Auto ISO (Page 2): On my 60D I decided to use the max upper available and was again pleasantly surprised. Had read (possibly here) that it is better to have a sharp but grainy pic...

Don, the 2nd son Loc: Crowded Florida

Les White wrote:

glad you mentioned that --have not set the upper limit with my Canon which would be smart to do

On my 60D I decided to use the max upper available and was again pleasantly surprised. Had read (possibly here) that it is better to have a sharp but grainy pic rather than a smooth fuzzy one. So I decided to try that out. With PP available I have gotten some photos that I'm happy to have that otherwise would have been missed. I don't have to please a picky editor other than myself. Don

mikedidi46 Loc: WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA

I just went through a 2 week tour in Europe, and had my 70D on Auto ISO, limited to 3200. My results have been very, very good

Bob Grove

Assuming that motion, camera stability, lighting and depth of focus are not an issue, are there any situations when a high ISO setting would be preferable?

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Les White wrote:

The other day I accidentally put my d6 on auto ISO--it was rather interesting seeing the variations in lighting and the good results--any of you do that on a regular basis in low light and then use noise reduction in post processing (if too much noise is apparent). I thought with the high ISO available in newer cameras it might be worth a try--though I usually shoot , when ever I can, around 200-400 ISO

No, I never tried that per se, but once I accidentally set my mode on my Pentax K-20D to Sv thinking it was shutter priority "S" (like on a non-Canon or non-Pentax). Nope, it means "Sensitivity Value" priority, i.e., "ISO Priority". A weird Pentax thing. Since I thought I was in "Tv" the exposure settings I got made no sense and were all over the place. And nearly all gave horrible exposures since I was in reality fighting it. I suppose "Sensitivity Value or ISO priority" as you propose using the ISO auto menu or this way, could be useful for something. Not really for me as I usually just leave my camera on one of 100, 200, 400 ISO, and use Manual, Av, or Tv. Comes from being an old film shooter I guess, wanting more control.

The noise level in my K-5 is much lower than the K-20D so perhaps I might give Sv or auto ISO a try in rapidly varying light. Though I am still not totally sure what my Sv actually does.

Les White

I also have a 60 d and will look at the instruction manual to set an upper limit-agree with your perspective

Don-RC wrote:

On my 60D I decided to use the max upper available and was again pleasantly surprised. Had read (possibly here) that it is better to have a sharp but grainy pic rather than a smooth fuzzy one. So I decided to try that out. With PP available I have gotten some photos that I'm happy to have that otherwise would have been missed. I don't have to please a picky editor other than myself. Don

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

I used the "auto ISO" feature on my D7100 for the 1st time on a shoot I had back in September. I was shooting an outdoors company picnic on a farm. Lighting was all over the place with heavy shade (on an overcast day as well) to open sky... I used one of my fast F2.8 zooms & set the upper limit of my ISO to 800.... I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome.... Less PP needed than I thought I would need...

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

DaveMM wrote:

The later Canons allow you to set Auto ISO with an upper limit. When I use it, I usually have a limit of ISO 400 as this gives me no noticeable noise.

Works for me too :thumbup: :thumbup:

thelazya Loc: Wendell, MN

I just got a 6D, Set it for a friend for photos to take in a labor room. Set the camera to auto ISO and shutter speed to not go below 1/125. Worked so well when they turned down the lights. The 6D is a great camera with fantastic ISO capabilities. My 7Dii will be here today and can't wait to try out it's ISO shots!!

lsimpkins Loc: SE Pennsylvania

joer wrote:

The beauty of Nikon auto ISO is that you can set the upper limit the camera will use.

Pentax allows easy setting of both upper and lower limit on ISO when set in Auto. Fixed ISO is also an easy button push away.

architect Loc: Chattanooga

redhogbill wrote:

I also leave my ISO on auto for walk around shooting!, until I get into a situation where I want more control, then I turn it off, when I am done I will turn it back to auto, it has taken some time to get used to doing this, but is working for me!!

Me too. Auto ISO allows you to use the two aesthetic controls that control shutter speed and depth of field without compromising one or the other. My Nikon D90 allows me to set a maximum ISO as well as a minimum shutter speed. I turn auto ISO off when using a tripod or flash, or on brightly lit subjects, where I use the lowest ISO available.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

The problem with Auto ISO on many Canon cameras that have it (I don't know about other brands), is that Exposure Compensation isn't available.

Auto ISO is just another auto exposure mode, along with Av, Tv and P... I almost always find myself using some Exposure Compensation in any AE mode, so Auto ISO is unusable for me. There are a few instances where I'd probably use it, otherwise.

I also will not combine Auto ISO with any of the other AE modes... that would be Auto/Auto and there's no telling what the results might be. I'm not up for experimenting and taking a risk...

So, in the end, I just don't use Auto ISO. If the next model of Canon I buy has Exposure Compensation possible on Auto ISO, I will occasionally use it. Until then, I get by just fine without it.

The upper and lower limits are helpful too... but will just stop shooting and alert you when you are reaching the edge of the camera's ability to make the exposure. If you need the shot regardless, once the Auto ISO range you've set has been exceeded you're going to have to change one or more settings to get it.

Speaking of limits... I get a kick out of people who unnecessarily limit themselves to silly low ISOs such as 400 or 800 with current/recent camera models. They either haven't learned to do post-processing or are excessive pixel peepers (Note: zoom in to high enough magnification and even ISO 100 looks awful). I regularly use ISO 1600, sometimes use 3200 and occasionally even 6400... on my five year old crop sensor cameras. With similar age full frame I can use one or two stops higher... but simply don't usually need to. For most common print sizes even the highest ISO images are very usable, and they're certainly usable for anything at Internet resolutions.

Folks who are "afraid" of high digital ISOs should shoot slide film for a while... ISO 50 and 100 for the cleanest images... ISO 200 is about the max... in slide film anything faster gets pretty ugly. Color print film and B&W films were usable at 400 and even 800.... B&W usable but awfully grainy at 1600 or any higher.

Shoot film for a while, and you'll really appreciate the ISO flexibility of digital!

MarkD Loc: NYC

I use Auto ISO very often with my Nikon P7800 and Panasonic LF-1 compacts. I use it once in a while with my D5200 when I want a specific shutter speed and aperture combination. I set it to M, set the aperture and SS that I want, and set Auto ISO.

Bill Emmett Loc: Bow, New Hampshire

For my wildlife shots, I set the ISO to Auto, and shutter above 1000. This will stop movement. I agree the 6D is a terrific camera. I watched a Scott Kelby video, and this is exactly what he did on the new 7D Mark II.

B

Novots Loc: Grand Forks, ND

On my 5D iii, unless I'm after some type of magazine cover or a specialized need of some sort, I set my auto ISO to 6400 without any concern at all, I've even set it to 12800 if I needed say a fast shutter for action shots, and the result is perfectly usable. For me, it's about getting the shot, first and foremost, then, if necessary I'll worry about the ISO. I've never had anyone say something to me about noise or ISO after I've captured a nice shot for them. I'm in the camp that really looks at the noise issue as primarily a marketing tool. If you have decent light, or use flash if needed, noise for the most part is irrelevant, IMHO.

howlynn Loc: pueblo west, co

Bill Emmett wrote:

For my wildlife shots, I set the ISO to Auto, and shutter above 1000. This will stop movement. I agree the 6D is a terrific camera. I watched a Scott Kelby video, and this is exactly what he did on the new 7D Mark II.

B

:thumbup: :thumbup: