Canon EOS 50D Review: 17. Photographic tests (Noise): Digital Photography Review

ISO Sensitivity / Noise levels

ISO equivalence on a digital camera is the ability to increase the sensitivity of the sensor. This works by turning up the "volume" (gain) on the sensor's signal amplifiers (remember the sensor is an analogue device). By amplifying the signal you also amplify the noise which becomes more visible at higher ISO's. Many modern cameras also employ noise reduction and / or sharpness reduction at higher sensitivities.

To measure noise levels we take a sequence of images of a GretagMacBeth ColorChecker chart (controlled artificial daylight lighting). The exposure is matched to the ISO (ie. ISO 200, 1/200 sec for consistency of exposure between cameras). The image sequence is run through our own proprietary noise measurement tool (version 1.5 in this review). Click here for more information. (Note that noise values indicated on the graphs here can not be compared to those in other reviews). Room temperature is approximately 22°C (~72°F), simulated daylight lighting.

Canon EOS 50D vs. Nikon D300 vs. Pentax K20D vs Sony DSLR-A700

Canon EOS 50D: Canon 50 mm F1.4 lens, Aperture Priority, Manual WB,
Default Parameters (Standard PS), High ISO NR (Default; Standard), JPEG Large / Fine
Nikon D300: Nikkor 50 mm F1.4 lens, Manual exposure, Manual WB,
Default Parameters (Normal), High ISO NR (Normal), JPEG Large / Fine
Pentax K20D: Pentax 50 mm F1.4 lens, Aperture Priority, Manual WB,
Default Parameters (Bright), High ISO NR off, JPEG Large / Premium
Sony DSLR-A700 (Firmware 2.0): Minolta 50 mm F1.4 lens, Manual exposure, Manual WB,
Default Parameters (Standard), High ISO NR (Normal - default), JPEG Large / Fine

Canon EOS 50D ISO 100	Nikon D300 ISO 100	Pentax K20D ISO 100	Sony DSLR-A700 ISO 100


Canon EOS 50D ISO 200	Nikon D300 ISO 200	Pentax K20D ISO 200	Sony DSLR-A700 ISO 200


Canon EOS 50D ISO 400	Nikon D300 ISO 400	Pentax K20D ISO 400	Sony DSLR-A700 ISO 400


Canon EOS 50D ISO 800	Nikon D300 ISO 800	Pentax K20D ISO 800	Sony DSLR-A700 ISO 800


Canon EOS 50D ISO 1600	Nikon D300 ISO 1600	Pentax K20D ISO 1600	Sony DSLR-A700 ISO 1600


Canon EOS 50D ISO 3200	Nikon D300 ISO 3200	Pentax K20D ISO 3200	Sony DSLR-A700 ISO 3200


Canon EOS 50D ISO 6400	Nikon D300 ISO 6400	Pentax K20D ISO 6400	Sony DSLR-A700 ISO 6400


Canon EOS 50D ISO 12800	n/a	n/a	n/a

Unsurprisingly at base ISO there is not an awful lot of difference between the contestants (with the exception of the Pentax K20D which by default does not use any noise reduction, resulting in visibly and measurably noisier images at all sensitivities). The 50D produces comparatively clean output that demonstrates a well balanced mixture of chroma and luminance noise reduction. However at ISO 1600 and above it can't quite keep up with the D300 in terms of detail retention. The Canon's more heavy-handed luminance noise reduction inevitably leads to some blurring of fine detail. Output up to ISO 3200 is usable, ISO 6400 should be reserved for emergencies and the inclusion of the ISO 12800 setting was quite frankly pointless.

Gray luminance noise graph

Indicated ISO sensitivity is on the horizontal axis of this graph, standard deviation of luminosity on the vertical axis.

Black luminance noise graph

Indicated ISO sensitivity is on the horizontal axis of this graph, standard deviation of luminosity on the vertical axis.

Chroma (color) noise graph

Indicated ISO sensitivity is on the horizontal axis of this graph, standard deviation of color on the vertical axis.

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