The 20D at ISO 3200 - DPChallenge Forums

10/04/2005 11:36:56 AM · #1

I recently attended a soccer match between Glasgow Celtic and my local club Falkirk which was held at night under floodlights.
My intention was to capture as many action pics as possible for our Matchday Magazine and website report.It quickly became clear that I was going to struggle when my shutter speeds were not up to the job...even with the ISO rating at 1600.

In a "do or die" effort I decided to try out the 3200 setting in the hope that I could salvage something from the evening.I was very pleasantly surprised when I got home and checked the images on my PC.
Although there was obviously a fair degree of noise in the full size pics, it was "fixable" and most of my images were fine for publication in the Magazine, including the one shown below, which was displayed at full page size.

There is no doubt, I would love to be able to afford the 400mm F2.8 lenses that are standard for most sports photographers but until that day (if it ever comes)I know that I have a little ace up my sleeve with the 20d`s excellent noise handling capability.

strangeghost

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

10/04/2005 11:40:10 AM · #2

Outstanding image for the conditions. I'm curious, because I use the 70-200 f4 with my 10D, what was your shutter speed for that shot?

eschelar

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

10/04/2005 11:41:31 AM · #3

Wow. Is that Eric Idle? Man, he's doing well for his age.

Nice pic btw.

The pic is called celebration. You didn't want to post it for the current challenge?

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

10/04/2005 11:57:14 AM · #4

I normally use my Sigma 135-400 but since it can do no better than 5.6 I had to sacrifice zoom for aperture and put the Canon 70-200 f4 on.
The aperture for this shot was F4 (for obvious reasons)which gave me a shutter speed of 1/800th.

I couldn`t post this image for "Celebration" as it was taken around 10 days ago and as my team have no game this coming weekend I won`t get the chance to get a similar shot from that source :(

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

10/04/2005 12:11:29 PM · #5

excellent, gordon! don't forget that you can also turn on automatic noise reduction, as well.

10/04/2005 12:23:16 PM · #6

Originally posted by skiprow:

excellent, gordon! don't forget that you can also turn on automatic noise reduction, as well.

Thanks Skip,
That was one of the first things I sorted out when I started this Sports photography lark and realised that I was going to struggle a bit with the lenses I have.

Every little helps :)

GoldBerry

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

10/04/2005 01:07:14 PM · #7

Geewhy, that's an awesome shot! I really really love it. Wish I'd taken it :-(

P.S. is he single? (kidding)

10/04/2005 01:49:00 PM · #8

Admittedly, it's neat to see that ISO 3200 produces usable shots but this isn't a great example as all detail has been lost by noise-reduction software.

Where are the blades of grass? Is his skin made of wax?

I've seen and heard great things about the 20d's high ISO results but any image can look creamy with the right processing.

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

10/04/2005 02:33:15 PM · #9

Personally, I like grain on some of the newer digital cameras. It is starting to be more monochromatic and actually adding to the scene.

1DMkII, ISO 3200, with a bit of sharpening:

10/04/2005 03:56:46 PM · #10

Originally posted by thatcloudthere:

The lack of detail that you mention is not caused by processing as I didn`t use any dedicated noise reduction software but by compressing the image for viewing on DPC.
If my original had not had detail, it would not have been accepted for publishing, I can assure you.

Gordon, I agree leaving noise in an image can be an added attraction, the example you have shown is an excellent one.
The circumstances I have to deal with however, dictate that the noise in minimised and this is where I find that the results far exceeded my expectations.

Gordon

10/04/2005 04:00:00 PM · #11

Originally posted by geewhy:

The lack of detail that you mention is not caused by processing as I didn`t use any dedicated noise reduction software but by compressing the image for viewing on DPC.

Well, then it will be difficult to judge the amount of noise in the photo. If I can't see the detail in the blades of grass (for whatever reason) then I don't suspect I'll see any noise, either.

