Pushing Canon 40D to 6400?

Question

Is there any way to push a Canon EOS 40D to shoot at asa 6400? I am irritated that I can only get to 3200 (H). When I shot film, I loved to shoot TMAX p3200 at 6400, and I hate that I can't get the same sensitivity from my digital. Any suggestions?

(I just read that the upcoming 50D will push to 6400 and even 12800 which makes me crazy since I JUST bought a 40D and can't afford to turn around and buy another camera so soon!!! I have a 10D, a 30D and a 40D-- can't justify another, and can't sell the ones I've got for enough to pay for a new one!)

Answer 1

Not a direct answer, but you can always use a faster lens, which probably will be costlier this way.

ISO 3,200  (f 2.8)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_pook...

ISO 3,200 (f 2)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_pook...

another http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_pook...

Answer 2

Actually, the only cameras at this time that provide high quality, low noise images at 6400 ISO are the two Nikon's, the D3 and D700.  So, since you are not willing to spend any more money at this time, you will have to wait until you can afford a new camera that can not only shoot at 6400 ISO, but do it without noise.

Canon should have such a camera in about 18 to 24 months ... by then you can sell some of your older cameras and save toward buying one that suits your needs.

Your 40D does have an exposure compensation of -2 EV to +2 EV you can adjust to up the aparent ISO of your cameras sensor ... and of course you can shoot in the RAW mode to capture all the information the sensor sees (even in the dark)

Answer 3

They are right, shooting with digital is a lot different from film. With film, the ISO speed you want comes with the film you put it, which can range from Low ISO's like 25 to Very Fast speeds like 6400. However, you can't do this with digital. You're stuck with only what your camera can produce. Also, when using such high speeds, your images aren't going to be that good, unless you have a Really Expensive camera meant to do such.

If you literally just got your 40d, you can return your camera for most of what you bought it for. They won't give you all of it back, because of a restocking fee. This doesn't apply if you got the camera on the internet, there isn't a restocking fee.  

Answer 4

You are not shooting film... the ISO setting that the digital camera supports is all there is. You can't make it do something it is not designed to do. You may have the option to set a higher ISO in the custom settings than is selectable in the normal menu, but I am not familier enough with the 40D to say for sure. Just look carefully in the manual and see if you can "force" the camera to shoot at a higher ISO, but even if you can, I think the results will be horrible... terribe noise and softness.

steve

Answer 5

I've been trying to figure out how to do digital push processing with my digital camera and I think I figured it out based on a quick online search and skimming a few articles.  (Actually, I first came across your question during my search, and have come back to try to answer it based on what I learned.)

While it's true that your camera is physically limited to the ISO/sensitivity that is built into the sensor, people are "tricking" their cameras to shoot at a much higher "effective" ISO.

For example, if your camera has a limit of ISO 3200, you can get it to shoot at an effective ISO of 6400 by setting the camera at ISO 3200 and then adjusting the manual exposure to -1 EV (tell the camera to underexpose by 1 stop).  Alternatively, you can meter the shot at ISO 3200 but then increase the shutter speed to the next level or stop (e.g. if the recommended shutter speed at ISO 3200 was 1/125 sec, you would set the shutter at 1/250 sec, which effectively underexposes by one stop).  I guess you can also meter the shot at one aperture and then shoot the picture with the next smaller f-stop on the lens in order to underexpose by one stop, but that would increase your depth of field and decrease the level of subject isolation.

With any of these methods, you will end up with an underexposed image, which requires you to go into your photo processing software to adjust the levels and bring things back to the correct exposure levels.  Shooting in RAW format will allow the most flexibility in image processing and bring out the most detail from your images because it is comprised of essentially the unaltered data directly from the camera sensor.  But the one downside of this digital push processing is the increase in contrast and noise seen in the image because as you amplify the original signal in the sensor, you get increased graininess (much like when you push process film).  Still, using this technique of digital push processing can mean getting a shot in very low light conditions versus getting no usable picture at all by normal means.  (It also allows you to freeze action by using higher shutter speeds.)  Furthermore, you can try to use a noise reduction program to help get rid of the noise (like Noise Ninja and Neat Image).  Lastly, some people actually like the graininess that you get from these images, as it is reminiscent of the film grain that is often missing from the digital medium.  But if you happen not to like grain, I believe you are still at an advantage because Canon uses CMOS sensors, which give lower noise images than the CCD sensors used in other cameras.

Since most cameras give best results (low noise images) at ISO settings lower than the maximum setting, you might be able to get pretty good images by using, say, ISO 1600 and underexposing by 2 stops (giving an effective ISO of 6400).  Or you can do ISO 800 and underexpose by 3 stops to get an effective ISO of 6400, or 4 stops to get ISO 12800!  But as I said, the more you push the sensor, the more noise you will get so you will have to play around with different settings to see how far you can push your digital sensor and still get usable images.

This stuff is pretty cool.  My camera has a maximum setting of ISO 1600 but most people tend not to use it beyond ISO 800 in order to keep excellent image quality.  However, I have seen some really nice quality images at an effective ISO of 12800 (pushed 4 stops)!

I think if you play around with this digital push processing, it will save you from having to get a new camera for a while.  Besides, technology changes so quickly and prices will come down.  The Nikon D3 has been out since last year and it has a maximum setting of ISO 25600, I believe.  Imagine how far you can push process that sucker!  (Not that you would ever need to.)  

Hope this helps.  I think it helped me solidify my limited knowledge by trying to explain it.  Now it's time for me to put it into practice.