ISO should I be changing habits

[Photofarmer]

• Canon EOS R6
• RF24-70mm F2.8 L IS USM
• 62.0 mm
• ƒ/11
• 1/4 sec
• ISO 100

 

[Photofarmer]

Thanks for advice by the way. Maybe I should reword it can you use Auto Iso I doubt it. Prepare for a lot of sheep photos

 

[Jake Shoots Birds]

Thanks for advice by the way. Maybe I should reword it can you use Auto Iso I doubt it. Prepare for a lot of sheep photos

If you can't then 95% of my photos don't exist.

Auto ISO has its place. I shoot wildlife (primarily birds) in Manual mode almost exclusively. I set shutter speed and aperture to get the desired result and let the camera figure out ISO. I can cap that value where I feel I need to for image quality (I do 12800 on the R5 & R6, 6400 on the R7), and if it needs more than that I get an underexposed image and deal with it. Wildlife in action in sun and shadows can vary too quickly for me to deal with full manual, and allowing the camera to set either aperture or shutter speed for me is too risky.

As I mentioned before, you want to know how changing it as a part of exposure impacts your work, and with ISO that means with dealing with noise (for which there are some amazing tools now). Allowing the camera to choose it can take a lot of the weight off of shooting in manual mode.

 

[miuzi]

If you can't then 95% of my photos don't exist.

Auto ISO has its place. I shoot wildlife (primarily birds) in Manual mode almost exclusively. I set shutter speed and aperture to get the desired result and let the camera figure out ISO. I can cap that value where I feel I need to for image quality (I do 12800 on the R5 & R6, 6400 on the R7), and if it needs more than that I get an underexposed image and deal with it. Wildlife in action in sun and shadows can vary too quickly for me to deal with full manual, and allowing the camera to set either aperture or shutter speed for me is too risky.

As I mentioned before, you want to know how changing it as a part of exposure impacts your work, and with ISO that means with dealing with noise (for which there are some amazing tools now). Allowing the camera to choose it can take a lot of the weight off of shooting in manual mode.

This exactly. With the performance at previously unthinkable ISOs that modern cameras now achieve, this is increasingly how I'm shooting. Set the aperture and shutter speed for the desired result, and then let the camera deal with ISO. It's really freeing!

 

[Photofarmer]

If you can't then 95% of my photos don't exist.

Auto ISO has its place. I shoot wildlife (primarily birds) in Manual mode almost exclusively. I set shutter speed and aperture to get the desired result and let the camera figure out ISO. I can cap that value where I feel I need to for image quality (I do 12800 on the R5 & R6, 6400 on the R7), and if it needs more than that I get an underexposed image and deal with it. Wildlife in action in sun and shadows can vary too quickly for me to deal with full manual, and allowing the camera to set either aperture or shutter speed for me is too risky.

As I mentioned before, you want to know how changing it as a part of exposure impacts your work, and with ISO that means with dealing with noise (for which there are some amazing tools now). Allowing the camera to choose it can take a lot of the weight off of shooting in manual mode.

with varied bolts of lightning in strenght intensity and duration auto ISO would handle it?

 

[JoeTheSnowPlowGuy]

For whatever it’s worth, I am a photographer that spent exactly 5 minutes (not literally) using DSLR cameras that were 10+ years old when I started (Pentax K50 and Canon T3). The T3 is actually quite good all the way to 6400, but there is still a good deal of noise. The K50 isn’t bad either, but the noise to difficult to process out past 6400, even though the camera’s ISO reaches 51,200.

At the 6 minute mark I bought an R6 Mark 2 and as everyone knows the mirrorless cameras handle higher ISO and the files clean up so much better than anything before. I think the “keep the ISO low” mantra is outdated and from an era of sensors, processors, and software that just weren’t as capable as the stuff we have today. I’ve delivered pictures shot at ISO 12,800 from my R6 Mark 2 with zero issues. I am switching to continuous LED light for headshots/portraits and I might have to bump my ISO from 100- 640, and no one will know or care.

 

[Photofarmer]

Ok next severe lightning storm will have one camera on Auto Iso for a while and other set up as normal. Guess I’m specifically talking lightning.

 

[JoeTheSnowPlowGuy]

I would limit your auto ISO range. I’ve noticed my R6 Mk2 really likes to push ISO really high. I set mine to max out at 12,800 on auto.

 

[Jake Shoots Birds]

with varied bolts of lightning in strenght intensity and duration auto ISO would handle it?

You have a very specific need and I believe auto-anything might be problematic since the metering is based on what's in the frame at the moment the shutter is engaged. Maybe that might differ with a trigger, but otherwise what you're doing is completely manual. A camera can't meter and adjust for something that's not there yet (unless you try and fake it out with Exposure Compensation - but that's just getting manual with automatic and who needs that?!).

 

[David Stallard]

My answer - try it! what have you got to lose? pad and pencil (or notes in phone ;-) ) make a note of when /what you changed - think you will be pleasantly surprised at how well it will do.