Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

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Archive 2011 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

Persio
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p.1 #1 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

I would like to see comments of Canon 7D users about its hi-ISO performance.
For the sake of this thread let us assume hi-ISO is 800 and over.
If possible, please attach sample images.
Thanks,
Persio.

Jan 10, 2011 at 01:30 AM

Ziffl3
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p.1 #2 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

if properly exposed - httr.
iso 3200 is usable day in and day out professionally.
iso 6400 when in a pinch - but very usable.

here is 3200:

6400: (not an award winner - but captured a moment. handheld - 85mm f1.8 at 1/80 f3.2)
LR 3.3 with +20 noise reduction on luminous channel.

Jan 10, 2011 at 01:41 AM

J_Glowacki
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p.1 #3 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

ISO 6400, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L @165mm, 1/1250, f/2.8, Night game under the lights. Hand held, minor NR applied.

Dudley Jr Baseball 266 by jjglowacki, on Flickr

Jan 10, 2011 at 02:33 AM

BiggHarry
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p.1 #4 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

Great photos and I agree with you. A few weeks ago I shot few hundred indoor weeding shots at ISO 1600 and few at ISO 2000. After some PP with PS CS5 & Topaz Labs DeNoise all of the photos were ready for the album selection.

Jan 10, 2011 at 04:44 AM

tell
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p.1 #5 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

I shoot events with a 7D and a 5dMKII. I feel comfortable with the 7D up to 1600 and the 5DMKII up to 3200. If you are pushing your exposure to the right, another stop on each camera is doable.

Jan 10, 2011 at 04:50 AM

Alanu
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p.1 #6 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

I think everyone has their different interpretations on what is usable or acceptable. The photos shown to me have a grain that I find marginally usable. On 5x7 print they are fine but when blown to 8x10 to 11x14 I would say ISO 3200 is not acceptable or usable.

I recently did family/baby shoot and had excellent results using my 5dmk2. i used ambient light with ISO 400. I printed a 11x14 print at my lab and I was extremely pleased with the ultra clean photo print. I got both 11x14 prints done on a Noritsu mini lab aswell as an 8000 dollar Epson printer.

After being meticulous in photoshopping this particular photo I now feel even a low res 300dpi photo can show major flaws in photos when printed large.

I'm at a cross road now in determining how to capture a photo. With flash you will get clean sharp photos but potentially losing some "feel" However with no flash high iso you can get lost soft details with speckled noise and even with NR the photo may still look off.

ISO can be incredibly clean with a 1d3, 7d, 5dmk2 etc. Looking at some photogs using modified colours (split toning etc) or Black and white they can get away with noise like what is seen here. I just find grain acceptable when details are still present in eyelashes etc.

7D at iso 1600 is acceptable to me when your pushing exposure in challenging light. More than that i find eyelash details falling apart. In large print I find this "pushing" my acceptable "limits".

Jan 10, 2011 at 05:36 AM

CKrueger
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p.1 #7 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

When I went to the Daytona 24hr last year I traveled with my 7D and 100-400. I was there to watch the race more than shoot, so I didn't pay too much attention to getting nice photos. Still, it was an excellent combo during the day, and I took what I could get at night. At some of the darker parts of the track I had to shoot ISO 12800 to keep shutter speeds at 1/200sec. I was very happy with the lack of noise at ISO 12800 after Lightroom massaged the files a little.

Here's an example of what I was getting at night. This isn't a great photo, but it was the best I could manage in a sleep-deprived and funnel cake and beer-fueled haze!

That's ISO 12800, 1/200sec, f/5. RAW processed in Lightroom 3. I bumped the shadows up a bit, even. There's some noise, but not enough to be distracting, IMHO. The ISO 6400 shots were VERY impressive; I wouldn't hesitate to shoot at ISO 6400 even for a 24x36.

I would have killed for this camera a few years ago when I was shooting night-time short track oval racing. I could have left the 580EX at home and saved myself a TON of headaches.

Jan 10, 2011 at 05:49 AM

Kisutch
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p.1 #8 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

Those cars look quite grainy to me, but that's just me.

I use the 7D for underwater stuff with ambient light. I set the ISO at 1600 and have no problem cleaning images up in LR3. I just printed an 11x14 shot at ISO 1600 and it looks great to me--it's on a wall surrounded with stuff shot around 400 and I can't begin to tell the difference. When I've shot past 2000 I haven't liked the results--sure you get the shot, but like the examples posted--it looks ... different.

