This shot was taken at ISO 2,000 with a Canon 7D (DSLR). Compare this shot to the same close-up taken at ISO 8,000 with Canon's new full-frame DSLR - Canon 5d Mark III. (See the other image in this art gallery.) At ISO 2,000, the 7D photo is already too noisy but the painting was too dimly lit to use a lower ISO. It was this noisy shot or none at all. Of the 10,000 photos of art works taken since 2010 using a Canon 7D, one third required an ISO of 2,000. And some were so dark I had to shoot at ISO 2,500 with even more noise. With a new full-frame camera, I can leave my ISO on 10,000 or even 20,000 and shoot any art work with no noise and greater clarity.
Until I got a full-frame camera in April 2012, I had no idea how much better my art photos would be thanks to my ability to shoot at very high ISOs. Anyone serious about art photography needs to get a full-frame Nikon D800 or a Canon 5d Mark III. The Nikon is $500 cheaper for now and has even better noise levels.
the last two and a half years, I've used a Canon 7D, a DSLR which can only go up to ISO 1,600 without noise. Thousands of my shots were taken at ISO 2,000 as a noisy shot was better than no shot.
