Canon 7D Noise and ISO

Full Stop or 1/3 stop settings...

Some time ago I tested the dark frame noise for all the ISO settings of the 1Ds3.

As a result I only use it at 'whole stop ISO settings'

All our assorted Canon 7D information is collected together on its own page, and I've written several short 7D review articles about aspects of using the 7D.

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ISO noise tests with the Canon 7D

A series of shots were taken with incremental ISO settings:

100,125,160,200,250,320,400,
500,640,800,1000,1250,1600,
3200,4000,5000,6400,12800 (H)

The camera was set to manual, 1/2000 of a second and f22 in a dimly lit room

There was a lens cap on and the viewfinder was covered.

So, no light getting in.

It's -just- noise I'm looking at.

ACR (5.5) Settings:

No ACR noise reduction, no sharpening, 4 stops exposure increase (to show up noise), black level at zero.

As you can see, at 12800 ISO and 3 stops pushing of the speed (112k equiv), there is a lot of noise.

I've turned off any camera noise reduction too.

Those of a more exacting nature might want to repeat this with NR turned on...

I'll just show the histogram settings below for each ISO setting.

The EOS 7D results are nowhere as clear cut as they were with the 1Ds3.

However the camera is handling sensor noise, it seems to increase much more smoothly than with the 1Ds3

Not the obvious difference I saw with the other tests, so this camera I'll be inclined to leave on 1/3 stop increments.

7D fractional stops and Dynamic range - more considerations

Other info

7D blog posts
Canon 7D news and information
1Ds3 version of this test
Comparison of High ISO pictures with 7D and 1Ds3

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