Jan 10, 2011 at 06:11 AM

CKrueger
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p.1 #9 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

Alanu wrote:
I think everyone has their different interpretations on what is usable or acceptable. The photos shown to me have a grain that I find marginally usable. On 5x7 print they are fine but when blown to 8x10 to 11x14 I would say ISO 3200 is not acceptable or usable.

ISO 3200 unusable? On a 7D?

At what point do we stop caring about taking a photograph, and start caring about how pixels look to a signal-to-noise algorithm? Honestly, I'm not ordinarily one to shake a finger at pixel peeping, but the standards of sharpness and noise that some people require today write off pretty much every great photograph ever taken with a film camera.

Case in point. Which is the better photo here? (Neither are my photos, of course)

This image is copyrighted by the owner

One is a noisy mess with some weird color convergence errors, and the other is a breathtaking marvel of modern technology.

The crappy photo was shot by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky in 1910... one of the earliest examples of color photography, using composites of three exposures. (There's a great book of his photos of Russia before the revolution, if you're interested.) The beautiful photo is of course a test photo from Imaging Resource.

My point is, we sometimes get lost in details. All our fretting about noise and sharpness keep us from taking great photographs. You might say "a great photograph is better if it's sharp and has no noise", but I really couldn't care less. A great photo taken at ISO 3200 with a 20D and 18-55 is still a great photo. A boring photo taken at ISO 100 with a 5D2 and your favorite Leica lens is still a boring photo.

Jan 10, 2011 at 06:14 AM

dehowie
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p.1 #10 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

Well said CKrueger a lot of people just done get it..

Jan 10, 2011 at 06:57 AM

BluesWest
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p.1 #11 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

I recently tested my 7D at ISO 6400 and was pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't shoot at that ISO value regularly, but in a pinch - and with appropriate PP - it's definitely usable.

This image was taken just after sunset in the shadows of the butterfly garden at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. Lens was the 500mm f/4 IS (with the 1.4X extender). The DoF is quite narrow, as I was very close to the bunny, so the OOF areas are not due to the high ISO (or over-exuberant NR). The original RAW file was converted in ACR with global sharpening and NR and then additional NR was applied to the BG in PS using Topaz Denoise. I also sharpened selectively in PS after resizing. The focus point is the bunny's eye.

IMO, there is plenty of retained detail (note the hair on the bunny's ears) and the remaining graininess is tolerable.

John

2013 © BluesWest

Canon EOS 7D 700 mm f/5.6 1/400 sec 6400 ISO 0.0 EV

Jan 10, 2011 at 07:16 AM

Lance Couture
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p.1 #12 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

BluesWest wrote:
...the remaining graininess is tolerable.

"Tolerable"?

I think that looks great!

Here are a few I have taken in the last year, just bumming around the house...

1. My 18" medium ride cymbal - 5000 ISO

This image is copyrighted by the owner

2. My grandfather's light meters which he passed to my Dad, who in turn passed them to me. I used these back in high school - 5000 ISO

This image is copyrighted by the owner

3. My son, passed out for a nap on our bed. The room was quite dark and obviously using a flash would have woken him - 5000 ISO

This image is copyrighted by the owner

4. My daughter playing on the floor at my parents' place at Xmas this year - ISO 3200

This image is copyrighted by the owner

I had 11x14 prints made for my parents and my in-laws of the last one, and none of them, nor anyone else who came through for visits complained about the noise. In fact, no one actually believed I took the picture!.... I dont know if that's a good or bad thing....

Jan 10, 2011 at 07:43 AM

Alanu
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p.1 #13 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

Bluewest, looking at your shutter speed you could have easily used a lower ISO or opened up the aperture. I've found good light with high ISO to much more forgiving.

Dehowie, if you paid a photographer 3000-7000 dollars to document your wedding day would you accept a large portion of your photos to have grain with lost details? Even with miraculous skills with excellent composition digital noise can hinder overall IQ. Even my wife with untrained eyes will say "what a great picture but why doesn't it look clean?"

Not everyone shooting a 7D creates imagery of Jeff Ascough the Canon Ambassador. There are different leagues in the wedding photography world. Also a high percentage of his photos are dramatic black and white. IIRC he uses 5dmk2 bodies.

