robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Considering how much light pollution we have almost everywhere in CA those shots were probably the only chance you have to see what a real dark night is like.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Sad wedding story. Yes, auto ISO can be surprising.

cthahn

And these picture takers call them selves photographers.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

I generally set my ISO on auto so that I can set the aperture and shutter speed where I want them - but obviously, in anything other than broad daylight, I have to pay attention to what the ISO is doing. That being said, I have a Canon 6D, and have many very nice photos with an ISO of 12,800.

joseph premanandan

my understanding is that as long as you shoot your images in RAW format and use auto ISO, you can always correct in postprocessing either in lightroom or photoshop

wteffey Loc: Ocala, FL USA

I have found that my cameras frequently select a higher ISO that I would like, so I use auto ISO in a very narrow range: 200-400. People should learn to check the camera's settings after taking a meter reading but before taking the first photo in a new batch. I have frequently moved the mode dial taking the camera out of the bag. After every batch I check the last few images via the preview function. If I have made a mistake I only loose a minimum of images.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Depends on the camera and the conditions. I tried auto ISO once as a test and found it put the ISO all over the place even for shots taken seconds apart. I always set my ISO but can shoot useful stuff up to 12,600.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Small wonder I never use it. I learned to use a light meter and therefore camera settings in 1978. I watch what my camera is doing in all modes (that I may use) any time there may be a change in light, if I don't like something (shutter speed or aperture) I change it or then ISO, then reset S or A.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

A wedding photographer not using flash! You are serious?

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

PP corrections are still limited by what the camera has captured. While RAW improves your ability to make those corrections, it will always be impossible to retrieve information from blown out highlights or to effectively remove noise from an image that is too dark.

Compare this to a photo where someone's head or feet are cut off - the camera did not capture the information for those missing parts, so it is impossible for them to be in the photo. Same thing with other kinds of data.

Checking exposure settings is just as important as checking composition!

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Auto ISO can be very useful. In fact, there was a recent post by a well-known African photographer that had moved a majority of his shooting to auto ISO and provided very convincing reasons. There are of course caveats - you can misuse any of the camera controls and produce poor results. In particular, many bodies with this feature allow you to set an upper limit as to how far auto ISO can go. Secondly, the setting that it chooses is right there in the viewfinder along with the shutter speed and f-stop for the photographer to see. One of the only real limitations, is that many cameras do not allow exposure compensation when in manual shutter and aperture and auto ISO, although the latest Canons do allow this.

Hard to second guess the pro shooting the wedding without knowing the lighting and whether flash was allowed or considered intrusive. At my son’s recent wedding, which was professionally and excellently shot, even in a very well lighted venue ISOs in the 8-12,000 range were necessary to maintain a reasonable shutter speed, even with a fast lens almost wide open. While the pro was shooting Nikon D750s and using the range I described, I was shooting a Canon 5D3 (same as your pro) in the 8-10,000 range with many shots at 12,800, and the results were excellent and certainly much better than if I had dropped the shutter speed to the point that motion blur would have spoiled the shots. Auto ISO is just another tool in your toolbox, and like any tool, must be used correctly. In low light situations, where flash is impractical or isn’t allowed using high ISOs may be a necessary compromise, but I will say that even with a FF, I haven’t been doing any shooting at 25,600!

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Not exactly! You can select WB or Picture Mode (Contrast, Saturation) the camera might have had (for JPGs) in PP if shot in RAW with ACR/Lr/Ps/etc. And adjust improper exposure to some extent (with skill, a good amount), but a bad exposure is still a bad exposure. ISO is part of the Exposure Triangle. Look at it this way, can you change f-stop or shutter speeds in PP?

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

That is another good way to explain it (see mine as well)

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

The best cure for high ISO/high noise is supplemental lighting....FLASH

Failing that put a limit on the auto ISO (3200 or less should be okay), use fast lenses, etc.

I find that on my D7200 noise is unnoticeable below 1600, reasonable between 1600 and 3200, and borderline acceptable 3200 - 6400...above that its okay too.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

"...set the aperture and shutter speed where I want them..." Why not use Manual Exposure then and not have surprises?

90% of the time I leave my cameras at ISO 200. And usually shoot in Aperture Priority or Manual. I also look to see what Shutter Speed the camera is using anytime the light changes. Admittedly most of the lenses I use are f/2.8 or faster and I'm using at f/5.6 to f/11 when outdoors. In doors I'm either on a tripod or in the 10% where I use very different settings. And I use EC often!