Quote Originally Posted by Fast Glass
So I look at the Canon EOS 1ds. But it only goes to ISO 1,280.Would I get resonable results if I pushed it to say an equivelant ISO of 12,800?

Most people would not consider the results reasonable.


Quote Originally Posted by Fast Glass
How would it compare the the 50D/T1i?

If you're even thinking of ISO 12,800, you should run, don't walk, to the nearest 7D. It's far better than the 50D/T1i. Or, consider waiting until the 60D or 550D comes out, I expect them to have the same low light performance as the 7D.


In any case, my guess is that the 50D would be superior to the 1Ds at ISO 12,800, but I could not be certain without seeing 1Ds raw files (A 6.5-year old camera) to check for pattern noise.


The 7D would blow it away when both are pushed to ISO 12,800.


Quote Originally Posted by Fast Glass
On the DXO website the 1ds is supposed to have better noise than the 50D/T1i.

First, let's talk about what the DXO "low light ISO" metric means:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"]"The Low-Light ISO metric indicates the highest ISO sensitivity to
which your camera can be set while maintaining a high quality,
low-noise image (based on a Signal-to-Noise-Ratio [SNR] of 30dB, a
dynamic range of 9EVs and a color depth of 18bits). As cameras improve,
the highest ISO setting to produce 30dB, 9EVs, 18bits images will
continuously increase, making this scale open. The Low-Light ISO metric
is of primary importance in photojournalism, sports and action
photography."


That's a very high standard of quality. According to that standard, they rate the 50D at just ISO 700. If you have a similar standard of quality, and you never go above ISO 800 on the 50D, then yes, the 1Ds will be superior.


But if you find the 50D results at ISO 1600, 3200, or higher to be usable in some circumstances, then you can't rely on the DXO "low light ISO" number, because it changes everything.


That DXO number does not apply to your situation.
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