LeggNets Digital Capture

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Lewis at ISO 800


One of the main reasons for my recent camera upgrade from the Canon 5D to the new 5D mark II was the ability to shoot at higher ISO settings without a significant degradation to the image. In my stock photography, I never went over ISO 400 with the original 5D and typically stayed under 200. While this was fine for shooting in studio, when I shot outdoors with existing light I frequently found myself shooting at a slower shutter speed than I would have preferred.

On a recent outdoor session, I was able to put the Mark II's higher ISO ability to a test. It was an overcast day and I used a combination of reflector and speedlite to accentuate the diffused natural lighting. By pushing the ISO to 800 for this image, I was able to use a shutter speed of 1/250 to eliminate camera shake. Had I used ISO 100 for this image I would have been forced to a shutter speed of 1/30, all but guaranteeing camera shake.

The final test for this image was to submit it to iStockphoto for inspection. I'm pleased to report that the shot passed and is now in my stock portfolio. My next test will be to submit an image shot at ISO 1000.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/250 second, f/4, ISO 800

9 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

WOW! I'm impressed. I'm itching for a D700 with the 5D II's video capabilities. The D90 is an awesome upgrade from the D80, but it's really just a tease. =)

December 16, 2008  
Blogger Unknown said...

Very nice--and at full resolution to boot. How much noise reduction did you apply in post-processing?

December 16, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"How much noise reduction did you apply in post-processing?"

None.

December 16, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ah that sounds great. I'm interested if you're planning to use the video feature of the camera at all?

December 17, 2008  
Blogger Debbi_in_California said...

NONE? FAB-U-LOUS!!!!! Thanks you so much for sharing it as it hit istock and was approved!
iso 800 wow!
Debbi

December 17, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"I'm interested if you're planning to use the video feature of the camera at all?"

I'm really not much of a video shooter. It will give me a quick way to capture behind-the-scene lighting setup video that I can save along with the images so I can reference back how a particular shot was created.

December 17, 2008  
Blogger Skyler Call said...

That is a great picture Rich!

December 17, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's great... I hate using anything above ISO400 on my 20D. It's good that the technology's improved so much.

December 19, 2008  
Blogger JohnnySewell said...

Can you do a post with your workflow on this or your average iStockphoto shoot? Or if you already have done that send the link?
With the 5D / 24-105 I have had a few high ISO situations in churches with a no flash policy.
I just wonder how much you do noise reduction and sharpening.
Thanks!

January 03, 2009  

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