What is a good maximal ISO to shoot on a D5 MkII for a film?

[Morgan Peline]

Hi,

 

I am shooting a comedy on a D5 MkII and I would like to know what ISO gives me the best 'noiselessness'. There will be night time interiors as well as daytime interiors and exteriors.

 

1. I have been told that 100ASA to 400ASA gives the best quality for video, and then that 400ASA to 800ASA adds a little visual noise but is hardly noticeable.

Can anyone please verify this?

 

2. I have been told that 100ASA to 400ASA has the same visual quality. Can anyone please verify this? I don't have any ND filters so I will probably be jumping from 100 ASA for exteriors to 400ASA for interiors to maintain a constant aperture.

 

I will be testing this camera today. But we are shooting tomorrow and literally I have just touched the camera 20 minutes ago....

 

Thank you for your help!

[Oliver Christoph Kochs]

I have no problems with noise at 1200 ASA. I have hot pixel issues above 1200 but that is on my camera that now needs service. For a theater release i would state that 1200 is the upper limit.

[Ram Shani]

i saw test with 7d on big screen at 2000asa and it look great

[K Borowski]

I am old fashioned, but I would treat it like film and try to shot at as low an ISO as possible.

 

 

I've heard still photographers say they can shoot at 3200 with perfect quality with this camera, but I am skeptical, personally. With film, I don't even like 500T stocks

 

 

So, in a crunch, I'd probably say 1200 or 1600 tops, but when you have enough light, the sweet spot on these DSLRs is usually in the 100-200 range.

 

 

 

I don't personally find digital noise of any kind flattering (not that I think of grain as being much better). You will probably want to shoot tests, as motion pictures can show more pronounced pixelation when it is dancing around on screen at 24 FPS.

 

Artifacts that are normally hidden in a still may pop out in this application.

[Mei Lewis]

I have no problems with noise at 1200 ASA. I have hot pixel issues above 1200 but that is on my camera that now needs service. For a theater release i would state that 1200 is the upper limit.

 

There's a method for fixing hot pixels that I've tried and had some success with. It's so easy it's worth a shot:

 

 

 

1. Put the camera in live view mode and shoot a video of anything, letting it run until the card is full or it times out.

2. Put the camera in manual sensor clean mode for five minutes.

3. Turn camera power off.

 

 

That's it. The theory is that when you place the camera in manual sensor clean mode, when it comes back out it tests itself for hot/stuck pixels and from then on maps them out automatically. Step 1 is just there to try to warm up the sensor to exagerate and bad pixels so that they get noticed by the camera when it decides what to map out.

 

The first time I tried this it sounded like complete nonsense, but I tried it anyway and it has successfully got rid of some stuck pixels for me.

[Mei Lewis]

As for grain in the 5D2 image, it all comes down to taste, just as it does with film.

Grain also probably varies depending on what color temperature you're shooting.

 

...and it's a 5D (mark 2), not a D5!

In all likelihood there'll be a Nikon camera called a D5 in a few years, then you'll be confused.

[Steve Daniels]

 

I don't personally find digital noise of any kind flattering (not that I think of grain as being much better).

 

Karl, we know you really love the grain brother. You're always hanging out in the super 8mm forum with the rest of us "grain lovers".

Ha!