What ISO is usable on a Canon EOS Rebel T5 before noise becomes too noticeable?
Asked 9/11/2015
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I shoot with a Canon EOS Rebel T5 and want to know how far I can raise ISO before image noise becomes unacceptable. Is ISO 1600 generally fine, and would you feel comfortable using ISO 3200?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
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It is not noise that matters but its visibility. Each ISO has inherent noise, greater than the one before it. However, the smaller the noise, the less visible it is. So, the acceptable ISO depends on the viewing or printing size.
For a moderately large print, I would stick to ISO 800 or less on the T5. For a mid-size one, say a 12" x 8", possibly use ISO 1600 but no more. And if I had to make a small print, then ISO 3200 or 6400 would be acceptable.
Each time I review a camera, I show a sample crop from an image taken at each ISO. Here is the Canon T5 Review and this page shows a crop from an image taken at each ISO with it. From there, if you go to the Images page, you can see images taken at each ISO. Underneath you can click on the 4x6 or 8x12 label to see a scaled down version of the image image. If you do that with some of the high ISO images, you will clearly see that how noise is perceived is quite different once an image is scalled down.
Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1620
10y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
There isn’t one fixed “acceptable” ISO on the Canon T5— it depends mostly on how the photo will be viewed or printed. Noise increases as ISO goes up, but how objectionable it looks depends on output size.
Based on the community feedback, a practical guideline for the T5 is:
- ISO 800 or below: safer choice for moderately large prints
- ISO 1600: often acceptable for mid-size prints, around 8x12 in
- ISO 3200 to 6400: can be usable for small prints or small web display, but expect more visible noise
Also, high ISO doesn’t create the whole problem by itself—low light and underexposure make noise more obvious. A well-exposed ISO 1600 or 3200 image can look better than an underexposed lower-ISO shot brightened later.
So yes, ISO 1600 is often a reasonable upper range on a T5, and ISO 3200 can be usable when output is small or getting the shot matters more than perfect cleanliness.
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