Automatic ISO

[Moglex]

Some people are just control freaks who haven't quite got the plot yet.

When it comes to me and my photography, you're darn right that I would rather be 100% in control of my results rather than some engineer that designed the camera 5 years before it was placed on the market.

If that makes me a "control freak", let's make that a "proud control freak"! :mrgreen:

Intelligent use of any equipment is based upon knowing when it is safe to devolve some of the decision making process to that equipment. (Think aircraft captains and automatic pilots.)

There are some circumstances when aperture priority is a useful tool and some where auto ISO is similarly.

If you're thinking: "if the light changes then I'll alter the speed" AP does what you've decided to do.

If you're thinking: "if the light changes then I'll alter the ISO" auto ISO does what you've decided to do.

In both of these cases provided you monitor what the camera is doing you remain in control because all it will be doing is what you would have done anyway because that's what you decided.

It's a bit like being a good officer who stays in control but delegates compared to a poor officer who attempts to unnecessarily micromanage everything..

 

[Plato]

Some people are just control freaks who haven't quite got the plot yet.

When it comes to me and my photography, you're darn right that I would rather be 100% in control of my results rather than some engineer that designed the camera 5 years before it was placed on the market.

If that makes me a "control freak", let's make that a "proud control freak"! :mrgreen:

Do you trust the engineers to crank the mirror out of the way and to stop down the lens to the desired aperture when you press the shutter button?

Does your car have a manual spark advance?

Does your home HVAC system have a thermostat?

 

[Moglex]

Some people are just control freaks who haven't quite got the plot yet.

When it comes to me and my photography, you're darn right that I would rather be 100% in control of my results rather than some engineer that designed the camera 5 years before it was placed on the market.

If that makes me a "control freak", let's make that a "proud control freak"! :mrgreen:

Do you trust the engineers to crank the mirror out of the way and to stop down the lens to the desired aperture when you press the shutter button?

Does your car have a manual spark advance?

Does your home HVAC system have a thermostat?

I'm surprised that some people even use digital, what with the sensor having been made by someone else.

Real photographers use (home made) plate cameras and coat their own glass plates rather then use these new fangled 'ready coated' plates.

 

[Plato]

When it comes to me and my photography, you're darn right that I would rather be 100% in control of my results rather than some engineer that designed the camera 5 years before it was placed on the market.

If that makes me a "control freak", let's make that a "proud control freak"! :mrgreen:

Do you trust the engineers to crank the mirror out of the way and to stop down the lens to the desired aperture when you press the shutter button?

Does your car have a manual spark advance?

Does your home HVAC system have a thermostat?

I'm surprised that some people even use digital, what with the sensor having been made by someone else.

Real photographers use (home made) plate cameras and coat their own glass plates rather then use these new fangled 'ready coated' plates.

I like to carve out pictures on the walls of caves. I don't trust glass that someone else made!

 

[harleyrider]

my 50d as auto iso,i have never tryed it.when i put my iso settings on the big screen to look at it shows just to the left of iso 100 in the top row of iso settings.can you use this auto setting in manual? or just in av, tv

 

[JerryPH]

Do you trust the engineers to crank the mirror out of the way and to stop down the lens to the desired aperture when you press the shutter button?

No, not all the time. Mirror slap can cause camera shake and add motion blur to a shot.

Does your home HVAC system have a thermostat?

Yes, but the next time it tries to take a picture, I will be sure to disable the auto ISO feature.

Does your car have a manual spark advance?

Yes, but *I* control that in ways you previously could not imagine. Not only can I control my spark, but control how much spark occurs at what airmass intake value vs what throttle setting AND if I use high octane or low octane in the car. I control not only the main spark, but the Mean Best Torque Spark as well... along with about 100 other spark tables that my car uses. I've been doing this longer than photography! :mrgreen: My car does 265kph, 12.8 in the 1/4 mile and does better mileage than a Toyota Corolla on the highway at 37mpg. The same basic concept can be applied to photography... it is sometimes easy to out think the engineers becuase they are handcuffed to assume that most people won't take the time to know their equipment or do better than an auto setting.

I don't know why people think it's so hard to out think their cameras... all it takes is practice!

 

[JerryPH]

I like to carve out pictures on the walls of caves. I don't trust glass that someone else made!

Ok, this thread just dropped from useful to childish. :lmao:
My response is... are you the guy that buys a D3 or 5D and takes all the shots with the camera on P-mode? And if not... why not? Seems the camera can do it all for you, right?

 

[Plato]

I like to carve out pictures on the walls of caves. I don't trust glass that someone else made!

Ok, this thread just dropped from useful to childish. :lmao:
My response is... are you the guy that buys a D3 or 5D and takes all the shots with the camera on P-mode? And if not... why not? Seems the camera can do it all for you, right?

No. I know how to use the right tool at the right time. There's a time and place for manual functions and there's a time and place for automatic functions. The end result is what counts.

By the way, if you think that you're manually cranking the mirror out of the way, you're clueless. All you're doing is changing the time when the CAMERA moves the mirror.

By the way, 12.8 in a quarter doesn't impress me.

