As I said, I'm an amateur, and if I can't get what I think is a clean noise free shot, then yes, I'll put my camera away.
If I use high iso settings I know I'll just delete the images when I get home so I might just as well save the effort.
An interesting point of view.
It does depend on what you're shooting.
If you're shooting a landscape or architecture (or some subject that doesn't change), then you can put your camera away and come back another day when the light is better and take a shot with a lower ISO.
I've kinda done this myself, got to a location, setup for a shot and taken it, but not been happy with it because of the light. It may have been harsh light or poor light (ie mis-timed it, missed the sunset and it's too dark). But if I'm there, I will tend to take a shot anyway as a reference for the future. EG, here's the composition I want, filed for another day when I can go back for better light.
But you can't do that with event photography. It's a one-time thing, you either shoot it or you miss it. You can't go back and re-shoot the bride and groom's first kiss because the church was too dark for you. It's better to get something rather than nothing.
I'm happy using upto ISO 8000 or so on my Canon 6D if its needed, but if I'm in that territory, the grain in the shadows will be horrid particularly if you boost the shadows.
I don't have a set limit for what ISO I'll go up to, I'll be flexible according to the situation.
I have to say though that some cameras (in my experience) are not very clever at working out what ISO to use. On my old Canon 60D, it didn't have the option to set a minimum shutter speed when using auto-ISO so it was a bit unpredictable. If it got too dark, it would slow down the shutter speed, sometimes by too much, to keep the ISO lower but end up giving a blurry shot. That's not what I wanted.
If the camera is not selecting the shutter speed you want with auto-ISO, the next best option is to set the camera to manual, dial in your aperture, set your shutter speed to what you'd like it to be as a minimum and then put ISO on auto, that way you control the aperture AND shutter speed and the camera just works out what ISO to use to get the shot.
All these auto modes rely on the metering mode your camera is set to. IE in spot-metering mode, it'll use the light level of that single spot to determine what shutter speed to use and what ISO to use. So if you're in the dappled light of woodland, this can give you a badly exposed image.
So you do need to work out what metering mode you want to use for the best results.