rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Yes, I use TAv mode on Pentax which is the same thing. Before that, I intentionally found darkish situations that allowed me to use higher ISO values so I had personal experience to use in setting ISO limits.

xt2 Loc: British Columbia, Canada

A loaded question... so much depends on light, time of day, & shutter speed, etc.

Cheers!

xt2 Loc: British Columbia, Canada

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

You raise the ISO value. Can you increase the intensity of the available light (flash)? If the answer is no then that low light intensity is a fixed variable. It's like a solid concrete wall that you can't get over or around or through. You either bring more expensive hardware to bear (get an f/1.4 lens) or you raise the ISO value.

Get the photo, so do what you have to do. That's why you shouldn't set an upper limit to ISO using auto-ISO. What happens when you reach that upper limit? Is don't take the photo an acceptable answer?

Joe

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

As others have said, there are a lot of variables to consider. When shooting in low light you will need to open up your aperture setting and use a higher ISO. When you do this, you will get a faster shutter speed. Will it be enough in all circumstances? No, sometimes you will be unable to get a good enough shot to make it work. Having "good" glass helps, knowing where your light is coming from and trying to use it to your advantage helps, a camera with a sensor that allows for decent low light shooting helps, and your ability to get the shot in general helps. All of these things must come together for you to get a decent wildlife shot. You need to experiment and practice, use some of the advice given here and see what works for you. I've used all of these settings at various times, depending on the circumstances. Read the Steve Perry wildlife photography book. He is very good and a great guy. I'll be shooting with him at the end of this month in Costa Rica, a very challenging environment due to often being in a dark jungle setting. Experience is your best friend.

scsdesphotography Loc: Southeastern Michigan

Here is my short answer, it doesn't matter. It's an 850, unless you're your shooting in total darkness at ISO 30,000, you will not have noise issues. So go ahead and use whichever mode you are comfortable with and let Auto-ISO do it's thing.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

No matter what camera you are using, the amount of available light is the critical issue.

I would only recommend manual ISO and exposure because the background might change the exposure as the bird flies by.

If you are shooting in broad daylight, Sunny 16 (1/ISO @ f/16 or equivalent) will give you a good exposure. On an overcast day, you need a couple of stops more.

For example:

Broad daylight and ISO 400 - 1/400 @ f/16, 1/800 @ f/11, 1/1600 @ f/8, 1/3200 @ f/5.6,etc.
Overcast at ISO 800 - 1/800 @ f/11, 1/1600 @ f/8, 1/3200 @ f/5.6, etc.

Any darker than overcast and you might as well wait for better light.

Sunnely Loc: Wisconsin

Thanks for the link, Richard.

Thanks for your effort and time doing a well-organized, brief but to-the-point discussion.

I am a novice in all of these (digital photography) and find your tutorial very informative and helpful.

I printed them for further reading and quick reference.

I don't think there is a section in UHH specifically devoted for helpful tips and hints on topics (by listed members only; DEVOID of commercial bias/links) such as your tutorial. May be something to suggest to Administrator(s). Like a Q&A section on different basic topics for novice like me. I think will save a lot of time posting questions that's been posted many times already and responding and/or directing to link(s).

alaskabeach

I’m confused. Post above says “I like aperture priority because I like to control the shutter speeds, I also like to set my ISO.” Why wouldn’t that be “use Shutter priority”?

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

It sounds as if you are planning to use Auto ISO with A and S modes. That's sort of a "double" auto mode, using Auto ISO with either of those other auto exposure modes... and is something I'd NEVER do, personally.

A/Av is Aperture Priority Auto Exposure... you choose the aperture AND the ISO, the camera chooses an appropriate shutter speed.
S/Tv is Shutter Priority AE... you choose the shutter speed AND the ISO, the camera chooses an aperture.
P is Program AE... you choose the ISO, the camera chooses a combination of aperture and shutter it deems to be appropriate.
M with Auto ISO is just another form of AE... you choose the shutter speed and aperture, leaving it to the camera to select an appropriate ISO.
M without Auto ISO is fully manual mode... you choose ISO, shutter speed and aperture.

For fast moving subjects like birds in flight, wanting to freeze movement and needing to use some form of AE (due to variable lighting conditions) I'd use either S/Tv or M w/Auto ISO, so that I could control the shutter speed. Pointing a camera toward a bright sky while using any AE mode will often cause the bird to be significantly underexposed, so some + Exposure Compensation is likely to be needed. On a sunny day, I'd try +1 stop E.C. first, then adjust from there. On an overcast day, it might be a little less. Even more E.C. is likely to be needed if shooting the shaded underside of the bird (and not using fill flash).

If lighting isn't variable, I'd use M without Auto ISO.... fully manual... and simply lock in my exposures. When it's possible to use that, it guarantees the most consistency. Any of the camera's AE modes gives up some of your control... but AE modes can be necessary if lighting conditions are at all variable.

Only you can say what ISO levels are acceptable to you. You should shoot a series of test shots with your D850 at different ISOs and decide for yourself.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Because I like to shoot as wide open as I can to eliminate distracting backgrounds on my photos of birds in flight. I like to control my shutter speed using ISO.
You might want to use Quote Reply so I will know you are referring to my post. Many thanks for your question.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Too slow a shutter speed can ruin a shot, too much out-of-focus blur (due to insufficient DOF) will often put a shot in the "not worth keeping" category. However, noise due to high ISO can be worked on and it would have to be fairly extreme before it consigned a shot to the rubbish bin. Since your D850 is one of the best cameras for high ISO noise, that makes ISO your most compromisable variable.

Choose the widest aperture that'll still give you sufficient DOF, choose the slowest shutter speed that'll still give you frozen subjects (or possibly allow for a bit of motion blur if desired) and go with whatever ISO the camera deems necessary. The rest is down to getting the exposure right (metering, EC, avoiding shooting the shadow side of subjects against a bright background). Compromising shutter speed or aperture is what is most likely to result in a failed shot.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Personally, I probably won’t take the photo ..... seldom do I reach my limit of 12800 - but on occasion I am willing to go up to 25600.

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

Why spend years floundering. Get the book: Understanding Exposure 3rd edition by Bryan Peterson. I know plenty of folks that try to purchase their way to better photography. I'll share a little secret, it's the photographer and their understanding in how to expose a scene no matter what type of photographer your shooting. With this information any type of photography is possible. Not only will you save time, but money as well............

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

For myself, and I don't have a Nikon 850, I don't shoot in those conditions.
Another alternative you can get creative with longer exposures.