Originally posted by Nicolas06 Most lenses tend to give they best IQ in the f/4-f/8 range even if they can be used at f/1.4. As for needing lot of light this really depend on the condition but for my usage and without making any effort I tend to shoot much more in the iso 100-400 range than in the 800+ iso range where noise could negatively affect quality.
I would add that from my experience if you want a high quality shoot you DON'T shoot it at high iso at all. You use a tripod and stop down. You ensure there enough light to begin with or add it if necessary with a set of flashes.
I agree there a case where you have to take low light shoot of moving objects and where you can't make use of artificial lights. But that's not that often and for many pro activities (not all), the flashes and tripod will part of the game anyway !
If you shoot in low light for me it should be because you want to show theses conditions specifically. I mean if this to take a portrait of somebody and want it to make it as good as possible, there no way to avoid good lighting. That part of taking photo: gathering the light. Not avoiding it !
A high end camera in difficult condition might give better results than entry level camera... Still it will not shine as much as either camera in good conditions. You should be after thoses good condition to get a good shoot !
Sounds like what I've been repeating for years... maybe another 10 or 20 people saying it and it will start to sink in.
I always go for the best possible image of a subject... and that will always be taken in good light.
Saying a camera is better in low light is saying, the image won't be as good, but it will be the best of the bad.
I don't judge cameras by the best of the bad.. I judge them by the best of the best.
The only use I have personally for good high ISO performance would be birds in flight, where I'd like to have both Depth of Field and a fast shutter speed. But you could add sports or any action to that list.
I should also throw in, in that circumstance, APS-c gives you more DoF at a wider Aperture than FF, helping you keep your shutter speed high, while maintaining DoF.
---------- Post added 10-30-14 at 09:27 AM ----------
Originally posted by lytrytyr Interesting to see that Ricoh are now providing MTF charts for one of their lenses.
They haven't done this in the (recent) past.
But unfortunately, the charts are not very helpful.
There is no indication of the aperture,
and the same chart is just repeated for each end of the zoom range.
Also, they're pulling the same stunt that Sigma have been doing for years,
showing the 30 lp/mm figures instead of the standard 40 lp/mm ones.
As sensor resolutions increase, that's even less helpful than ever.
Good for you, you got something out of their charts.. I looked at it and wondered, "where do I get a tutorial that tells me what this means?"