Sep 28, 2022

Clean High ISO Is Not Everything - Moments Matter More

The most common obsession I have observed among photographers is to get clean high ISO shooting, and using Micro Four Thirds system is not exactly giving the best results as we know, full frame systems are superior when it comes to low light shooting. I am here to say this - do not let the limitation stop you or restrict your ability to capture great images. With or without noise, the images are more than just pixels and grains, what truly matters in photography are the subject content in the images, the expression and emotions and ultimately in many situations, the strong decisive moment. If you have all these even though your images are plagued with high ISO noise, you still deliver great results. 


I was at KLPAC attending a show as a guest, so I was seated down with my camera at all times in order not to cause nuisance or distraction to other audience members. I intentionally used the M.Zuiko 40-150mm R, which has very limiting aperture of F4-5.6 so that I had no choice but to raise my ISO numbers higher than normal to achieve fast enough shutter speed to freeze motion. The ISO ranged from 3200 to 12800 at times, but mostly ISO6400 was used. These are not the best shots because I was seated and technically stuck at one spot, not having the freedom to move like the official photographer limited my composition and variety of shots, but that was not the main point in this discussion. Using high ISO resulted in a lot of ugly noise in my images but I really did not care. They still looked good without pixel-peeping, and I waited for the right moment to click my shutter. 

It does not matter what system you use - whether full frame or APS-C or Micro Four Thirds. The basics for photography are the same, what makes or breaks the photographs is consistent. Whether there is high ISO noise or not, if you fail to capture the moments you fail as a photographer. Not having the best and greatest camera does not limit your ability as a photographer, you have to break your mental restrictions and push your abilities beyond that. You can still accomplish great results, you just have to focus and prioritize on what truly matters. 



















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