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Auto ISO – a question for Nikon users D300s in particular.
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Hello all,
I use Auto ISO on my D200 and D50 and think it’s a great feature. With the D200 you can only set an upper limit of 1600, 3200 is not accessible.
Can anyone tell me if the D300s or any other Nikon allows you to set the upper limit for Auto ISO to whatever the hell you want, not some preconceived number? Just curious as I plan on picking up a D300s in the next several months (unless a D400 comes up or I win the lotto or who know what else…)/
Thanks,
Alan
I have never used auto iso on my d200 I just set it manually
is there any reason why you use auto iso and are there any benefits to itCathal
Hi Cathal, haven’t seen much of you around here since you started working again,
Yeah, ISO Auto is great – it just takes one more thing out of the equation that you don’t have to worry about. You can concentrate on composition etc.
For example you can set an upper limit and a minimum shutter speed. So if you’re using a 50mm lens and you think you can happily get sharp pictures at shutter speeds of 1/60th of a second you can set the minimum shutter speed of 1/60th and a maximum ISO of 800. This way, if the meter tells the camera to do ISO 100, 1/30th and f/5.6 – Auto ISO will automatically up the ISO to 200 giving you 1/60th of a second and you won’t need to change your aperture and worry about pushing the ISO button and spinning the wheel.
Most of the time I set the upper limit to 1600 but I’m not too happy with it the last while so I may change it to 800.
But it’s up to you, and if you’re only happy with ISO 200 you can choose that, etc., etc.
I used to not bother with Auto ISO myself, but it just makes sense to me now. If you would be happy to go to ISO 800 if you need to in order to get sharp pictures, you might as well let technology do that for you – especially if shooting wildlife, sport etc.
I’m just realising that you’re perhaps more of a wildlife man Cathal, so it may not be as much use to you, but it’s worth thinking about for other times anyway.
Hope that’s of some help anyway,
Alan
I don’t have the answer to your question, but would suggest maybe downloading the D300S manual online, to answer any and all the questions you may have quickly
Used to love Auto ISO on the D50, 1600 was so good. Funny thing though, since I’ve moved away from SLR’s and cameras with mirrors, I’m finding I no longer fear shooting at lower shutter speeds. I seem to happily enough shoot as low as 1/30 routinely & 1/15 if necessary with my 50mm, at no higher than 400 ISO film, and get sharp results everytime. I’ve no especially steady hands, but found 1/60 used to be my limit with a 50mm equiv. lens with my DSLR’s.
..anyhow, just my plug for the cult of the rangefinder :)
Damien
On a D300 you can set it right up to H1, ie ISO 6400. Can’t say what it is for the D300s but I’d expect it to be the same.
Aedan
bingbongbiddley wrote:
Yeah, ISO Auto is great – it just takes one more thing out of the equation that you don’t have to worry about. You can concentrate on composition etc.
Actually I’d suggest that it actually adds a complication to the equation rather than taking something out of it. The fact that it can vary means you really do need to concern yourself with what the camera is choosing to do. Setting it manually takes it out of the equation, because it is now a fixed value.
I am not a big fan of auto-iso. I like to know what the camera is doing, why and when :). This is why I always shoot manual. There are 2 buttons on my camera that get the most use. The EV and one of the function buttons at the front which has been set to switch off the flash when I need it. I found auto-iSO a bit problematic when it comes to on-camera flash photography.
May I ask why do you need to set the ISO to an arbitrary value?The fact that it can vary means you really do need to concern yourself with what the camera is choosing to do. Setting it manually takes it out of the equation, because it is now a fixed value.
When you set Auto ISO you know exactly what the camera is choosing to do at all times. The camera will only change the ISO when the meter indicates your shutter speed should be below a certain threshold.
If you are walking around a town taking street pictures and the sun is going down, and you want to take a photograph into a shaded area, your camera will automatically change the ISO. If you don’t have auto ISO on you will have to change it manually anyway. If you are taking pictures of a model in a studio or in a place where the light is consistent, Auto ISO will be irrelevant as the your meter will not indicate a shutter speed slower tan 1/60th of a second for example.
I like to know what the camera is doing, why and when.
As I said above, with ISO Auto you do know what it is doing, why and when.
This is why I always shoot manual.
I rarely shoot manual. I usually shoot aperture priority. What the camera selects for the shutter speed and what I would select if I was in manual will always be the same thing unless I am trying to under- or overexpose or it is a particularly difficult scene.
I found auto-iSO a bit problematic when it comes to on-camera flash photography.
When I’m shooting macro I usually switch off Auto ISO. I want to use a high ISO, a high shutter speed and a small aperture. Because I am in complete control of the light in this situation and the light is always the same, Auto ISO is unnecessary.
May I ask why do you need to set the ISO to an arbitrary value?
It’s not an arbitrary number at all. It’s the minimum ISO required to get a specific shutter speed.
Obviously Auto ISO isn’t for all situations, it has obvious advantages and discounting it doesn’t make sense to me.
Sorry, in amongst my pro-Auto ISO rant I forgot to acknowledge and thank you all for your replies.
Especially thanks to Aedan, that’s the answer I was hoping to get.
..anyhow, just my plug for the cult of the rangefinder
You and your bloody rangefinders! :D Only joking, but now that you mention it, I actually find it easier using slower shutter speeds with the FM2n you sold me. Might be the slightly lighter weight.
I agree. With Auto ISO you do know what the camera is doing because if you dont you could screw things pretty bad. As someone here mentioned, Auto_ISO introduce a new element in the equation instead of eliminating one.
Auto-ISO is good when shooting relaxed, non flash photography. When it comes to flash photography things change dramatically. Most of the forums are full of people complaining of missed shots, badly screwed weddings because of the Auto_ISO. As a matter of fact the SB-900 switches off Auto_ISO when connected to the camera… ever wonder why?
I am not saying it is not good, is just that it is an element that sometime complicates the whole thing instead of easing it. For me any feature that has Auto in its name is about 0 and 1 and for me, photography is not about 0 and 1. I don’t want to let and engineer in Japan decide the exposure for me. Auto-ISO is very good at getting the correct exposure but, I am asking, what is a correct exposure??
When you said “Can anyone tell me if the D300s or any other Nikon allows you to set the upper limit for Auto ISO to whatever the hell you want” I thought that “what the hell you want” means arbitrary.
To respond to your question, on D700 (dont have my D3 beside me) the Auto-ISO goes up to Hi2.
Raw vs jpeg , auto-iso vs manual iso…manual vs Aperture Priority…the most important thing is the result.
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