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3 Cameras with Great High ISO Image Quality You’ll Love!

Chris Gampat
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03/22/2022
4 Mins read
Brett Day The Phoblographer Canon EOS R6 Product Images

Last Updated on 03/22/2022 by Mark Beckenbach

There are cameras with great high ISO output that lots of photographers enjoy for various reasons. Everything from sports, night photography, portraiture, and astrophotography requires cameras with great low light abilities. We think photographers will get the most out of them with specific lenses for sure. But even so, you won’t have to worry about bumping your ISO into the nuclear range. Here are three excellent cameras with great high ISO output that we’ve tested ourselves.

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How We Tested These Cameras with Great High ISO Image Quality

Here’s what we did to test these cameras with great high ISO image quality:

  • We don’t only test on digital screens. We’re one of the only photo publications that still prints. In fact, all of these cameras with great high ISO images had photos printed at 17×22 at ISO 6400. 
  • We’ve reviewed every one of these cameras with great high ISO output ourselves. And you’ll find links to our reviews in this round up. All the sample images and product images are also made by us.
  • High ISO output isn’t necessarily only about megapixels. It’s also about processor power.
  • The best cameras with great high ISO output are also all weather resistant. So you’ll be able to take them into the rain or snow without issue. This is important if you’re using a camera to shoot astrophotography in the cold.
  • Don’t forget to print! Cameras with great high ISO output shine when it comes to prints.

Sony a7s III

Pros

  • Nice feel in the hand
  • Good build quality
  • Weather sealing
  • Fantastic autofocus
  • The 9.44 million dot EVF is simply gorgeous.
  • A new touch menu system! Hallelujah!
  • Despite only having a 12MP sensor, the image quality is great.
  • Sony finally added a tilty, flippy screen
  • Decent battery life when used for stills
  • Not a bad price ($3,498)

Cons

  • The LCD is on the small side, which hinders the new menu system.
  • The EVF can lag in low light situations, even when on its highest refresh rate settings.
  • Colors take on rather strange tones at very high ISOs.

High ISO Findings

In our review, we state:

“Now, this is what you’ve all been waiting for, I’m sure. It’s no secret that the Sony a7s III is a low light powerhouse, and I have to say it hasn’t disappointed. You can shoot at ISO 6400, 12,800, and 25,600 with no problems. If you want to go to nuclear numbers, you can do that too. In some situations, you’ll see a few slightly odd things happening with colors from 25,600 and up. But, come on, these are outrageous numbers. The colors aren’t that bad: nothing that can’t be fixed with a few tweaks during post.”

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Canon EOS R6

Pros

  • Fantastic ergonomics have returned to Canon cameras.
  • Great build quality which includes excellent weather sealing
  • Incredible autofocus system that’s on par with Sony offerings, now with vehicle detection AF
  • Plenty of 4K video options for those who need them
  • Easy to use touchscreen menu system
  • Excellent image quality
  • Incredibly effective IBIS
  • Two UHS-II SD card slots
  • Incredible buffer performance (over 180 RAW and over 1,300 JPEGS)
  • The EVF and vari-angle LCD are of high quality.

Cons

  • No top LCD panel
  • It’s priced a little high at $2,499.

High ISO Findings

In our review, we state:

“Staggering is a word I would use to describe the low light performance of the Canon EOS R6. IS0 6400 is nothing to this camera, it continues to laugh at ISO 10,000, and even 25,600 produces images that can easily be used. At the highest ISO settings, there’s some color noise, as you would expect, but wow it’s impressive. The lower megapixel sensor really gives the EOS R6 an advantage over other cameras when it comes to low light performance.”

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Leica SL2s

Pros

  • The fastest autofocus on a Leica ILC I’ve seen. It’s now on par with Canon and Sony.
  • Autofocus profiles are cool!
  • Solid build quality
  • Easy to use
  • Beautiful image quality
  • People detection is wonderful.
  • Functionality-wise, the buttons are fantastic with a good layout and give everything you need.
  • A camera that you truly want to carry around with you everywhere
  • Both Panasonic and Leica lenses have comparable autofocus speeds.
  • Raw files are pretty versatile in Lightroom.
  • FANTASTIC high ISO print capability

Cons

  • A tad pricey, but when you consider the weather sealing, it’s not bad.
  • I wish it did Qi wireless charging.
  • I wish this had dedicated animal face detection.
  • There should be an option to never let the display time out. This is especially true for the EVF-Extended mode.
  • It needs the right strap to be comfortable for long photo walks.
  • Still no multiple exposure mode
  • I wish the menu were touch-capable and that it either flipped or tilted/pivoted.

High ISO Findings

In our review, we state:

“You may wonder why I’d even bother making that statement in the previous paragraph. And that’s because the Leica SL2S has the cleanest high ISO print output we’ve seen from a 24MP sensor. At ISO 6400, the image was super clean. We printed from the Canon Prograf 1000 with Pro Luster paper, and I’m seriously shocked. The sensor at the heart of the Leica SL2s is still very capable and clean at ISO 6400. Again, it’s the cleanest we’ve seen. There’s still a bit of noise though, and one day I’d like to see absolutely no noise. But so far, Leica is leading the pack.”

Buy Now

The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear we’ve fully reviewed. If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Cameras with Great High ISO cameras with great low light canon canon eos r6 high iso iso leica Leica SL2s low light printing review sony Sony a7s III
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.