Message edited by author 2005-10-04 16:00:21.

10/04/2005 04:19:04 PM · #12

Originally posted by thatcloudthere:

Originally posted by geewhy:

The lack of detail that you mention is not caused by processing as I didn`t use any dedicated noise reduction software but by compressing the image for viewing on DPC.

Well, then it will be difficult to judge the amount of noise in the photo. If I can't see the detail in the blades of grass (for whatever reason) then I don't suspect I'll see any noise, either.

Whoa there partner...I`m not on here to fight with anybody, I was trying to make a point about my delight with the capabilities of the 20D`s noise handling and how it far exceeded my expectations.The fact that the image was printed full page size in the Matchday magazine, more or less speaks for itself regarding quality.
I added the pic as an illustration to give an idea of the conditions under which I was working at the time... it wasn`t meant to be a critical assessment or I wouldn`t have compressed the image.

10/04/2005 04:22:48 PM · #13

Originally posted by geewhy:

Well, if you're not looking for a fight you're at the wrong website, um...partner...

Cool, it's a very nice photo. I thought you were using it to herald the capabilities of the 20d. To me, it shows what the photographer is capable of but not a whole lot about the camera.

I'd love to see an actual example of how well the camera has done at high ISO if you wouldn't mind posting an image that shows that...

Message edited by author 2005-10-04 16:24:33.

moswyn

Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC for Canon

10/04/2005 04:25:17 PM · #14

I agree with you about the 20D's noise capabilities... Admittedly, the only other DSLR that I have to compare it to is my 10D - but I can see a HUGE difference between the two. In my opinion, my 20D at 3200 has similar noise to my 10D at 800.
Also, congrats on having your pic printed! Isn't it fun to see your own work out there, even if it's what you've been hired to do?!? :)

Message edited by author 2005-10-04 16:25:49.

10/04/2005 04:33:48 PM · #15

Originally posted by thatcloudthere:

Well, if you're not looking for a fight you're at the wrong website, um...partner...

From what I`ve noticed on the Forum pages over the last year or so, I have to agree with you on that.

I will have a look among my files for that evening`s shoot and see what I can come up with as an example of it`s capabilities and post back to this thread.

10/04/2005 04:36:43 PM · #16

Oh, and my apologies for neglecting to say what matters most:

CONGRATS!!! You must be thrilled about getting this photo published, I know I would be!

SteveJ

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM

10/04/2005 04:37:50 PM · #17

Originally posted by geewhy:

Originally posted by thatcloudthere:

Well, if you're not looking for a fight you're at the wrong website, um...partner...

From what I`ve noticed on the Forum pages over the last year or so, I have to agree with you on that.

I will have a look among my files for that evening`s shoot and see what I can come up with as an example of it`s capabilities and post back to this thread.

That shot looks pretty good to me, but as thatcloudthere said, it would be good to see 100% crop without any editing. However, I don't want to fight, argue or mass debate! I am just interested as this would be my next upgrade.

Steve

Message edited by author 2005-10-04 16:38:32.

10/04/2005 04:54:44 PM · #18

Originally posted by moswyn:

Isn't it fun to see your own work out there, even if it's what you've been hired to do?!? :)

Not as big a thrill as I thought it would have been.

I must admit the first time I saw a few thousand people at the game with their Matchday magazine (or programme as we normally refer to it) and an image I had taken emblazoned on the front cover, I did get a wee kick out of it but it`s worn off very quickly... whether the pressure of having to come up with the goods on a regular basis is taking it`s toll or whether it`s just down to the fact that I can`t enjoy the game as much as I could before because I`m concentrating on getting a particular shot, I don`t know.

However, even though the gloss has worn off a bit, I still wouldn`t like to give it up as I`ve met a lot of very nice people on my travels with the club.

10/04/2005 05:00:42 PM · #19

Hey, you're getting paid to watch football and take photos...how bad can it be? ;0)

...you are getting paid, right?