Canon EOS 7D ISO 1600 Action Photos

[Photo-John]

I took the 7D out for a ride yesterday. It's getting pretty late in the season for mountain biking now and the east/west canyons here in Northern Utah aren't getting as much sun as they did a month ago - especially if you're on a north-facing slope. Low light shooting is the order of the day. Because there's so little light and I probably wouldn't have been able to stop the action in these shots at ISO 400 or 800, I thought I'd give ISO 1600 a shot to see if it can cut the mustard. I'm pretty happy with the results. Yes - there's plenty of noise at 100%. But these are big files and at standard print sizes that noise will actually be pretty minimal. And like I said, I wouldn't have had these photos if I didn't shoot at ISO 1600. I haven't run any noise reduction on these, so they still aren't at their absolute best final quality, either.

What do you think? Are they ok or is the noise too much?

[crisillo]

they look pretty good to me!

[jonpratt]

ehhh, that top picture doesn't look too hot.
I think they are perfectly usable, but I'm actually kind of surprised at how high the noise level is.

[Photo-John]

Oh yeah - forgot to say that I also pushed these two images pretty hard in Lightroom and Photoshop. The 100% details are post-Lightroom but before I did any Photoshop processing. But the final images each have about 3 adjustment layers for levels and curves.

[Photo-John]

ehhh, that top picture doesn't look too hot.
I think they are perfectly usable, but I'm actually kind of surprised at how high the noise level is.

Thanks, Jon. What are you shooting with? I agree there is noise. But putting all the variables on the table - cost, weight, speed and previous camera performance (EOS 50D), I think it's pretty good. Yeah, it would be nice to have 5D Mk II quality. But I wouldn't have the same speed of AF accuracy with that camera. And I wouldn't be riding with the 1D. Once was enough

[jonpratt]

Thanks, Jon. What are you shooting with? I agree there is noise. But putting all the variables on the table - cost, weight, speed and previous camera performance (EOS 50D), I think it's pretty good. Yeah, it would be nice to have 5D Mk II quality. But I wouldn't have the same speed of AF accuracy with that camera. And I wouldn't be riding with the 1D. Once was enough

Hah, on the trail I shoot with a piece of junk p&s...waaaay too many broken cameras to take something expensive out with me. D700 is my drug of choice.

Personally I think the sensor is too big, 18MP right?
And yes I think they are pretty good, just a little noisy for a $2K camera.

[Photo-John]

Hah, on the trail I shoot with a piece of junk p&s...waaaay too many broken cameras to take something expensive out with me. D700 is my drug of choice.

Personally I think the sensor is too big, 18MP right?
And yes I think they are pretty good, just a little noisy for a $2K camera.

Well, you can't get great trail photos unless you're willing to risk your camera. A good backpack helps minimize the risk. This spring I started riding with the Clik Elite Medium Nature and it's been awesome when I want to carry serious camera gear. Point-and-shoots are just for quickies photos when I don't want to take off the pack. And the quality just doesn't cut it.

I agree that the 7D has more resolution than necessary. I think Canon would have done fine to leave it at 15 megapixels and let whatever new noise reduction tech they added to make the IQ better than the 50D. As for comparing to the D700 - they're sort of two different animals. I like the smaller, lighter, faster body. Your camera is more like the EOS 5D - both great cameras, but not for me since I do most of my photos on the trail.

[jonpratt]

honestly I don't think any bag can really protect my camera gear well enough. I tend to go a little big and ride a lot of rocks so there are many very hard spills.
I've always been looking for something to take my D80 out in, but I can't talk myself into it yet.

[Photo-John]

honestly I don't think any bag can really protect my camera gear well enough. I tend to go a little big and ride a lot of rocks so there are many very hard spills.
I've always been looking for something to take my D80 out in, but I can't talk myself into it yet.

Just do it! I've crashed all kinds of ways in all kinds of places - including Garbanzo at Whistler - and the only thing I've ever hurt is my body and my pride. My camera has always been fine

[tadrscin]

Those look quite acceptable to me. Have you tried any higher ISO? Since I almost always use a flash for my riding shots I wasn't too worried about high ISO performance, but it's always nice to have that as an option.

I agree with John about taking a DLSR out on rides no matter what you're riding. I've had some good crashes back when I was still using a Rebel just in a Dakine Nomad with some extra padding. The Rebel survived every time. That's what gave me the confidence to start taking a better camera with me. This is what I'm using for a pack now: Customized hydration backpack For the record this pack has now also been crash tested with a 50D inside and it wasn't damaged in the slighest.

[pbr]

shoot. That looks decent. Now I can't stop thinking about ebaying my 50d for the 7d- it was the camera I was looking for all along.

[tadrscin]

shoot. That looks decent. Now I can't stop thinking about ebaying my 50d for the 7d- it was the camera I was looking for all along.

I did and I have no regrets

[OldClicker]

shoot. That looks decent. Now I can't stop thinking about ebaying my 50d for the 7d- it was the camera I was looking for all along.

You may want to wait just a little longer on that 7D. - TF

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...=2112&id=60427

[Photo-John]

You may want to wait just a little longer on that 7D. - TF

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...=2112&id=60427

I saw this report this morning, too. Most of my shooting with the 7D has been in high speed burst mode and I haven't noticed this problem. So I think it may not be as big of a deal as people are making it out to be. That said, if I do notice it and it ruins some important photos I won't be happy...

Hopefully they'll have a successful firmware upgrade soon and this will become a non-issue.

[gahspidy]

The noise is not too bad especially considering there has been post processing in levels, no noise reduction and that these are pretty high resolution files and we are viewing at 100%
As you stated, with this resolution one can make a fairly nice size print without seeing any noise. All in all, what more can you ask for the price?
Too bad about the phenomenon described by Canon. I'm sure they will have a fix for it soon.
This is what happens when competing manufacturers are rushing to get out their next big product before the other.

[Basco]

i think the noise is well kept down (could be better of course) but overall its a decent cam with lots of things to play with, and with a good "L" lens ull have an almost perfect combo.

[byjamesderuvoDHQ]

Have you tried the 1080P HD video mode yet?