Auto ISO sensitivity advice (Page 6): But what difference, other than a change in noise, does a changing ISO make as long as the shot is properly exposed, and the ISO is right there in...

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

CamB wrote:

Lots of photographers here use Auto ISO, and seem to get the results they want but!!!! I never use Auto ISO. I hate the thought of not knowing what ISO my camera is shooting at. It also means that shot 5 could be one ISO and shot 6 could be a different ISO. I say choose your ISO and lock it down. If you use aperture or shutter priority modes then you have enough information changing around in your viewfinder, depending on what mode you are using.
..Cam

But what difference, other than a change in noise, does a changing ISO make as long as the shot is properly exposed, and the ISO is right there in your viewfinder right beside the shutter speed and aperture if you want to know it. I grant there’s a lot of info. in a modern viewfinder, but in the early film camera days, I personally was overjoyed when cameras like the Canon AE1-P showed both shutter speed and Aperture in the viewfinder, so I could quickly adjust to rapidly changing light without taking my eye off the subject in the viewfinder. Now, with modern cameras, I don’t have to adjust one or the other (and decide which) in real-time when things are happening in a hurry - I let the camera do that and concentrate on getting the shot.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

These are good points, and to be brutally honest (and why not), this shifting ISO is something I wrestle with and may be a relic from film days. I moved easily to digital when it come out (D100) but letting the camera control my ISO is something I continue to have a problem with. And yet, at the same time I have no problem with high ISOs and think the problem of noise is over rated. Who can figure?
..Cam

TriX wrote:

But what difference, other than a change in noise,... (show quote)

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

CamB wrote:

These are good points, and to be brutally honest (and why not), this shifting ISO is something I wrestle with and may be a relic from film days. I moved easily to digital when it come out (D100) but letting the camera control my ISO is something I continue to have a problem with. And yet, at the same time I have no problem with high ISOs and think the problem of noise is over rated. Who can figure?
..Cam

I certainly can understand that Cam. Lots of my values concerning photography are left over from the limitations and compromises from the film camera days. Things were so simple then 😂.

Steve Perry Loc: Sylvania, Ohio

CamB wrote:

Lots of photographers here use Auto ISO, and seem to get the results they want but!!!! I never use Auto ISO. I hate the thought of not knowing what ISO my camera is shooting at. It also means that shot 5 could be one ISO and shot 6 could be a different ISO. I say choose your ISO and lock it down. If you use aperture or shutter priority modes then you have enough information changing around in your viewfinder, depending on what mode you are using.
..Cam

Not sure what camera you use, but Nikon can be set to show you the ISO the camera is currently using in the viewfinder. I agree, not knowing would be a bad way to fly. In the end though, whatever works for best for you is the way to go. :)

gwilliams6

CamB wrote:

Lots of photographers here use Auto ISO, and seem to get the results they want but!!!! I never use Auto ISO. I hate the thought of not knowing what ISO my camera is shooting at. It also means that shot 5 could be one ISO and shot 6 could be a different ISO. I say choose your ISO and lock it down. If you use aperture or shutter priority modes then you have enough information changing around in your viewfinder, depending on what mode you are using.
..Cam

Cam, my Sony A6500 ,A7RIII and upcoming A7III all show the Auto ISO setting in the corner of the EVF (electronic viewfinder). I always know what ISO is being used.

mikeroetex Loc: Lafayette, LA

CamB wrote:

These are good points, and to be brutally honest (and why not), this shifting ISO is something I wrestle with and may be a relic from film days. I moved easily to digital when it come out (D100) but letting the camera control my ISO is something I continue to have a problem with. And yet, at the same time I have no problem with high ISOs and think the problem of noise is over rated. Who can figure?
..Cam

"Use the Force Luke! Let go, learn to trust your feelings (and your camera)."

edellington

I use auto ISO with wildlife. But I set it to a max of 800.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

thumbs up

mikeroetex wrote:

"Use the Force Luke! Let go, learn to trust your feelings (and your camera)."

