After my first noise series testing the Canon 7D, I thought I would follow-up with a night series.  The following photos are full sized crops taken between 3 and 4 seconds (except for the 400 ISO – my mistake).  I am still very impressed with the noise level in this camera.  The above photo was taken at 3200 ISO. Is there film grain? Sure, but highly acceptible for that ISO rating.  The noise level is pretty low for 3200 ISO.

In the above series, I used the following settings:

• C.FN II: Image – Long exp. noise reduction: Off
• C.FN II: Image – High ISO speed noise reduct’n: Standard

With the increase in ISO, some grain is expected in both real film and digital photos.  Digital noise becomes an issue when it disrupts the image details with irregular static.

Based on this test series, the image detail through ISO 800 was excellent.  Even at ISO 1000, the images are relatively sharp with appropriate film grain.  I am impressed with the 7D.