The R7 High Iso thread......
5 months ago
4
I didn't get an opportunity to join in before it was closed due to high contributions which says something in itself I guess.
My R7 hasn't arrived yet but none of the many comments has put me off. In the heat of discussions it is forgotten that if you are happy with your results, your techniques, processing etc. then it doesn't really matter. If you're not then the thread might give you some insights into where to look.
My mean criticisms of some comments are:-
We each have a budget and it is generally a given with cameras that fundamentals will be better the more you pay so there is little point in saying how much better this and that are on an R5.
If you have chosen a crop sensor camera camera comparisons with a full frame are pointless really unless you really had no clue why you went for a crop sensor!
What you use your camera for totally changes your perception of noise.
SInce the start of digital cameras I have moved through compacts, bridge cameras and crop sensors only. Pretty much the whole range of Pentax DSLR's and three Nikon. High ISO ability improved pretty much incrementally with all of them with the odd backward step. But from experience the level of noise increases far more with conditions than the actual ISO and sensor. My early Pentax K-R will give less noise at ISO 800 at f8.0 1/500th in bright sunshine than my than my Nikon D500 in low light at ISO 800 at f4.0 and 1/100th sec. Of course given identical conditions and same ISO D500 would win.
Cropping is the other overriding factor. This is why there are always arguments between birders and studio/landscape shooters (although few posters state which genre they are discussing!) Birders often have have limited time, poor light and require heavy cropping. We think we see a lot of noise!
As for AI sharpening I fully understand the criticisms. But with birding you often have the choice of a useless image to bin or an acceptable shot for your records or an improved good shot by using good pp.
The worst comment of all was "Only beginners would fall into the trap of AI noise reduction. Experienced photographers would provide the appropriate lighting or shutter speed or make the character of the light work with the photo."
I would love to know what lighting I can make appear on a bird in the woods 20m away and how I can alter its characteristics to suit in the 5 seconds I have to set up my camera !