 

[itznfb]

I don't know why people think it's so hard to out think their cameras... all it takes is practice!

Because trying to out-think your camera is like pushing a boulder up hill when you could have reached the same destination by going down hill.

The technology in these cameras is so advanced I don't care how good you think you are or how much experience you have you're not smarter than the camera. You may be able to make some manual adjustments and reach more desirable results in certain situations but not learning and using the technology to it's fullest and to your advantage is just plain stupid.

If you want to use M 80%+ of the time just because you think it impresses a bunch of people on a forum then more power to you. Your results will never be as good as they could be.

 

[Josh66]

The technology in these cameras is so advanced I don't care how good you think you are or how much experience you have you're not smarter than the camera. You may be able to make some manual adjustments and reach more desirable results in certain situations but not learning and using the technology to it's fullest and to your advantage is just plain stupid.

If you want to use M 80%+ of the time just because you think it impresses a bunch of people on a forum then more power to you. Your results will never be as good as they could be.

See, that point can be used as an argument for either side. To me, "Auto" is not using the technology to it's fullest, nor to your advantage. Yes, you are relying on the technology more, but you are not using it more.

I think the last sentance is just completely ignorant. You honestly think Auto produces better results than Manual? 80%+ of the time?

 

[JerryPH]

Because trying to out-think your camera is like pushing a boulder up hill when you could have reached the same destination by going down hill.

... to someone of limited understanding of how their camera works, yes I agree.

The technology in these cameras is so advanced I don't care how good you think you are or how much experience you have you're not smarter than the camera.

Then let me throw out another example... camera metering which is WAY more complex than simple ISO selection... it is WELL known that anyone that knows the Zone System for digital cameras can easily outthink the camera metering system and get superior results by understanding how the camera works and how to change settings to make it work better for you. Anyone that ever took a shot of snow or a black wall and left it medium grey... was equally stupid. Stupid is too strong a word... let's just say "of limited understanding until they read, learn, try and then find it to be true on their own".

If you want to use M 80%+ of the time just because you think it impresses a bunch of people on a forum then more power to you. Your results will never be as good as they could be.

I am not here to impress anyone and of all the people on this board, you the least. If your personality is threatened by someone who may know more and has an honest opinion based on facts and personal experiences... well you are the person pushing that boulder uphill. As for my results... my examples here always speak for themselves. What can you offer?

Not just mine but ANYONE's results can be better if they know what they are doing... now if someone is clueless and P-mode is the best they can do... that is their choice. One day, they may choose to take off the blinders and try it out before arguing it.

 

[JerryPH]

No. I know how to use the right tool at the right time. There's a time and place for manual functions and there's a time and place for automatic functions. The end result is what counts.

YES! That is all that I am saying. :thumbup:
And I am also saying that my final results are proven to be better when not relying on this option. You may be different, others may be even more different.

By the way, if you think that you're manually cranking the mirror out of the way, you're clueless. All you're doing is changing the time when the CAMERA moves the mirror.

Not exactly. I am changing the time the SHUTTER opens and closes, the mirror says up and is NOT involved in the process, hence eliminating it's contribution of the vibration. Shall we now discuss the direction of the "clueless" comment further?

By the way, 12.8 in a quarter doesn't impress me.

I could not care less to impress you, it was an example. Personally, after 35 years of racing cars, I have yet to see a 4-door 4000 pound car that carries 5 people and 2 weeks of groceries pull 108mph in the 1/4 mile, 165mph on the top end and *still* do over 575 miles on a single tank of gas cruising along at 75mph.

The point being... if you know what you are doing... you can improve on your results and you brought up the "do you have a manual spark table"... I said yes, and proved it... and discussed the resultant series of improvements it contributed to.

Anyways, before this thread tuns into another *****-fest, I am just going to end my participation in this thread at this point... you can choose to live with blinders... or not, I could not care any less.

Others are totally free to do their own research, and of course use what they wish. I am only discussing MY findings with MY cameras.

 

[itznfb]

The technology in these cameras is so advanced I don't care how good you think you are or how much experience you have you're not smarter than the camera. You may be able to make some manual adjustments and reach more desirable results in certain situations but not learning and using the technology to it's fullest and to your advantage is just plain stupid.

If you want to use M 80%+ of the time just because you think it impresses a bunch of people on a forum then more power to you. Your results will never be as good as they could be.

See, that point can be used as an argument for either side. To me, "Auto" is not using the technology to it's fullest, nor to your advantage. Yes, you are relying on the technology more, but you are not using it more.

I think the last sentance is just completely ignorant. You honestly think Auto produces better results than Manual? 80%+ of the time?

I'm not saying using technology is using Auto. And I think few people are understanding the capabilities of Auto-ISO. If you're in a situation where you know you will need +/- 2 ISO stop and you set that range it will adjust according way more accurately and much faster than any human is capable of doing. Using the technology to it's fullest isn't just slapping it in Auto obviously. and Auto ISO technically isn't "Auto" since you giving it a defined range to work with. Knowing how to utilize that range with other features is where it becomes more powerful than human ability.

Because trying to out-think your camera is like pushing a boulder up hill when you could have reached the same destination by going down hill.