My point is coloured "real world colours" using an x-rite colour passport may perhaps achieve accurate colours but if the photo has banding in the shadows with grainy details I wouldn't be pleased.

I shoot a large portion of my photos with natural light. I will say shooting with the 5dmk2 I get clean results. Mind you I would get more keeper rates shooting with fill flash. I mix a combo of flash and natural light.

Dehowie, its not a matter of "not getting it". Capturing a "moment" is worth it regardless of noise. However in slow moving subjects someone with a 5dmk2, 1dmk4 even a nikon d700 would capture the same photo with much cleaner results.

i wont defend my 1dmk3. Simply its acceptable barely at ISO 1600 and 2000 when pushed hard will provide images that falls apart.

The intent of this thread is to discuss high iso performance. In a round about way i think i cover some views on the topic.

Jan 10, 2011 at 08:07 AM

Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #14 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

Alanu wrote:
Bluewest, looking at your shutter speed you could have easily used a lower ISO or opened up the aperture. I've found good light with high ISO to much more forgiving.

he used a 500/4 IS WITH a 1.4 TC . short of s dremmel drill how could he open the Apature more

and also @ an effective 1120 (500x1.6x1.4) 1/400th is pretty slow
(Handheld ?)

Jan 10, 2011 at 08:15 AM

Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #15 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

Alanu wrote:

Dehowie, its not a matter of "not getting it". Capturing a "moment" is worth it regardless of noise. However in slow moving subjects someone with a 5dmk2, 1dmk4 even a nikon d700 would capture the same photo with much cleaner results.

.

well some users want a camera thats capable of alot more than the 5D2, as good as that body is its not for everyone. And not everyone wants or can justify/afford a body for this and a body for that. The vast majority of users shoot with just one body.
1D4 , yeah 'cos everybody has pockets that deep
D700 well agreed its good but its Nikon and if your heavily invested in a Canon System then its not a choice.

The fact that we can get anything visable on screen from a crop camera at the ultra high ISO's is testament to the tech.
Just go back and shoot a roll of 1600 ISO film and see what you get.

No one is forced to shoot at mega ISO's but previously we would have just put the gear away.

Jan 10, 2011 at 08:25 AM

Daan B
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p.1 #16 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

I really don't care about grain, as long as an acceptable amount of detail is left. I do care about banding. How about banding in 7D high ISO images? And how do high ISO 7D images respond to the new NR engine in LR3 (which does a great job with my 5D2 files)? Still considering a 7D...

Jan 10, 2011 at 08:41 AM

David Baldwin
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p.1 #17 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

"I feel comfortable with the 7D up to 1600 and the 5DMKII up to 3200"

+1

Jan 10, 2011 at 10:48 AM

Hrow
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p.1 #18 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

Interesting topic, I have been wondering about this very question this weekend as I start to plan an Italy trip this spring. I am not concerned at all about how an image looks on the Web but I am concerned about larger print quality. If we define "larger printer" as something 24" or larger in its longest dimension, what is the maximum ISO of each camera that you think one could use to get "professional" level results?

Jan 10, 2011 at 01:12 PM

Alanu
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p.1 #19 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

Hrow wrote:
Interesting topic, I have been wondering about this very question this weekend as I start to plan an Italy trip this spring. I am not concerned at all about how an image looks on the Web but I am concerned about larger print quality. If we define "larger printer" as something 24" or larger in its longest dimension, what is the maximum ISO of each camera that you think one could use to get "professional" level results?

This is where people seem to have different definitions of "acceptable" noise/grain. Some photos are complimented with grain yet others makes them look bad/unprofessional.

I'd say with challenging light even with a prime ISO 1600 on a 7d is on the verge of falling apart if you take photos of a persons face (analysing/pixel peeping eye lash details) Better light ISO can be pushed more. This is my limits but everyone else can be different.

I dont really care for the 1d3 at ISO 1600. Even with L primes I careless about the noise I get with the 1d3. 7D is not much better either.

Jan 10, 2011 at 03:18 PM

mfreardon
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p.1 #20 · Canon EOS 7D Hi-ISO Performance

From Ian.Dobinson:

short of s dremmel drill how could he open the Apature more

I'll have to try that technique!

Jan 10, 2011 at 03:34 PM

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