ISO Noise
The sample photos below were taken with four Canon cameras of different vintages and prices. A Canon G11 point & shoot, a Canon Rebel T2i (550D), a Canon 5D Mk III and a Canon 1Ds Mk III.
Photos were taken at the same time, in the same light and in the case of the dSLR's, with the same lens, a Canon 100 mm f/2.8 L macro lens. Images were opened and cropped, processing consists of conversion from raw files and lens correction. Noise may be more or less apparent under other lighting conditions.
In strong light from a softbox
This is a whole frame, an emergency kit fabric case with light from a softbox shining on the left side
The crops below are taken at the top of the "R" in "EMERGENCY", they are all 100% crops of the same area, size varies based on pixel density of the sensor, the Rebel T2i (550D) having the highest density.
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 100 |  |  | In Av mode a Canon G11 uses a 1 second exposure for all exposures over 1 second! Manual mode supports exposures to 15 seconds. |  |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 1600 |  |  |  |  |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 3200 |  |  |  |  |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 6400 |  |  | ----- | ----- |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 12800 |  |  | ----- | ----- |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 25600 |  | ----- | ----- | ----- |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 51200 |  | ----- | ----- | ----- |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 102400 |  | ----- | ----- | ----- |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds |
In shade
This is a whole frame, a phone propped up on a bookshelf using indirect window light from the left
The crops below are taken below the Redial button and include the "1" button. A portion of the pattern to the right of the handset is included as that is the darkest shadow. As above, the crops are 100% and the area shown is the same for each, size varies based on pixel density.
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 100 |  |  |  |  |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 1600 |  |  |  |  |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 3200 |  |  |  |  |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 6400 |  |  | ----- | ----- |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 12800 |  |  | ----- | ----- |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 25600 |  | ----- | ----- | ----- |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 51200 |  | ----- | ----- | ----- |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds | |
| ISO 102400 |  | ----- | ----- | ----- |
| Canon 5D Mk III | Canon 550D | Canon G11 | Canon 1Ds |