I've been pouring more resources into my photography lately, encouraged by some of the results I've been getting. I even have a small show coming up in October! After much (agonizing) thought and consideration I was able to purchase a new camera body to try and expand my grasp. The new "baby" is a big, fat Canon EOS 50D. It feels great in my hand and the shutter has such a smooth feel and sound it will be a pleasure to use. There is much to learn about features but I seem to be picking it up quick.
I made a few test shots around the house this afternoon including the one below… a bright red, ripe bell pepper hanging from a plant set out by She Who Must Be Obeyed. The afternoon was dreary and the pepper was shaded somewhat by the balcony railing and the plant's own leafs. Still, this 50mm macro view is darned nice for a handheld test. Tonight I ran the ISO all the way up to 3,200 and shot an image of the clock and plain, cream-colored wall on which it hangs. Image noise was easy to see but much better than my little Digital Rebel XT might manage… if it could reach 3,200. The picture of the clock was good and sharp under high magnification. I'm sure the camera could do quite well under dim lighting conditions especially where darkness will hide some of the "grain." I'm sure this camera and I will have a very good time together.
The only problem so far has been not the camera but my new, upgraded version of Adobe Photoshop. I got it installed but it has a tendency to crash… often! It's CS4 and has many features I was looking forward to using. I guess I'll be on the phone next week with Adobe support to see if I can fix it. Blah!
By the way, one of the peppers from Her plant was incorporated into a lovely, spicy Indonesian noodle dish this evening. Quite scrumptious.
PhotonStopper 
On the contrary, whilst a plain untextured surface can make noise more noticable, unless you run high black levels (i.e. clip the shadows considerably) you'll always find more noise in dark areas. However, expose to the right and become proficient in noise reduction techniques and in a tight pinch you should be able to use the ISO3200.Enjoy learning all the benefits of your new camera!
The target wall and clock weren't actually white and light fall-off to medium shadow really did give me some idea of what noise might be seen under "normal" low-light conditions. Shooting a much darker target, I saw pretty much the same levels so I'm fairly sure I learned what I was after in that quick experiment. I do shoot night sky and nighttime scenes, however, and know that's where the serious noise begins… long exposures and dark expanses really show the hot pixels and noise! Thanks for the observation and referral. Gorgeous shots on your Vox pages, by the way! — JG
the 5d mark 2 does 3,200 and no noise, it's crazy! as for cs3 I never upgraded due to the fact that it gave many friends I know in the field allot of probs
I've seen real-world images from the 5D shot in a dimly-lit restaurant — gorgeous! Looked like a great film image. I just couldn't really justify the $2,500 price tag — reasonable, I know, for that full-frame wonder but too much for me! The 50D is a big step up for me, however, and it really looks promising. Shot my first field photos this afternoon and started climbing the learning curve so I'll soon see how good it really is. I always expect a software upgrade to bring good things. I don't know why… it's often pain upgrades deliver instead. — JG