Camera Labs

I was testing the High ISO capabilities of the D800 with my 14-24mm here.

The first shot is a standard nightscape - stopped down to f8, camera on tripod, in camera Virtual Horizon to make sure the camera's set up for vertical verticals, delayed timer, 21mm, 13 second exposure, ISO100.

A party boat was coming out from under the bridge during the scene:




Then a little later in the shoot (from the same tripod position but slightly wider at 20mm)

ISO6400, 1/30th second, f2.8 (pooh pooh a 'fast' wide angle at your peril! )

Both shots are nice, but in my opinion, the first one looks nicer, the blurred reflections are prettier. That's just my opinion, though

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Gear: Canon SX20 IS, Canon Rebel T3i, Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Wishlist: Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II
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I guess it depends on the monitor and how good one’s eyes are. For me its extremely hard to detect a difference where I thought ISO 6400 would create heaps of noise.


Cheers

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Nikon D7000, D40X, Nikkor 18- 200 VR II, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 AF non VR, Kit Lenses.

Just showing the capabilities of the D800 at high ISO....

At a pixel leve when you review your images on the LCD it looks noisy with the D800. Downsizing the files to D700 resolution and comparing show the D800 performs better. Not bad for ISO6400, eh?

Dubaiphil - I like the second one - gorgeous! That's beautiful work, indeed...!

Was the in-camera NR on or off, and if 'On' - and what level, above which ISO - 1600, 3200, whatever? Or 'Off' - and all done in post?

Regards, Dave.

In camera NR off, and normal Lightroom adjustments

Oh I know that, it's just that I liked the shots, so why not comment on them? I hope it's ok

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Gear: Canon SX20 IS, Canon Rebel T3i, Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Wishlist: Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II
Visit me and leave me a comment in My Flickr

I agree - I prefer longer exposures at night, but the wake of the boat approaching in shot 2 creates some nice ripples and reflections of its own.

Yeah I can still feel the heat. Prefer number 1 but two is cool as well.

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http://ishootnikon.wordpress.com

Impressive result. While I prefer the ISO 100 shot (the buildings kind of "shine") you can just forget handholding it but 1/30 sec at ISO 6400 can make the difference - and in this case the ISO 6400 shot is definitely nice to look at; great performance!

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

The buildings in the first shot have an ethereal glow which is mostly absent from shot 2. I don't know whether this is a product of the lower ISO or the longer exposure or their combination. Either way, and disregarding motion effects, I think it produces the more appealing results.

Having said that, the option of producing handheld, usably-clean images at ISO6400 shouldn't be underrated.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/53061745@N02/

Panasonic G3: 9-18mm, 14mm, 20mm, 45mm