ISO: We’ve come a long way
15 years ago, ISO 1000 was unusable. Now? Piece of cake.
The below photo was one of my first ever concert photos. Of a Mel C concert (long story…). I believe it was probably taken with my Sigma 70–200 ƒ/2.8 lens. I’m assuming that, anyway, based on the fact that I can’t remember ever owning any other lenses that were able to shoot 175mm at ƒ/2.8.
Regardless, the stage lighting was terrible. And let’s not say anything about my focusing skills either. But, as I’m digging through old photos, it’s incredible to me to see how far we’ve come.
The below image was taken at ISO 1000. Look at that grain. It’s positively horrendous.
Compare that photo with this one, taken at ISO 4000. Yes, there’s still a lot of noise, but two things have happened: The noise is more uniform, and — dare I say it — prettier. It’s a lot closer to film grain, and the photo is certainly a lot more useful:
Or this one, taken at a Retro Stefson concert the same day… Yes, there’s still grain, but even at ISO 4,000, it’s perfectly useable:
Both of the above photos are taken with a camera that’s a couple of generations old (the Sony A7, from 2013) — and newer generations are getting better performance in every way. They’re better in low light in a ton of different ways: Better colour rendition, lower noise levels, ‘prettier’ digital noise, better dynamic range in low light.
If you ask me, this is the truly exciting thing that’s happening in photography right now — better dynamic range and better low-light performance. I don’t need 50 megapixels, and I would argue that most photographers rarely do. What I do need, is 20 megapixels I can use in every possible lighting situation.
This article is written as a compendium to a lesson in the free Photocritic Photo School. Sign up today for a 22-lesson school that teaches you the basics of photography.
