ISO

When buying a camera many people get captivated by mega pixels. The more a camera has the better it must be right?  This is completely untrue. The size of the sensor in the camera is what allows a camera to have a large number of usable megapixels.  This directly relates to ISO. The smaller the sensor with more megapixels will make for much more noise in an image.  This can be seen when using your iPhone in a dark room. Those 8megapixels look great when you’re in bright light or outdoors on a sunny day when your subject is stationary. But because the sensor is so small on an iPhone (in relation to a DSLR) those megapixels will become a hindrance when trying to shoot in dim lighting.

For the sake of simplicity I’ll speak to my cameras abilities for the remainder of this. My Canon T2i has an ISO range of 1-6400. This is a misnomer though, because any image taken at ISO 6400 is completely unusable. It will be entirely pixelated and noisy.  At ISO 3200 images can occasionally be salvaged by using noise reduction software such as Noise Ninja or Adobe Camera Raw.  At ISO 1600 and below images are generally usable.  I like to use this and ISO 800 when shooting inside of dark areas such as dance recitals or indoor sporting events.  Using ISO settings along with adjustments in shutter speed and aperture allows me to shoot in dim lighting without relying on external lighting like a flash or strobe lighting. Anything below 800 on my camera is generally crisp and noise free on my T2i.  The ability for cameras to handle high ISO shooting is the main crutch of camera technology advancements.  For all the fuss about new camera coming out with higher megapixels the truth is that the sensors in the cameras continue to get better and better. For instance the new Canon 5D Mark iii is supposed to be an extremely special camera when it comes to handling high ISO shots. It comes with a native ISO range of 100-25600 and is supposed to produce crisp clear images all the way up to ISO 6400. This is the new arms race for cameras. Competing not for MegaPixels which no one needs more than 20mp. Most entry level DSLRs are at this range already.  However most cameras still don’t handle noise reduction at high ISO numbers very well.  Full Frame cameras are dropping in price which will allow more people to be able to experience usable high ISO numbers.

This photo was taken with a high ISO, I was able to smooth out the noise in photoshop but it cost me a lot of the detail in the faces of the girls.  This is mostly true when reducing noise in post production. Noise can normally be reduced greatly, but it will cost you a lot in the details.