On 9/13/2011 12:21 AM, Dario Bonazza wrote:
To me, high-ISO performance and dynamic range are paramount and are the
single most important feature in choosing a SLR these days. Here are some
typical pictures I had to take two days ago:
ISO 12,800, FA 24-90mm @ 35mm f/4, 1/13s:
www.dariobonazza.com/public/K5_23830x.jpg
As you can see, above shooting data were not enough for freezing
action and
getting the subject sharp. Hence, 3-4 extra stops would have come in
handy
(i.e. ISO 100,000). This way, I'm going to supply a 'creative blur'
image.
Last year, neither the K20D nor the K-7 were able to manage situations
of this kind and sometimes I had to give up shooting. This year, the
K-5 came to rescue.
I photograph a lot of dancers in low light, fortunately they seem to
move slower than the ones that you photograph.
ISO 10,000, DA* 50-135mm @ 85mm f/3.2, 1/60s:
www.dariobonazza.com/public/K5_23850x.jpg
In this case, ISO 10,000 was on the verge of getting the required
picture.
Of course, a few extra stops would have allowed higher IQ.
We need to get you proving a point more often, I love the above photo.
ISO 8,000, DA* 50-135mm @ 55mm f/3.2, 1/60s:
www.dariobonazza.com/public/K5_23921x.jpg
In this case, ISO 8,000 was again on the verge for the required
picture, and
I was able to get it only because I took them at the highest point of
their
jump. Having an extra margin would be welcome.
I can empathize. Photographing at the dojo really requires a shutter
speed over 1/100. Even if I could afford to buy a 24-70ish f/2.8 lens, I
really want more depth of field either because of sloppiness in focus,
or because both people that I'm photographing aren't at the same
distance.. With the lighting at the dojo, in order to get 1/100 at f/4
or smaller, I have to lean on the ISO even harder than I really like
with the K-5.
A lot of the photography I do is in a dark room ISO 6400, f/1.8, 1/10
Sec (or dimmer), with a small amount of it lit, which tends to lead to
some horrific dynamic range issues. I also tend to shoot bands which
have funky stage lighting where I might have quite a few stops of
different intensity between the color channels, so I need the dynamic
range to bring the color into balance too. I can certainly empathize
with what you are saying. The sensitivity and dynamic range of the K-5
makes a lot of what I attempt to photograph even possible, and the most
important, to me, aspect of a camera's performance. I can get around
auto focus issues. I can set my own exposure. But photographic skill
only goes so far in turning far too few photons into high quality ones
and zeros.
I have to mention that flash was strictly forbidden.
I understand not everybody is facing such challenges, but I do appreciate
high ISO settings with good noise performance.
Cheers,
Dario
--
Larry Colen [email protected] (from dos4est)
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