... to someone of limited understanding of how their camera works, yes I agree.

No. Using manual doesn't prove you have a vast understanding of how your camera works. Knowing how to use the technical functionality built in and using that to produce better faster results is actually having a more in-depth understanding of your camera.

And now that I think about it the analogy I used kind of sucks as it more implies that you're taking the easy way out by auto which obviously isn't where I was going with that.

The technology in these cameras is so advanced I don't care how good you think you are or how much experience you have you're not smarter than the camera.

Then let me throw out another example... camera metering which is WAY more complex than simple ISO selection... it is WELL known that anyone that knows the Zone System for digital cameras can easily outthink the camera metering system and get superior results by understanding how the camera works and how to change settings to make it work better for you. Anyone that ever took a shot of snow or a black wall and left it medium grey... was equally stupid. Stupid is too strong a word... let's just say "of limited understanding until they read, learn, try and then find it to be true on their own".

As I said... I realize it isn't JUST about Auto-ISO and that's not what I'm implying. Knowing how to use it in conjunction with the other features is much more powerful and effective than someone using all manual. And I completely disagree that someone is able to out think the camera metering systems of the current gen cameras. When used properly. There's no way because as you put it, leaving it medium grey wouldn't be the optimal solution. That's why there are a boat load of other compensation features built in that can be utilized that will give you better results than manual is capable of doing.

If you want to use M 80%+ of the time just because you think it impresses a bunch of people on a forum then more power to you. Your results will never be as good as they could be.

I am not here to impress anyone and of all the people on this board, you the least. If your personality is threatened by someone who may know more and has an honest opinion based on facts and personal experiences... well you are the person pushing that boulder uphill.

Not just mine but ANYONE's results can be better if they know what they are doing... now if someone is clueless and P-mode is the best they can do... that is their choice. One day, they may choose to take off the blinders and try it out before arguing it.

The majority of your comments on this forum make it sound like you are desperately seeking attention and approval from the other members. And the fact that you believe you are smarter than todays digital camera just makes it seem like you're naive and you are the one that doesn't know how to use your camera. It takes much much less knowledge and skill to throw it in manual and just be satisfied with the results than it does to really know the capabilities of the camera and use it to it's fullest potential.

It's like the people that say why are you buying that $5000 camera when you will only use 10% of the functionality? Same applies to you. Why did you buy a D700 when you're satisfied getting basic results with fewer shots due to being slower in manual? You'd be better off with a N75.

I purchased my D90 last August and starting studying it. I would say on an average hike or trip to the zoo I use 90-100% of the features in there and often felt I could have used a few features in the D300 and now D300s. If you aren't utilizing your camera then you aren't getting as good of a result as you could and you certainly wasted your money.

 

[Plato]

No. I know how to use the right tool at the right time. There's a time and place for manual functions and there's a time and place for automatic functions. The end result is what counts.

YES! That is all that I am saying. :thumbup:
And I am also saying that my final results are proven to be better when not relying on this option. You may be different, others may be even more different.

By the way, if you think that you're manually cranking the mirror out of the way, you're clueless. All you're doing is changing the time when the CAMERA moves the mirror.

Not exactly. I am changing the time the SHUTTER opens and closes, the mirror says up and is NOT involved in the process, hence eliminating it's contribution of the vibration. Shall we now discuss the direction of the "clueless" comment further?

By the way, 12.8 in a quarter doesn't impress me.

I could not care less to impress you, it was an example. Personally, after 35 years of racing cars, I have yet to see a 4-door 4000 pound car that carries 5 people and 2 weeks of groceries pull 108mph in the 1/4 mile, 165mph on the top end and *still* do over 575 miles on a single tank of gas cruising along at 75mph.

The point being... if you know what you are doing... you can improve on your results and you brought up the "do you have a manual spark table"... I said yes, and proved it... and discussed the resultant series of improvements it contributed to.

Anyways, before this thread tuns into another *****-fest, I am just going to end my participation in this thread at this point... you can choose to live with blinders... or not, I could not care any less.

Others are totally free to do their own research, and of course use what they wish. I am only discussing MY findings with MY cameras.

Actually, I asked you if you used manual spark advance and you showed my a display from a computer software program. Duh...

You're not manually cranking the mirror. The camera is cranking it for you. This has nothing to do with WHEN it's cranked out of the way.

The part that I disagree with are statements like the following that are typical from you (emphasis is mine):
"Nikon D200 and up all have it, but I never use it... I prefer to have total control over my camera, rather than let the camera decide what ISO is good for me."

If you had TOTAL control over your car, you wouldn't depend on a computer program. You would use your personal knowledge to determine when to move a lever to control the spark advance.

Ironically, when I do use some of the automatic features of my camera, I do feel that I have control, total control, because I am well aware of the decisions that the camera is making and will make and, if those decisions were not to my satisfaction, I would not have chosen that particular automatic feature.

 

[fiveoboy01]

Does your home HVAC system have a thermostat?

Yes, but the next time it tries to take a picture, I will be sure to disable the auto ISO feature.

Funniest thing I have read all day:lmao: