more Pine Ridge pileateds

[squirl033]

went back to Pine Ridge this afternoon, and got some more shots of the pileated woodpeckers working on their condo...

7DII, 400mm, 1/160 @ f/8, ISO 6400... i tried some at this ISO setting, and found the noise just a bit much. it cleans up "okay", but the images aren't as sharp as i'd like.

450mm, 1/125 @ f/6.3... this one is at ISO 3200 - noise is much more manageable, and the image is sharper.

500mm, 1/320 @ f/6.3, ISO 3200... a different spot, with different light... cleanest and sharpest of the lot.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Good shots. The 7DII manages high ISO settings much better than the 7D. Photos from the 7D get soft and/or noisy at ISO settings above 800.

 

[squirl033]

yeah,.. i never had much trouble with noise from mine unless i got above 1600, but sometimes it was noticeable as low as 800. the Mk II is definitely better, but i think realistically, 3200 is about as high as i'll take it. at 6400, it's just too noisy and soft - at least in deep woods!

 

[Terry O]

Nice shots, Rocky - I can't help but remember how we had to deal with a maximum of ISO 400 or so in film days

 

[squirl033]

thanks, Terry... yeah, i remember when ISO 1000 film came out, it was a huge deal! most of the time, 400 was as high as it went, and while you could "push" it to 800 in the lab, it usually got pretty grainy pretty fast... the 7DII will do pretty well even at 6400 in better light, but shadow noise is my nemesis, shooting as often as i do in low-light, natural settings. now they've got cameras that go to ridiculous ISO settings, and though even the best of them get pretty noisy above about 12,800 or so, even that's really amazing when you think about it...