it was the max ISO going from 1600 on the D70, way up to 25600 on the D7200.
I could shoot night football games MUCH easier. Initially at 12800 with the 18-140, now at 6400 with the 70-200/4. With the 70-200 at f/4 (wide open), even at ISO 6400, I am able to get good images, where I can clearly see the eyes of the football players.

paigew · Sep 7, 2019

If quality of light is good, iso 6400 is fine.

I have gone way higher with good results when shooting birth photography in a dark room with no flash. I have since switched to flash for births, but I would feel fine doing documentary shots at an even higher iso.

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MSnowy · Sep 7, 2019

I push to whatever I need. sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. This was last night iso 16,000

photoflyer · Sep 8, 2019

stk said:
On full frame I've set my auto ISO to maximum 12800, but I try my best to stay under 6400.

Same here.

I have 4 bodies:

6D Mark II - 12800
T7i - 3200
60D - 800/1600
30D - 800

It is one aspect of the 6D Mark II I really value. Prior to it I was not able to shoot night sports outdoors and indoor sports.

Overread · Sep 8, 2019

I wish my 7D could go up to a clean 12800! But most of that wish is shooting action in very low lighting conditions. Indeed low light action is what pushes my camera most of the time; otherwise I'm often not in need of much beyond ISO 800 or so. That extra 12K is for when it gets darn dark, but I also need speed. Of course low light action is always about pushing the boundaries of the equipment. If I had pure clean ISO 12800 I'd probably be wishing for even more to push that boundary even further!

Fujidave · Oct 24, 2019

If I really want the shot then 6400 iso is low for me, but if it`s a must have shot then I will go just over 12,000.

Tropicalmemories · Oct 24, 2019

I have to admit that I don't understand iso in relation to digital cameras.

With film we all understood about grain, but with modern digital sensors I think it's a totally different concept?

I tried reading some guidance on-line, but I still don't get it, and any forum discussions seem to become technical arguments with opposing views.

What I do know from personal experience is that sensor size is a big factor, and also exposure seems to play a part.

I've had some good quality images at iso 6,400 that look the same as ones shot at iso 200, but I've also had unacceptable levels of noise from as low as iso 400.

Solarflare · Oct 24, 2019

Rule of thumb: if your camera has base ISO 100, high ISO starts at 200. For already its worse than ISO 100.

I just keep ISO as low as possible at all times really ... using flash, tripods, etc.

Whatever works.

After all, there is no point in using expensive Zeiss etc glas and not trying to actually keep the signal to noise as high as possible.

Braineack · Oct 24, 2019

what's ISO?

smoke665 · Oct 24, 2019

Tropicalmemories said:
I have to admit that I don't understand iso in relation to digital cameras.

The most simplified answer I can think of is that light hitting the sensor in your camera creates an electrical charge. The sensor sensitivity remains the same, but camera electronics can amplify that signal giving greater output, or sensitivity from the sensor. In the digital world ISO more appropriately refers to the amount of gain (amplification) applied to the signal. The downside is that amplification creates noise, which some cameras handle better then others.