[MSL]

How far would you push the ISO when shooting JPG only when taking "snapshots" rather than pictures?

That's the question, here is the background. I used to do a lot of photography with my Maxxum 9000 and a couple of fast lenses. I now have a K-5 and haven't indulged beyond the kit lens in WR form. On the maxxum I could go down to 1/30 or maybe 1/15 if really well braced for the odd shot, and I'd buy higher speed film if the situation called for it. But I'd try to keep the speed up if there was some movement involved.

I'm still getting the hang of the K-5 and its various modes and options. This has included shooting a couple of family events. Both were indoors - the first well lit, but last night's less so. I primarily stuck in TAv mode. Aperature as small as the focal length would allow, and shutter speed at 1/30 or a little faster if possible. Some shots turned out okay, and others would have been a lot better if I had gone up to 1/60 or 1/100 as a minimum. But I kept the ISO below 3200 because my brain just hasn't accepted that pushing higher than that makes sense. I'm sure it does - and I really need to play with the camera some more, but I'd love to hear other people's experiences.

Just as a footnote - for these events I tend to shoot 10 meg JPG so that I can shoot long bursts and/or run in exposure bracketing mode. Partly so I catch the moment when it happens, but partly to explore how the camera handles different lighting and focusing conditions.

Many thanks,
Marc

[Patajac]

Don't like to go past 3200 on k5, as for the wr kit lens i try to keep it at f8 whenever possible due to sharpness issues. Most often than not 1/30 is no problem.

So pretty much the same settings as yours, only i don't use jpeg.

[adpo]

unless you're really pressed for time and can't process or shoot 3+ second long bursts at 7fps, you're much better off shooting in RAW. That being said, the K-5 can handle high ISO very well and i'm perfectly happy with well-exposed shots at 12800 ISO. With that being said, the sensor inside the k-5 can maintain ultra-clean shots up to iso 1100 and then shots clean enough for snapshots all the way up to ISO 12800. If you shoot RAW, the performance of the K-5 sensor is fairly linear when you push ISO, so a shot at ISO 3200 pushed 2 stops will look only slightly noisier than a shot taken at ISO 12800. Don't be afraid of going to high ISOs with the K-5, as long as you hit correct exposure, you should be getting pretty clean shots.

[Jeff Charles]

How far would you push the ISO when shooting JPG only when taking "snapshots" rather than pictures?
...

Aperature as small as the focal length would allow, and shutter speed at 1/30 or a little faster if possible. Some shots turned out okay, and others would have been a lot better if I had gone up to 1/60 or 1/100 as a minimum. But I kept the ISO below 3200 because my brain just hasn't accepted that pushing higher than that makes sense.

I'd prioritize shutter speed over ISO. Motion blur is going to look worse than noise. Also, you are probably not going to print snapshots very big, if at all. The small size of the prints or screen images will hide noise.

Jeff