PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG

It has been a long wish since my first professional body Nikon D1x to have it shoot in low light (the acceptable sensitivity level is iso400), and it ended up running with wide open aperture, the result is not really up to my expectation.

I have been seeking my next advanced camera for ever best image quality, in particular, in terms of pulling out excellent details and delivering great image quality under lower light environment, it will also serve me mainly for landscape and portrait work.

I have been waiting for a while with hope that there will be one out soon that meets all my expectations (no surprise, it always fails, and I skipped the Nikon D2 series). But with the recent higher-pixel, higher-iso and FF (Full Frame refers to the use of the full film gate at maximum width and height for 35 mm film cameras) revolution in digital cameras, I finally have my shortlist - Canon 1Ds Mark III, Canon 5D and Nikon D3.

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I got my Canon EOS 400D Combo (EFS 10-22 USM & EFS 17-85 IS USM) some months ago and it worked fine for everyday snaps. However, I do find its limitation when it goes to serious work during a wedding event that requires more accurate auto focusing capability and flash exposures under some low light indoor environment. I decided an upgrade and enhanced my combo for some serious work while maintening portability. Canon EOS 40D, Canon EOS 5D and Nikon D300 are in my list.

While 5D produced the best image quality in my eyes, its AF is not functioning as effective as 40D, it requires an external flash unit in order to assist on low light AF and provide filled light. The Nikon D300 is a more comparable choice, but it does cost $600 more on the body and I also need a Nikkor zoom lens (in addition to my prime collections) to meet the requirements for the exercise. After further investigation, 40D is the best choice in this situation, it works very well with my existing lenses 10-22 USM & 17-85 IS USM.

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Lastly, I tried to challenge the 40D’s higher iso performance, the effectiveness of the lens 17-85 IS and myself - point & shoot handheld ability. All sample shots below are straightly out of camera at iso3200, aperture locked at f/8, all others default, only resize and rotation applied by PS. There is some banding effects at this sensitivity level, but you could hardly find that at busy area, iso1600 and lower sensitivity levels.

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So higher iso performance is just a matter of marketing game? or something to do?

The higher iso capability certainly give an overall improvement on photography options. Firstly, at the same exposure amount, a smaller aperture can be used, this ensures the DOF coverage for the subject in sharpness, it also means a higher shutter speed is possible to freeze actions.

Most lenses go to their sweet aperture after stopped down 1-2 stops, the higher iso sensitivity also makes the optimal setup easier. On the other hand, you may use lower speed lens, and thus less investment.

Check these samples at iso3200 that are very usable.