5D MK2 vs 1D MK4 High ISO & LR3 new noise Process compare.

Just a quickie I though some of you might find interesting. I talked about getting you all some high ISO samples from these cameras on the last podcast, so here they are. After the show, I got together with Nickles and we did a very informal ISO test. Nothing fancy, just some quick, poorly lit handheld images with Cyrus and Harrson. Still, you’ll get the idea. The 5D MK2 was still a solid contender with a great fine grain feel.

The 1D has a trump card because it can go to much higher ISO and while it might be noisy, I would not hesitate to use ISO 50K if I was in an ultra low like situation like a wedding reception. On the show I said it looks as good at 50K as the MK2 does at 12k. Looking here I see that was a an overstatement, but for how high the ISO is I’m still impressed. A little grain does not kill us, in fact the grain on these newer cameras is looking better all the time.

I used basic noise reduction in LR3 (no plugins) but I did use new process version which made a lot of difference in the final quality. To illustrate that I’m posting a side by side on the new and old process as well. Click for larger versions.

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  1. 5D MK3???

    Typo maybe 🙂 Hopefully they upgrade the auto-focus on it hehe.

    Thanks for the comparison by the way. Good to see.

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About the Author

Glad you're here.

I'm from WA State USA and started studying photography in 97. I started work as a pro (using that word loosely because I sucked) using film at age 16. I learned fast but was not as easy to find training then. Sometimes I beat my head against the wall until I figured stuff out.

As digital dawned I went all in and got to study with masters like Ken Whitmire. In 09 I founded the Pro Photo Show podcast. I started promoting tone-focused editing. When Lightroom arrived, I started developing tools to make editing and workflow better.

20 years of study and photography around the country earned me a Master of Photography (M.Photog) from PPA. I got to see my workshops and tools featured in publications across the industry. Once I even won the prestigious HotOne award for my "EXposed" light and tone workshop.

Wanting something calmer, I moved to Mexico in 2017. It's a land of magical light. I'm here now exploring light and trying to master my weak areas. I make videos of that for my Youtube channel, sharing what I learn. I hope you'll stick around and be part of Light Hunters Tribe... Gavin

Gavin Seim

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