ISO Question

[mrod]

Hi All-

My new D80 has a feature called Auto ISO. Basically, when it's on, the camera decides what ISO should be used. I'm wondering...

a) does your camera have it, and if so

b) do you use it, and why or why not?

I've experimented with both...it bugs me a little not to have control over that when it's on...then again, I'm still learning about which ISO setting is best for a given situation.

Thanks!
MIke

[GaryK]

Hi Mike

I don't have it. My guess is you set the appeture and shutter speed and the ISO is changed accordingly??
If you NEED the other two set then the ISO is the only thing to change.. then why not.
Maybe it is a bit of a throwback to old film days that we are hesitant to let the camera pick the ISO (ASA when I started ).

[lexcell]

That feature is available in most of the newer models. I don't care for it myself because the camera is taking control of my photography. It does not know whether or not I am on a tripod or whether I am trying for an effect at the ISO of my choosing.
As Gary states, if you really need a specific aperture shutter speed combo, then it is ok but, I would still rather adjust the ISO myself and know when I have bumped it up so I don't have any surprises when I look at my images and find unexpected noise from a high ISO.

[mrod]

Thanks, Gary & Laurie. That was sort of my thinking, too. I have read a couple of different opinions on this, but I'd rather (a) get myself fully educated, and then (b) make an educated decision.

Mike

[Byron Gale]

Mike,

(I've been away for a few days, or I would have chimed in earlier...)

Initially, I thought the Auto ISO thing sounded like a great idea. So I set it with a ceiling of 1600 and forgot all about it... ...until it bit me in the seat!

I had only had the camera about two months, and had just gotten my SB-600 flash. So I was less than familiar with the whole assembly. The short story is that, because of an inadvertent configuration of the flash, some once-in-a-lifetime shots were taken at 1600, leaving them all "sparkly" with color noise.

If I had not been using Auto ISO, I would have had a better chance at recognizing something amiss, because the required shutter speed would have been so slow.

Of course, a more astute user would have been more aware of things, so I can't truly blame the feature... but it is something of which to be observant.

Byron

[Chuck S.]

My little G9 has an ISO dial on the top of the camera, with Auto and Auto Hi settings in addition to 80, 100, etc. Sounds like a good idea, except it has a tendency to get moved when I pull the camera out of its tight little bag. Recently, I took some shots in dull light without noticing that the dial was on the Auto Hi setting, which resulted in some very grainy shots at 800 ISO - ruined, actually . More of a problem with a point & shoot like the G9 vs. a DSLR, but still a concern. I would turn off the functionality permanently if the option existed to do so....

[TonyW]

Initially I set up my D80 to use Auto ISO as it sounded like a good idea but after a couple of experiences like Byron's I turned it off and now make a point of checking the ISO setting before I take a picture. I still use ISO 1600 (and 3400) from time to time with good results but it's me telling the camera what to do, not the camera trying to second-guess me. Cameras these days are smart but not that smart. The one advantage they have is that they never forget and I do - which means I do sometimes forget to check the ISO setting but I usually spot the error (I try to check the histogram and EXIF data after critical shots and retake if I've messed up). That's what I love about digital - instant feedback.

Tony

[mrod]

I've sided with you all (or is that y'all? )--it's off. And it's good, because, like Tony, it's forced me to pay attention to that setting.

Mike

[Not4wood]

Funny, but just ran into doing this on my own my last session trying to capture a very large flock of birds. I ran out of my house grabbing my camera. I was having a hard time trying to get at least one in a frame and my metering was off.

It was cloudy, overcast and not so much as sun down yet but it was almost in a dark part. LOL

I had gone in and upped my ISO since I was playing with my 283 in manual mode and I had it set for ISO 100 which didn't quite make that level of light LOL. I never did get a great shot of all of those birds. I wasn't able to get a good close up and focus on a small group. Even when they were airborne it was too far no matter what I did. Oh well....

But I usually set my ISO when I first walk out the door and looking around getting a feel for the lighting conditions. For Flash, I have been using ISO 100! What ISO do you use for Flash or Indoor PHotography? Since where talking about setting the ISO individually/manually and the camera wont see my 283 so the auto metering wont be correct anyway.

[Codebreaker]

Being a self confessed control freak I prefer as much control as possible over my camera settings so even if I had an Auto ISO feature I wouldn't use it. Basically I want to know when I can expect some noisy images and I don't find it a big deal to dial in different settings since the 400D has a button on the rear for this.

What the 400D lacks is the ISO setting in the viewfinder so if this isn't visible for Auto ISO cameras I'd be wary about what's actually being used.

As far as Flash Photography goes it rather depends on the ambient light but the main concern I have is the shutter speed since somehow or other I seem to have lots of shots of my grandaughter who just can't keep still - 'the terrible 3's'. This means I either shoot in Tv mode with a shutter speed of 1/125 or 1/200. Usually I can get away with ISO 200 for a reasonable Apperture setting - but freezing the shot is more important than DOF in this case.

Sometimes I need to resort to some Flash Exposure Compensation.

Colin