I have this new Nikon d90 and I'm learning a lot but am confused by ISO. I want to fool with aperture-priority or shutter-priority but need to have the ISO set and don't know what to do there. Should i fix the ISO or leave it on auto? If I go with auto, I have the ability to set a maximum....what do you think I should do there? Also - under the ISO settings there's a 'minimum shutter speed' setting...i have it at about 1/320 but don't know if that's good or not.
I want to fool with aperture and shutter speed - and I will feel more comfortable doing that if I can get the ISO out of my mind!
hey, for me i never really shoot in anything other than 100, dependant on what your shooting and what condition 100 is usually a pretty General ISO amount
Hi Diane. Good to "meet" you. My recommendation is to just use the Auto modes until you get used to the camera. These new cameras have too many buttons and menus, and we all tend to get "curious"...kind of like always having to "push the button" when we were kids.
ISO is a measurement of light that is let in. The higher the number, the more light is let in. In daylight, 100 is fine. In darker areas or indoors, 400 is good. 400 Outdoors in sunshine creates too much light, and you get "hot spots" which cant be corrected, as they are all white (no data in digispeak). A good camera can shoot 1600-3200 or more. But the higher you go, you sacrifice the sharpness of the image (graininess). I've never gone above 800 out of fear.
With every benefit, there is a sacrifice. That is why photography can be so precise at times. You have to find the balance. For the time being, I recommend staying on AUTO, and examine the EXIF data to see what the camera chose, (such as shutter speed, lens opening, film speed, etc.), and why, based on whether it was indoor, outdoor, cloudy, sunny, etc. It's basic math in some ways. I bet you'll figure it out!
With today's cameras, one doesn't need to worry too much about that stuff. Spend more time on composition, perspective, tilt, etc. (creating the image from your heart the way you want to see it!)
Do what Chris said, Just don't mention Ms. Bokeh, I don't think they get along.
Personally I keep mine set anywhere between 100 to 400 and I venture up to 800 if absolutely nessesary, but I cringe at having to go any higher, I'll try to find any other source of light to bring into the scene of flash, or try longer exposures with a tripod. I'm no good at removing hi ISO noise and neither is the built in noise reduction in my opinion.
Nikon D90 doesn't have ISO 100, it has Low 1,2, and 3 but it softens the photo.
For the D90 use ISO 200 as your lowest setting unless you have to go lower.
ISO use to represent how sensitive the film was, now it is how sensitive you camera sensor is. The more sensitive the quicker you capture light and the more noise you get from the photo.
This is how I tend to shoot and is a basic guideline, feel free to adjust as needed.
ISO 200 = outdoors in bright lights too shade
ISO 400 = very shaded areas, after sunset but not quite night, bright indoors
ISO 800 = Bright indoors
ISO 1600 = Dim Indoors
ISO 3200 = for only your darkest areas where you need a fast shutter or you want a very noise grunge type photo.
All of this will vary depending on your aperture and the speed you need to keep things sharp and your subject. These are only guidelines that I use going into a situation and depending on my equipent (faster lens, tripod, fast action, etc) I will move my ISO one way or the other.
Travis, Interesting information, Some how in my short time owning the d90 I got it in my head that ISO Lo-1 = ISO100... I stand corrected. I checked out Nikon's tech specs on the d90 list it under the EXPANDED ISO SENSITIVITY section as ISO100 equivalent. as well as Hi-1 for ISO 6400 equivalent.
So is ISO Lo-1 just the same as ISO 200 but "enhanced" to make make it less sensitive to light, thus causing a softening effect?
I don't use Lo-1 that often but more than I use 800 + I'll have to take a look at some of my shots with that setting and look for the softening effect. Or better yet, take tome test shots through the entire ISO range on the camera.
Like Adrian, I am hesitant to venture above 800. I never went beyond that with color reversal film, so why start now? Ok, I'm chicken. I don't like the Noise either. Noise and Ms. Bokeh are on "my list".
But, Noise Ninja software does a great job. I don't own it, but I've seen how good it works. $35 - $80. Check it out:
Thanks everyone! I do have a question about unintended Bokeh...but will save that for later. (I keep getting that effect without meaning to when using the d90 and the P setting)
i've ventured into the 1600 ISO a few times but thats been more due to lack of sufficient lighting and no tripod. I'm not a big fan of the noise you get but if there's a toss up between not getting the shot and getting a shot with noise, i'll choose the shot.
That said, I think there are sometimes when even though you have sufficient lighting, you may want to bump up the ISO specifically to get the graininess in a shot.
