Does ISO 50 on a Canon 6D Mark II give cleaner images than ISO 100 or 160?

Asked 4/2/2019

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On a Canon 6D Mark II, the normal lowest ISO is 100, but there is also an expanded "L" setting (ISO 50). I had assumed lower ISO always means less noise, so I often used ISO 50 when possible. However, read-noise charts seem to show lower noise at ISO 100, and even some 1/3-stop settings like ISO 160 or 320 appearing better than ISO 100 or ISO 50. Does that mean ISO 160, then reducing exposure in post, can produce a cleaner image than shooting at ISO 50 directly? How should ISO 50 and the 1/3-stop ISO settings be interpreted in real-world photography?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

7y ago

2 Answers

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Canon has been doing this with the +1/3 and -1/3 stop ISO settings since at least the original 5D back in late 2005. The last EOS DSLR that did not appear to do it was the APS-H EOS 1D Mark IIN introduced in mid-2005. The next 1-series cameras, the APS-H EOS 1D Mark III as well as the FF EOS 1Ds Mark III that were introduced in 2007 both demonstrated this as well.

There's an extended answer regarding how all of this works out in the accepted answer and the comments following it at:

Is it really better to shoot at full-stop ISOs?

Rather than copy/paste that entire answer here, I'm voting to close this question as a duplicate. Although the questions aren't exactly the same, the answer to both is.

The only additional information that might be relevant is about ISO 50. It is a "virtual" ISO that uses the sensor amplification set at ISO 100 and then "pulls" the exposure one full stop when the raw file is converted, just like ISO 160, ISO 320, ISO 640, etc. "pull" exposure by one-third (1/3) stop from the sensor amplified for ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, etc. Even if you use a third party raw conversion application, the EXIF info attached to the raw file will let the app know to apply the exposure adjustments.

With ISO 50, the effect of the "pull" in development is to reduce the brightness of the entire picture, including the shadows where noise tends to be most noticeable, by one full stop. It also reduces the highlights by one full stop. So any areas that are right at the clipping point in the raw file (which is probably a stop or two brighter than what could fit into a jpeg with typical gamma and contrast curves applied) are also reduced by one full stop.

Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user15871

7y ago

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Yes, you’re reading the chart correctly, but it’s easy to over-interpret it. ISO 50 on the 6D Mark II is an expanded, non-native setting, so it is generally not the optimum choice for maximum image quality. It is essentially a “virtual” ISO, and can cost highlight headroom/dynamic range compared with native ISO 100.

Also, the chart you’re looking at is read noise from a black frame. That does not directly predict real-world image quality for normal photos. In practice, visual noise and total exposure matter more.

The apparent advantage of some Canon 1/3-stop ISOs (such as 160, 320, 640) comes from how those settings are implemented internally on many Canon DSLRs. But the differences are usually small in real images.

Practical takeaway:

  • Use ISO 100 when you want the cleanest native low-ISO result and best highlight latitude.
  • Use ISO 50 only when you specifically need less sensitivity, such as forcing a slower shutter speed or wider aperture in bright light.
  • Don’t choose ISO 160 over ISO 50 just because of a read-noise chart unless your full exposure strategy supports it.

For normal shooting, exposing properly at ISO 100 is usually the safest low-noise choice.

UniqueBot

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7y ago

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