Using Lower ISOs

28mm, ISO100, F2.8, 60secMany new cameras have the default, preferred ISO setting of 200 even though they give you the option, in some cases,  of going down to ISO 50. In the manual for my camera, an Olympus E-5, it suggests that you use ISO 200. But in the camera is one stop below that in 1/3 stop increments of ISO 160, 125 and 100.

The reasoning for doing this is that it gives the camera better high ISO performance. This is a big plus, but what do we loose in the process? Remember photography is alway about compromises! Reading more deeply into manual you discover that Olympus claims that using ISOs below the default of 200 will decrease dynamic range that the camera can capture.  Dynamic range is the range of light from dark to light that it is capable of capturing. 

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Mentee Question: ISO - Auto or Manual?

I'll kick things off with a question.  Tom, if you'd rather have these somewhere else just let me know.

 On my old Olympus E330 body I tend to adjust the ISO manually depending on the conditions I'm shooting in.  I think I usually pick 200 on a bright sunny day, etc, etc.  On my E-520, the ISO was set to Auto when purchased and I really haven't changed it.  Both methods seem to produce good quality photos.   I must admit,  I do kind of like not having to think about what I should be picking for ISO so I can concentrate on my subject.  But maybe I'm hurting the quality of my photos by doing this?  Maybe as a student of photography, I'm cheating myself by not having to think about all aspects of the exposure triagle with each shot?  Maybe I'm getting lazy?  :)

So I'm wondering what everyone else does....Auto ISO or do you manually select it?   Or both? 

 Thanks for any advice!

 -Jeff C.

Update on Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 8:12PM by Tom S.

Since blog entries can roll off pretty quickly and can get lost in the ozone.... and since this question was so good and it generated some good feedback... I moved this entry to the Forum where it might be better preserved... and found in the future.

If anyone continues the comment chain... which I hope will happen... If you could do so on the forum it would be appreciated.  

Thanks

Knowing about ISO

ISO whether you are working with film or a digital camera deals with the sensitivity of the film/sensor in the camera.  In film you literally had to select different film sensitivities for the entire roll but in the digital age every photograph you shot can have a different ISO setting.  In a digital camera you can either have the camera auto select an ISO or you can manual set it.

ISO is considered to be the third leg in exposure along with Shutter Speed and Aperture Settings, though it is usually only looked at for its effects on a photograph from a grain stand point.  The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the camera film/sensor is, and the more grain will occur in the photograph.   A lot of grain in a photograph is considered to be bad, unless it is done for artistic purposes. 

ISO settings usually follow the same schemes running from 100 (the least sensitive) upward doubling as you go to 200, 400, 800, etc.  regardless of medium.  Some upper end DSLRs might split ISO settings to get other values.

But since ISO is part of the exposure scheme it does have an effect on the other two legs of the exposure and should be understood enough to help you when you either select Aperture or Shutter Priority modes. This is seldom discussed beyond just taking photographs in low light, but this will take another blog entry to go into any deeper.

To get a handle on the basics of ISO go to this page on the Digital Photography Schools website, called ISO Settings in Digital Photograph.

While you are at it visit the related article on the Exposure Triangle that pulls ISO, Aperture  and Shutter Speed together under one roof.

I have no idea why that photo in ths blog entry was selected... I just like have something to look at while reading.  It was a time laspe photograph, painted with a flash light.  46.0 seconds, F4.0 with an ISO of 100.