When I get a new camera (owned K100D and Km before) I always take a couple of hours to adjust the settings to "my preferred" - aiming for minimal PP afterwards (if any).
During this process, I took a range of identical shots at different ISO's to figure out my "ISO pain limit" during daily circumstances. I thought I might as well post them here to share.
It was my last test, so they are taken with the settings I intend to use as "my default". As mentioned they are set for minimal PP, and I have aimed for a good compromise between filesize and quality.
These are (apart from default):
JPEG Quality [**], 'Bright' (with 'Contrast +3' & 'Fine Sharpening'), Auto ISO, Center Point AF, and Multi Metering Exposure.
Shots were taken with a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, set @ f4.
In CS3 I only did "Auto Tone", the crop, and resizing.
For what it's worth I'm
very impressed with the overall performance with these settings. I will leave the ISO for Auto [200=>1600], but I have no problem upping for 3200 or even 6400 when it's necessary...I will gladly accept the small amount of noise (speckles) to avoid/reduce blur from my shaky hands
Here are the shots: ISO 200: (Perfect)
Original 12MP (+ Auto Tone in CS3): http://www.kenberg.dk/diverse/forums/kx_pixpeep/ISO200.JPG
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ISO 400: (Still perfect)
Original 12MP (+ Auto Tone in CS3): http://www.kenberg.dk/diverse/forums/kx_pixpeep/ISO400.JPG
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ISO 800: (Looking gooood)
Original 12MP (+ Auto Tone in CS3): http://www.kenberg.dk/diverse/forums/kx_pixpeep/ISO800.JPG
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ISO 1600: (Still really good(!), considering it's ISO1600)
Original 12MP (+ Auto Tone in CS3): http://www.kenberg.dk/diverse/forums/kx_pixpeep/ISO1600.JPG
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ISO 3200: (First 'real example' of detail compromise. Note how the stitches have almost disappeared below the red paracord in the crop)
Original 12MP (+ Auto Tone in CS3): http://www.kenberg.dk/diverse/forums/kx_pixpeep/ISO3200.JPG
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ISO 6400: (More detail is lost, but still amazing for ISO6400. Besides the crop it's very usable)
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Original 12MP (+ Auto Tone in CS3): http://www.kenberg.dk/diverse/forums/kx_pixpeep/ISO6400.JPG
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ISO 12800: (Well - I'm glad ISO12800 is available. I'd rather have this than 'motion blur'
)
Original 12MP (+ Auto Tone in CS3): http://www.kenberg.dk/diverse/forums/kx_pixpeep/ISO12800.JPG