High ISO, or ASAs before international standardization, has always been about getting shots when having the shot mattered more than having a great technical images. I view things very much the same way with digital, though the capabilities of our current digital cameras have pushed the realm of acceptable limits to simply staggering numbers. ISO 3200 on a 5D mark 3 is certainly printable as a small, say 11×14 or smaller, print and holds up amazingly well compared to what you might have expected from film.

I don’t know what prompted me to shoot this, it’s not anything approaching art, but it was an excuse to get the camera out and shoot something. The image above was shot at 1/30th f/5.6 ISO 102400, at 7:42 PM—just 18 minutes prior to the end of astronomical twilight. The conditions weren’t all that favorable either, with the forecast best described, somewhat humorously though, as breezy with a chance of hurricane. It was blowing 20 MPH, with gusts to 30MPH, and the Osprey was perched on top of a 30-40 sailboat mast. In short, it was rocking and rolling and a 1-2 second exposure wouldn’t cut it. Oh ya, and this is a 7MP crop out of the native 22MP image.

It’s noisy, not real detailed, and doesn’t hold up to any kind of critical scrutiny, but it is passable enough to see what’s going on. And even 2 years ago, it’s a situation where I simply wouldn’t have bothered getting the camera out since something like that would have been out of reach anyway.

The point, perhaps is that sometimes it’s useful to go push your gear to the limits and see what you get. Unlike shooting film, you’ve already paid for the shots upfront, you might as well see just how far you can go before everything falls apart.