SONY a300, ISO 3200 28mm, f/4, 1/10 sec
At an ISO of 3200 I was able to let in more light and take a semi-hand-held shot (while supporting my elbows on a flat surface) of the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis, MN. The problem with increasing the ISO all the way up to 3200 is the amount of grain (though on a snowy night this might be perfect- see below)
SONY a300, ISO 800, 28mm, f/5, 1/4 sec
At ISO 800 I was able to move my aperture to f/5 which gave way to more detail, though with the a300 there is still a considerable amount of grain in the photo. I could probably diminish quite a bit of the noise in Lightroom. Because the shutter speed is down to 1/4 sec I did set my camera down on a flat surface and only had contact with the shutter release button.
SONY a850, ISO 1000, 35mm fixed, f/1.4, 1/250 sec. Best Pizza in Saint Paul, Minnesota
This shot was taken on a snowy day, so the grain actually accentuates the affect, rather than detracting from the image. I had my 35mm fixed lens with me and could open the aperture up to 1.4, while keeping the shutter speed higher (as I didn’t want to capture too much motion with the snow)