Skates For Rent: 1/8s f/4.0 ISO1600 46mm, Canon 30D, EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8, adjusted

One of the reasons I spent the money on a DSLR was the ability to take good pictures with high ISO. My Canon 30D is a generation behind the state of the art at least, but it's such a huge improvement over my Canon S3 that it is worth it to me. I ran the S3 at ISO 100, or 200 when I needed some more speed. Above 200 the noise was just too bad.

With the 30D I can take pictures at ISO 1600 and get good results. ISO 1600 gives noise, but not horrible noise. The picture of roller skates above was taken in a dimly-lit roller-sking rink, hand-held, at 1/8s. I could dial up an aperture of f/4 to get a reasonable depth of field and still get a good final image. Image stabilization in the EF-S 17-55 lens made it possible of course.

Open Window: 1/20s f/2.8 ISO3200 -1ev173mm, Canon 30D, EF 70-200mm IS L f/2.8

The 30D also has an ISO 3200 setting. It's a cheat though. All it does is multiply the numbers by 2. I get twice the brightness and twice the noise.

I try to use ISO 100 most of the time, but for indoor use will set it to 800. It would be a great help if the camera set the ISO automatically according to my preferences (ie as low as possible), but it does not. One more control to twiddle. The 40D is better at this, I hear, and Nikon has it right.

Tags: Canon, 30D, DSLR