brainiac wrote:
Here's a 1Ds3 set at iso 3200 and pushed 2 stops, so an effective speed of 12800. It has had a slight dust and scratches applied in photoshop: http://cyberphotographer.com/1ds3/vampire2_lowrez.jpg
I've downloaded the RAW file you provided elsewhere in this thread. And I got the impression that the scene was originally shot under a strong red light, which was later fixed with click white balance.
Wouldn't that explain why the image held up so well after being pushed up 3 stops? The Achilles Heel of these sensors is typically the red channel. At high ISO, the red channel is always the first one to fall apart. It has always been the most problematic of the 3 color channels. Therefore, shooting a scene under red light will effectively compensate for the sensor's weak spot, allowing it to produce RAW files that can be pushed up to higher ISOs than it normally can.
It's just a theory, of course. Whether or not it's a valid theory, I don't know...
Rubber Soul wrote:
I've downloaded the RAW file you provided elsewhere in this thread. And I got the impression that the scene was originally shot under a strong red light, which was later fixed with click white balance.
Wouldn't that explain why the image held up so well after being pushed up 3 stops? The Achilles Heel of these sensors is typically the red channel. At high ISO, the red channel is always the first one to fall apart. It has always been the most problematic of the 3 color channels. Therefore, shooting a scene under red light will effectively compensate for the sensor's weak spot, allowing it to produce RAW files that can be pushed up to higher ISOs than it normally can.
It's just a theory, of course. Whether or not it's a valid theory, I don't know... ...Show more →
Great point. I definitely have noticed that the colour of stage lights makes a big difference to the result when pushing. I have always assumed that the blue channel is the most troublesome, but maybe that's because when I shoot in very low light there is often tungsten in the balance, often predominantly, so the red and green channels aren't nearly as sparse as the blue.
Here's another file which had mostly green and blue lights. I pushed it to ISO 12800 out of interest, but it's probably too much. In this shot the red channel was the worst. I think it just comes down to shadow, i.e. very low light levels in any of the channels, will cause a problem there. I will try to shoot some ISO 12800 in daylight to see which channels are the worst. In this image horizontal streaks are worse than in the first image. http://cyberphotographer.com/1ds3/fiddler_lowrez.jpg
crop: http://cyberphotographer.com/1ds3/fiddler_crop.jpg
I have applied quite strong dust & scratches but reduce the effect in the eyes in order to preserve more detail there.
I don't know how the D3 would have fared in this light. I would love to get together with a UK-based D3 or D700 owner to do some careful testing and see if the 1Ds3 really can hold its own at these speeds.
> You and I both know there have been many references to this supposed "additional detail" and other such claims of easily recognizable distinguishing features. I ain't sayin' the camera isn't better. I am just sayin' that it ain't as much "better" as some owners try to make it out to be. If it was really that much better, you, as a photographer who makes his living selling photos, would NOT sell it. You would want another one.
However, I didn't choose to use a 1Ds3 over a 5D because of its modest, but worthwhile detail advantage. I bought it because it gave me an extra stop or more of high ISO. I was never able to produce presentable output from my 5Ds at ISO 12800, whereas with my 1Ds3, I can. For me, in a working capacity, that extra stop is like an upgrade of all my lenses from f2 to f1.4, and opens up a lot of opportunities if you are generally light-constricted when working. I am only selling the camera because a lighter camera with equivalent or better high iso capabilities is likely to be announced shortly. Even if any new 5D(mk2) only matches the 1Ds3 for high ISO, its weight alone will probably be a reason for me to switch.