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

CamB wrote:

Lots of photographers here use Auto ISO, and seem to get the results they want but!!!! I never use Auto ISO. I hate the thought of not knowing what ISO my camera is shooting at. It also means that shot 5 could be one ISO and shot 6 could be a different ISO. I say choose your ISO and lock it down. If you use aperture or shutter priority modes then you have enough information changing around in your viewfinder, depending on what mode you are using.
..Cam

But I use TAv mode, so ISO is the only thing changing. It is of limited actual utility for me, because my personal limit with the K-30 is ISO=800. The ISO setting chosen is shown in the viewfinder, just as the aperture and shutter speed are.

CatMarley Loc: North Carolina

MT Shooter wrote:

I have been shooting wildlife professionally since the early 1970's and Auto ISO would be one of the LAST settings I would choose. I always select my ISO & WB based on the scene and light I am shooting in.

I think it depends on what you are shooting. If you are controlling DOF using Aperture priority, then you are going to be changing shutter and ISO as needed. If you are shooting fast moving critters using Shutter priority, then you may have to adjust both Aperture and ISO. In my camera I can set limits for auto ISO to insure that I never get into noise territory, so I rarely have to hand set ISO, so long as the camera is not doing ridiculous things with aperture or shutter. It will use an appropriate auto ISO within acceptable noise limits I have predetermined. I guess it depends on how good your camera is at juggling these values. Cameras all differ on how well their processing algorithms work.

gwilliams6

CatMarley wrote:

I think it depends on what you are shooting. If y... (show quote)

CatMarley, I understand your use of this. However I think we are talking about Auto ISO in MANUAL mode only, where you set the aperture and the shutter speed and they NEVER change, only the ISO changes as lighting changes in your scene. Cheers

RRS Loc: Not sure

CamB wrote:

Lots of photographers here use Auto ISO, and seem to get the results they want but!!!! I never use Auto ISO. I hate the thought of not knowing what ISO my camera is shooting at. It also means that shot 5 could be one ISO and shot 6 could be a different ISO. I say choose your ISO and lock it down. If you use aperture or shutter priority modes then you have enough information changing around in your viewfinder, depending on what mode you are using.
..Cam

Good, then how do you live without knowing what your shutter speed or your aperture is at all times? When I was shooting weddings in the old days, film, your ASA/ISO was what ever film you had in the camera hence I carried three backs (Hasselblad's) to cover the different lighting situations that I would run into without wasting film. In this day and age with all the advances in photography it might help if the skeptics would open up their minds and at least try something new before condemning progress. I saw something very similar to this while studying photography in college with professors that had been brought up using 4 X 5 cameras and did not want any student to use those darn 35mm things. I was not too keen on Auto ISO but I tried it, learned how to use it, and it sure helped with my keeper rate doing BIF.

gwilliams6

RRS, I don't know what camera you mean, but most digital cameras do give you the aperture ,shutter speed and ISO readings all the time (usually in the viewfinder), no matter what "mode" the camera is in. Cheers

RRS Loc: Not sure

gwilliams6 wrote:

RRS, I don't know what camera you mean, but most digital cameras do give you the aperture ,shutter speed and ISO readings all the time (usually in the viewfinder), no matter what "mode" the camera is in. Cheers

Thanks but I do know that. I was referring to the OP when he said that he never used auto ISO because he wouldn't know what the ISO was when he was shooting. And even though it's visible in the view finder in the heat of things I get so caught up in composition or just trying to follow a fast moving bird, car etc. that I don't even see the settings in the viewfinder. I've always shot Canon bodies since switching to digital. I really like the light meter at the bottom of the VF but with the newer bodies Canon has moved the LM to the right side and vertical. I for one do not like it at all, it's really not in my line of sight , not very bright and smaller then it was at the bottom.

gwilliams6

Understood RRS. Cheers