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Digital Noise: 1D versus 1Ds


GretagMacbeth ColorChecker

 

How does the new full frame CMOS sensor deal with digital noise? In this review you can see "real life" 1Ds images taken at high ISO settings as well as controlled patch samples. Below, I cropped 100% magnification patch samples from a ColorChecker chart to mimic a real world sky and neutral colors.

All patches are 100% crops of the full size images. These files were converted from RAW using the following parameters:

  • Color matrix 4
  • Tone curve: Standard
  • Sharpeness level: 0
  • Pattern sharpness: Standard
  • Custom white balanced: Sampled from a Kodak gray card
  • Shooting mode: Manual (matching the same exposure for all patches)

Note:

  • The 1Ds offers ISO 50 (L) - Custom function
  • The 1Ds tops at ISO 1250
  • The 1D offers ISO 100 (L) and 3200 (H)- Custom function
  • The 1D tops at ISO 1600
1Ds sky ( ISO 50 )

1Ds neutral gray ( ISO 50 )

 

Above are the 1Ds ISO 50 samples. I have never seen files this clean before. I guess you could say it's as smooth as butter. The only drawback of using this custom setting is that it is only suitable with low contrast lighting since you would have a narrower dynamic range.

 
1D sky ( ISO 100 )

1D neutral gray ( ISO 100 )

1Ds sky ( ISO 100 )

1Ds neutral gray ( ISO 100 )

 

At ISO 100 both the 1D and the 1Ds are pretty clean. There is only a slight advantage for the 1Ds files, since it appears to be a bit smoother with only small traces of noise in the red channel. Note that the ISO 100 setting can only be achieved on the 1D through a custom function (since it diminishes dynamic range), but is a standard setting on the 1Ds. Very suitable for landscape photography because you are usually using a tripod anyway.

 
1D sky ( ISO 200 )

1D neutral gray ( ISO 200 )

1Ds sky ( ISO 200 )

1Ds neutral gray ( ISO 200 )

 

In this sample the 1Ds remains virtually noiseless. As you may know, ISO 200 is the default setting for the 1D. Even though the 1D sample shows some apparent noise, it's still the best setting for the interline CCD performance in regards to noise level and dynamic range.

 
1D sky ( ISO 400 )

1D neutral gray ( ISO 400 )

1Ds sky ( ISO 400 )

1Ds neutral gray ( ISO 400 )

1D sky ( ISO 800 )

1D neutral gray ( ISO 800 )

1Ds sky ( ISO 800 )

1Ds neutral gray ( ISO 800 )


From the ISO 400 and ISO 800 samples it looks like the 1Ds is cleaner. Something that I wasn't expecting.

 
1D sky ( ISO 1250 )

1D neutral gray ( ISO 1250 )

1Ds sky ( ISO 1250 )

1Ds neutral gray ( ISO 1250 )

 

ISO 1600 and 3200 are not supported by the new Canon 1Ds which tops out at ISO 1250. Below are examples of what to expect from the Canon 1D at these very high ISO settings:

 
1D sky ( ISO 1600 )

1D neutral gray ( ISO 1600 )

1D sky ( ISO 3200 )

1D neutral gray ( ISO 3200 )

 

Let your eyes be the judge. My opinion is that from the samples shown (converted from RAW files with no sharpening), it's safe to conclude that the 1Ds has the advantage especially regarding luma noise.

If you prefer a more scientific evaluation, check out the Standard Deviation chart below. The calculations used to derive the figures were taken from the original TIFF files and not from the above JPEG examples. No image editing or color management was applied during this process. Therefore, producing a very reliable result.

 

 

Until recently, the 1D was the best performer. It had the least amount of noise in high ISO images. However, now things have changed. Based on the number and patch samples above it's clear that the new EOS-1Ds now has the advantage over the 1D in this category.

Page 5: Noise tests - Part II