Highest ISO with Canon 7D...

[rpcrowe]

I am just wondering what ISO other CiC photographers use as the maximum when shooting with a Canon 7D.

I usually keep my ISO at around 160 for brighter days and 320-400 for darker days and for fast action when I need to keep my shutter speeds high.

For night shooting, I most often use ISO 800.

However, I have recently purchased the NIK Software Suite and am going to experiment using ISO 1,600 to even 6,400 with the NIK noise supression software.

I will use whatever ISO is needed to get a shutter speed which will allow sharp imagery. I would rather have a noisy sharp image than an unsharp image without noise.

I also often use flash to supplement the lighting. Even the little 270EX bounced into a Joe Demb Photojournalist FlipIt will provide just a bit of fill to supplement avalable light. However, the 550EX or 430EX will do a great job when bounced into the Demb Flash Diffuser Pro - even when there is no overhead off which to bounce...

[Marie Hass]

Richard, I have used ISO 2500 and up to 3200. My most recent PBR pictures that I posted on CiC were shot at ISO 2500 and no flash.

Marie

[Carl in Louisiana]

Richard this is a link to a topic on the 60D with high ISO and there are some other links to posts on High ISO using the 7D up to and above 6400 on the Canon forum in that topic.

Iso 6400 with corrected image

Some other posts regarding high ISO;

Experiments with High ISOs


High ISOs

I hope this helps you out some in that area. Notice that they advocate using little sharpening and then at the end of editing your image. It something to be played around with to taste I think. Just don't over do the noise reduction to start with. Something I had to learn the hard way. LOL

[Shadowman]

When considering the max ISO, look for a review of the camera because although it may have a high specification, noise and image quality dictates what your upper limit will actually be.

[Shadowman]

When considering the max ISO, look for a review of the camera because although it may have a high specification, noise and image quality dictates what your upper limit will actually be.

I should rephrase that statement to analysis of camera specification not camera review.

[Shadowman]

I should rephrase that statement to analysis of camera specification not camera review.

Here's a link to a test conducted in 2009.

http://www.popphoto.com/gear/2009/11/hands-canon-eos-7d

[Geoff F]

I find the results depend on the reason for selecting a higher Iso. Shots in good light which simply require higher settings for fast shutter speeds usually aren't too bad, around 1600.

But darker scenes usually generate a lot of noise, particularly in shadow areas, above Iso 800; and I tend to regard 1200 as being max for these conditions. Even 400 can sometimes be tricky; although normally manageable.

A case of simply using as low a setting as possible, but without encountering more serious problems by stretching those absolutely vital settings too far.

ps. I sometimes manage to overcome some problems by adjusting the same image in two different ways, with different noise reduction amounts, then combine the two with layers and masks.

[Carl in Louisiana]

I don't know how accurate this link is.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/E7D/E7DRAW.HTM

[Colin Southern]

Richard,

Just stop pixel-peeping and take the darn shots at any ISO you like!

[koolkat]

I recently tried the Auto setting for ISO when I was looking for high shutter speeds on a recent event. I guess I was surprised that 2000 & 2500 was used rather frequently. The noise was there and even with two CPUs I thought the OS would better take care of the noise...guess not, but I got some great shots.

[Colin Southern]

I recently tried the Auto setting for ISO when I was looking for high shutter speeds on a recent event. I guess I was surprised that 2000 & 2500 was used rather frequently. The noise was there and even with two CPUs I thought the OS would better take care of the noise...guess not, but I got some great shots.

Are you shooting RAW or JPEG?