Simulated ISO 102,400 photos

For a Thanksgiving Eve day photo project, I wanted to get an idea of what kind of exposure the newly-announced Canon 1DX could deliver at ISO 102,400.

With birthday candles and a space defender robot from the dollar store, I set up a mini studio in our bathtub to simulate exposures that my 30D can deliver at its maximum of ISO 3200, vs. images at the unheard-of ISO of 102,400.

The difference between the two ISOs is 5 stops, or 2^5, or 32 times more sensitivity on the 1DX (hence the comparison between a photo with 32 candles and a photo with one candle). In reality the hightest ISO of the 1DX is 204,800 (a difference of six stops, or 2^6, or 64x) but Canon mentions that setting is "ideal for law enforcement, government or forensic field applications" so I'm gussing that setting would be too noisy for practical use. Besides, that would require lighting 64 candles instead of 32 for this demonstration.

There's no way I can shell out $6,700 for the new flagship camera but I am really looking forward to seeing how this technology trickles down to us mere mortals.

	On the left is a simulation of how a photo would look with a single candle at ISO 3200. At right is a photo of how the same image might look with the same camera settings at ISO 102,400.
	On the left, I might need 32 birthday cake candles to illuminate the robot at ISO 3200. On the right, a single candle should give approximately the same exposure at ISO 102,400.