Correct me if i'm wrong but I believe in the days of film, the ISO represented the size of the crystals that activated from light? The smaller the crystals (lower ISO) meant that it would take more light to activate it and whereas the larger ones took less light and hence the graininess.
Yeah there is definitely and adverse affect when going to LO-1, not only does it look softer it looks more "digital" not the right word to use but the only one I can come up with right now. Definitely shoot the same photo with both ISO's then do a 100% zoom and even further to really see the affects.
Any time you have a small Depth of Field (DOF) you will get a Bokeh effect. In order to get Bokeh you need need an open aperture (smaller f/number) or you need large separation between foreground and back ground. Either of these things or in combination will get your a Bokeh photo. If you want less Bokeh close your aperture by moving to a larger f/number. f/8 is generally a great start since that is generally the sharpest aperture for most lenses.
Hope that helps, if not check out the "how to get bokeh" threads that float around here and do the opposite :)
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ISO is a measurement of light that is let in. The higher the number, the more light is let in. In daylight, 100 is fine. In darker areas or indoors, 400 is good. 400 Outdoors in sunshine creates too much light, and you get "hot spots" which cant be corrected, as they are all white (no data in digispeak). A good camera can shoot 1600-3200 or more. But the higher you go, you sacrifice the sharpness of the image (graininess). I've never gone above 800 out of fear.
With every benefit, there is a sacrifice. That is why photography can be so precise at times. You have to find the balance. For the time being, I recommend staying on AUTO, and examine the EXIF data to see what the camera chose, (such as shutter speed, lens opening, film speed, etc.), and why, based on whether it was indoor, outdoor, cloudy, sunny, etc. It's basic math in some ways. I bet you'll figure it out!
With today's cameras, one doesn't need to worry too much about that stuff. Spend more time on composition, perspective, tilt, etc. (creating the image from your heart the way you want to see it!)
Keep on playing, and let's see the results!
Personally I keep mine set anywhere between 100 to 400 and I venture up to 800 if absolutely nessesary, but I cringe at having to go any higher, I'll try to find any other source of light to bring into the scene of flash, or try longer exposures with a tripod. I'm no good at removing hi ISO noise and neither is the built in noise reduction in my opinion.
For the D90 use ISO 200 as your lowest setting unless you have to go lower.
ISO use to represent how sensitive the film was, now it is how sensitive you camera sensor is. The more sensitive the quicker you capture light and the more noise you get from the photo.
This is how I tend to shoot and is a basic guideline, feel free to adjust as needed.
ISO 200 = outdoors in bright lights too shade
ISO 400 = very shaded areas, after sunset but not quite night, bright indoors
ISO 800 = Bright indoors
ISO 1600 = Dim Indoors
ISO 3200 = for only your darkest areas where you need a fast shutter or you want a very noise grunge type photo.
All of this will vary depending on your aperture and the speed you need to keep things sharp and your subject. These are only guidelines that I use going into a situation and depending on my equipent (faster lens, tripod, fast action, etc) I will move my ISO one way or the other.
So is ISO Lo-1 just the same as ISO 200 but "enhanced" to make make it less sensitive to light, thus causing a softening effect?
I don't use Lo-1 that often but more than I use 800 + I'll have to take a look at some of my shots with that setting and look for the softening effect. Or better yet, take tome test shots through the entire ISO range on the camera.
Thanks for the info
But, Noise Ninja software does a great job. I don't own it, but I've seen how good it works. $35 - $80. Check it out:
http://www.picturecode.com/
That said, I think there are sometimes when even though you have sufficient lighting, you may want to bump up the ISO specifically to get the graininess in a shot.
Correct me if i'm wrong but I believe in the days of film, the ISO represented the size of the crystals that activated from light? The smaller the crystals (lower ISO) meant that it would take more light to activate it and whereas the larger ones took less light and hence the graininess.
Yeah there is definitely and adverse affect when going to LO-1, not only does it look softer it looks more "digital" not the right word to use but the only one I can come up with right now. Definitely shoot the same photo with both ISO's then do a 100% zoom and even further to really see the affects.
Any time you have a small Depth of Field (DOF) you will get a Bokeh effect. In order to get Bokeh you need need an open aperture (smaller f/number) or you need large separation between foreground and back ground. Either of these things or in combination will get your a Bokeh photo. If you want less Bokeh close your aperture by moving to a larger f/number. f/8 is generally a great start since that is generally the sharpest aperture for most lenses.
Hope that helps, if not check out the "how to get bokeh" threads that float around here and do the opposite :)