GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI

Those images are GREAT!! I don’t think I’ve ever pushed my D500 to a 51,200 ISO, but that is THE reason I sold my D7100 and bought the D500. Great info!!

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

It depends on your subject, I shoot wildlife, auto is GREAT.

avemal Loc: BALTIMORE

Same info for Canon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tos-RK7zgBU&t=557s

ggab Loc: ?

I would agree if you are shooting a static subject with a constant light.
With a dynamic subject and varying light and shadows, auto ISO works well and allows you to get the shots without much fuss. Shooting raw allows you to fine tune the image in post.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

The OP specifically asked about using the camera in M (manual) mode and has a Canon 60D. In that case it's a bad idea to set an ISO upper limit. If you're going to use auto ISO with the exposure set manually then it's best to let the camera set the ISO as high as necessary, especially with a Canon camera as this will help suppress noise in the photo.

Joe

tallguy56

Agreed

ggab Loc: ?

If I might ask, why f/14 and shutter speed of 150?
George

ballsafire Loc: Lafayette, Louisiana

IMO, why would you want to do manual when auto iSO is much more convenient! I love auto ISO because noise is one less thing to worry about in getting a good photo.

jackpinoh Loc: Kettering, OH 45419

It depends on the light available. Depending on how much light is available and your shutter speed and aperture, the camera may choose a high ISO value that results in unacceptable noise. Do you know what ISO value results in unacceptable noise for your camera? Can you see what ISO value your camera chooses before you release the shutter?

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

The OP specifically wants to set exposure in M(manual) mode. In that case, especially with a Canon 60D, higher ISO values will function to suppress noise. If ISO is set to auto while setting exposure manually then the camera should be allowed to set the ISO as high as needed.

Joe

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

It depends upon how Auto ISO is implemented on the 60D. I used a couple 7D for a number of years, which were intro'd approx. a year before 60D, where Canon's earlier implementation of Auto ISO was unusable for a couple reason. I now use a pair of 7D Mark II where Auto ISO works well and I use it relatively often.

The problems with the earlier versions of Auto ISO were...

1. Couldn't set an upper limit.
2. Couldn't use Exposure Compensation with it (the way you can with the other auto exposure modes).

Your 60D was introduced in 2010. My 7Ds were intro'd in 2009 (7DIIs in 2014). So, check your camera. If Canon changed how Auto ISO is implemented in 60D and added those necessary features, it should be usable. If not, I wouldn't use it.

I only use Auto ISO with M (manual) mode. When doing this, it's no longer manual... it's another auto exposure (AE) mode. I've tried to think of a situation where I might want to use Auto ISO with one of the other AE modes (Av, Tv, P).... But I really can't think of any time where it would make sense or be useful. I avoid using Auto ISO with any other AE mode, where it would be sort of double automation and is likely to introduce some unpredictability.

Some people might you they only use M (without Auto ISO). That's the most certain way to get consistent exposure with every shot, and can work well at times. But it's also simply not possible to use in some situations. For example, when shooting in variable lighting it can be necessary to use one of the AE modes. This might be because the lighting itself is changing (mixed sun and clouds, for example).... Or it might be because a subject is moving in and out of shade. Shooting outdoor sporting events, I often see the latter and have been using Auto ISO more and more to deal with it. But if I were shooting a scenic or macro or portraits under controlled studio lighting, I might switch to fully manual mode (no Auto ISO).

What I primarily like about Auto ISO is the ability to lock down a minimum shutter speed, as might be needed to freeze subject movement for sharp shots. I set an aperture that will give sufficient depth of field, but keep it as large as possible in order to minimize ISO.

I usually would not use either of the settings you suggest: "1/150 shutter speed or f/14 aperture".

First, that's way too slow shutter to freeze movement. For sports photography I only use slower speeds like that on rare occasions when I'm doing panned shots where I'm trying to strongly blur down the background.... And that technique typically only gives a limited number of "keepers". No matter how good and practiced the photographer, doing panned shots while "dragging the shutter" always sees a lot of spoiled images.

Usually for sports I want to freeze movement and use at least 1/500 shutter speed... but often 1/1000 or a little higher. The speed I choose depends upon how fast the subject is moving, the directions they're moving in relation to me and how close I am to the action. For example, a subject moving past me and relatively close with need a faster shutter speed to fully freeze movement, than will a subject at some distance coming directly toward me.

As to the aperture, for sports photography I usually use between f/4 and f/8. I would almost never use f/14 for sports or anything else. With an 18MP APS-C camera like 60D, that small aperture will end up with a lot of fine detail in images lost to an effect called diffraction. Any aperture above f/7.1 with that format and resolution will have some loss to diffraction. There's only a little loss at f/8 and even f/11 is usable... but beyond that the loss to diffraction can become obvious. If shooting a scenic or macro shot where I want as much Depth of Files as possible, I'll often stop down to f/8 to f/11... but never beyond that with a modern 15 to 24MP APS-C format camera.

Another reason I keep to larger apertures with Auto ISO is so that the camera will choose and use as low an ISO as possible. I have a "ceiling" set, an ISO limit. But I'd rather be some stops below that as much as possible. (I won't get into specifics because how high an ISO is "usable" depends on a number of things.... and often it comes down to silly stuff like how ridiculously high magnification people use when evaluating ISO-related noise in their images.)

Also important is the metering method you choose, especially when working with any of the AE modes (Tv, Av, P or M+Auto ISO). Canon's Evaluative (similar to Matrix in other brands) works well a lot of the time.... it measures the whole image area, but puts extra emphasis right around the active auto focus point(s). Presumably, that will be where the subject is in the image. The other metering modes (Center Weighted, Partial and Spot) have their uses too, but that's another complicated subject. I use Evaluative a lot because I've gotten accustomed to it and am pretty good dialing in Exposure Compensation with it, based upon from experience. But even without E.C., Evaluative does well a lot of the time.

Hope this helps!

EDIT:



Yes, Steve's description of how it works is good and well worth viewing. HOWEVER, keep in mind that he is a Nikon shooter and with other brands (including Canon 60D) the info and setup he describes may or may not fully apply. Also, that video is going on 5 years old and not fully up to date. In spite of these consideration, it's a lot of good info.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

No, it's still M(manual). If the camera is set to M and a shutter speed f/stop pair for EV14 is set then the exposure is EV14. Changing the ISO won't change that EV value as the camera will not alter the shutter speed and f/stop. That's why I've repeated a number of times in this thread that it makes no sense in this case to set a high ISO limit on the camera.

jpgto Loc: North East Tennessee

Have had decent luck with it! Believe you can set a minimum and maximum value
for the Auto ISO.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

But you should not set a maximum value for the ISO if you're setting exposure manually as the OP specified. If using the camera, especially a Canon 60D, in M(manual) then allowing the camera to set the ISO as high as needed will help reduce noise.

Joe

Selene03

I think my photos improved a lot when I stopped using auto ISO. I will sometimes use it in low light with some cameras (where I have set upper limits), but generally, I prefer to set the ISO.