I started shooting indoor basketball this season using my Mark IIn and was thinking about upgrading to the Mark IV for better AF and cleaner pics at higher ISOs. Currently, I don't like getting above ISO 800 on the Mark IIn. What ISO can I use with the Mark IV before having to do some serious noise reduction on the computer. Thanks.
I leave LR at the default NR settings at least up to ISO 3200 on the IV. It will depend somewhat on your noise tolerance. It's difficult to compare the IV against the IIN because there is a huge difference in resolution. If you downsize a high ISO IV image to IIN resolution you should get a pretty clean image. And a 'noisy' image will generally look a lot better in print than on an LCD display...
Another factor to consider for subjects such as indoor basketball, is that even though you could crank the ISO to 3200 or 6400 and shoot at higher shutter speeds with the IV, it won't necessarily improve your results that much. If the venue is lit with mercury vapor lights, or similar, then shooting at a higher shutter speed will just give you a lot more shot to shot variation in WB when you capture the light at various stages in the on/off cycle.
I think noise control has a lot to do with proper exposure & the size of the detail you capture... landscapes at 3200 might look awful but a tight action shot will look good. I have no problem using 3200 on a mk3 and 6400 if I have to and despite the higher detail, the mk4 is just as good (and goes even higher)
I shoot with a mark IV and have images at ISO 12,800 that were good enough for the intended usage. I have had images published that were shot at ISO 10,000 (in a newspaper...IQ not so important).
I have not used a IIn but many will say that the AF on that particular body was as good as AF gets. I love the AF on my IV but you may not be getting a huge increase in performance AF wise.
My guess is that you can shoot at least two stops over what you do now and be happy...meaning if you are okay at 800 on the IIn then 3200 should be fine to you.
The mark IV is a great camera. I am totally happy with it. It has become my do it all body. Weddings, sports, portrait....
cheers,
Peter
limit of 1D IIn is ISO 1600 if you want good IQ. ISO 3200 is not very nice at all. 1D III/7D can easily shoot ISO 6400 and get good results. I haven't had my 1D IV long enough to try high ISO yet, but given I can use ISO 12800 on 5D II and get good results, I'd expect 1d IV to be similar.
Pixel Perfect wrote:
limit of 1D IIn is ISO 1600 if you want good IQ. ISO 3200 is not very nice at all. 1D III/7D can easily shoot ISO 6400 and get good results. I haven't had my 1D IV long enough to try high ISO yet, but given I can use ISO 12800 on 5D II and get good results, I'd expect 1d IV to be similar.
Honestly I gave up on the MkII after 800. Was totally unusable to me. 1600 on the 1DsII was heaps better.
This is interesting at I have a 7d and IIn. I shot a gymnastics meet on Saturday and the lighting was horrible. With the IIn I could shoot 1600 but of course shutter speed was slow. The files were fine with NR of course needed. With my 7D I shot 4000-6400 with shutter speeds from 640-800. NR done in light room and the photos were pretty decent. With sports I want the shutter speed with High ISO. With the IV from what I understand 12800 ISO with above 1000 shutter speeds are possible with very useable images. Good luck to whatever you choose.
Having a 1D4 I would say ISO 6400 is probably the most I would do. Yes, you can push it higher but I don't think the IQ looks that great. Of course, everyone has there own definition of "usable". The extra resolution helps as well as you can compress some of the noise.
jakita33 wrote:
Thanks! This has been very helpful. Anything tips on using NR in LR? I basically play with the Luminance channel until things look good.
Use a large mask value and set detail very low at higher ISO's.
