3.01.2024

High ISO

Canon EOS-1D MkIII & 24-105mm f/4L IS, ISO 3200

While the Nikon D1X could go up to ISO 800 and the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II went all the way to 1600, I was leery of using either one at more than ISO 400 for fear of unusable amounts of noise.

It wasn't until 2007, with the release of the Canon EOS-1D Mark III and the Nikon D3 that 1600 and 3200 became practical settings, at least in my opinion.

This seems impossibly quaint here in 2024, when I'm seeing friends posting images from Canon R6's and Nikon Z7 II's at five-digit ISOs with no really noticeable noise, but it was a big deal back then.

Nikon D3 & 24-120mm f/4G VR, ISO 1600


2 comments:

Jim Grey said...

My Nikon Df is my most modern digital camera. It took me two years to figure out to just set it at 3200 and leave it there. There's no noticeable noise, and it lets me get the huge DOF that I want 99% of the time for the kinds of things I photograph. But as a primarily film photographer, this feels all sorts of wrong.

Tam said...

Hi, Jim!

I remember you posting about that, especially in relation to your vacation shots from Germany.

I was wondering if you'd also thought about trying a lens like one of the 24-120mm VR ones, since the vibration reduction feature would help in some of the indoor available light shots you favor.