Auto ISO - Yay or Nay

[Majeed Badizadegan]

You can also cap your max ISO at a range you're comfortable with.

 

[Majeed Badizadegan]

Nay! ISO is the one parameter that, IMO, should NEVER be set to Auto. There's nothing wrong with using Auto exposure if the occasion calls for it, but the dange with Auto-ISO is that it can drive the ISO up to an undesirable/unusable range without the photographer noticing. Granted, like every "rule", there are exceptions, but for 99.999% of work, choose your ISO yourself.

I don't agree, the camera will only drive the ISO to the limit you set, so if you've tested your camera and know the ISO limits, the camera won't drive the ISO any higher than you yourself would drive it. So the images are no worse than if you setting the ISO yourself.

This.

In theory, you could cap the max auto ISO at 400 or 800 if you wanted to. Even 200.

 

[sovietdoc]

The reason I am bringing up this auto ISO thing is the fact that I like my camera to do as much work by itself as it can do properly. I used to shoot everything in full manual when I was learning photography, but the more I learned it, the more I've learned to use shutter or aperture priority modes. Usually, I just shoot everything in aperture priority because shutter priority only becomes useful to capture moving subjects without a blur.

The way I shoot, unless doing panoramic nature shots, I don't have much time to stand still and play around with camera settings to take a shot. This is why I am trying to offload as much of that as possible to the camera itself. And I guess it's okay to let it handle ISO unless like I said, I am shooting in some sort of extreme setting where I need IQ control or if I am shooting with flash.

Current DSLRs have so many settings to play with that if I want to take a shot quickly, I have to have it pre configured. Problem is, in a lot of situations I can't have it pre configured the environment changes dynamically. Even simple outside shooting requires different settings depending on amount of sunlight, angle, shadows, clouds and etc. So I used to shoot in full manual setting Shutter speed, aperture, ISO, custom white balance, focus points, flash settings and I've learned to try to automate as much of that as possible in order to take shots quickly in changing environments.

So based on suggestions here, I think I've made a correct decision to use Auto ISO because 5D3 handles it fairly well and unless I am using flash or in dark dark indoors, I should be fine.

EDIT:

Yes, I just set the upper limit for auto ISO at a setting I know will still be acceptable. Yes, technically I can even auto ISO from 100 to 200 or whatever is 1/3 increment

 

[Dominantly]

No, I never use auto ISO, I see no point in it.

Manipulating the triangle is really quite easy, so I fail to see the point of using an auto mode. It may be a bit different if one is using a body without dual command dials, so I can't speak for everyone on the ease of use.

But really, ISO is the last thing I touch. I go Aperture- Shutter- Fill light- ISO.

 

[ann]

nope, not auto ISO,

 

[Dominantly]

How much are the scenes you are shooting, really changing?
I'm trying to imagine one that would cause me to lag on manipulating the settings, and can't come up with anything.

I also believe that there is a bit of an artistic twist to nailing YOUR desired exposure, that the camera isn't tuned to do.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

I've never found conditions desirable for me to set my cam to auto-iso

 

[tirediron]

*200, 400 ISO... pines nostalgically for Kodachrome 25 and Panatomic-X* I'm curious, OP, what sort of work are you doing where you are faced with such dynamic conditions and so little time to prepare for a shot?

 

[manaheim]

Nay! ISO is the one parameter that, IMO, should NEVER be set to Auto. There's nothing wrong with using Auto exposure if the occasion calls for it, but the dange with Auto-ISO is that it can drive the ISO up to an undesirable/unusable range without the photographer noticing. Granted, like every "rule", there are exceptions, but for 99.999% of work, choose your ISO yourself.

Yeah, I really agree with this.

I always advocate using whatever tool you need to use to get the job done, but auto-ISO can REALLY mangle your pictures.

 

[MReid]

Have the auto iso naysayers ever tried it?
Why wouldn't you use it is a better question.

 

[sovietdoc]

I'm curious, OP, what sort of work are you doing where you are faced with such dynamic conditions and so little time to prepare for a shot?

Okay, for example taking pictures at someones birthday party or a wedding or at a concert. Having to constantly run inside, or run outside, even inside, always turning the lights on and off, outside could-sun-cloud all the time. The exposure settings change like no other and I am having to spend more time readjusting my camera settings than actually shooting. One way I've solved this is using C1 2 and 3 modes, this way I can preconfigure the camera and just flip a switch but those 3 presets can only provide a baseline for the shoot, not fine-tuned details that keep changing. Concerts are usually more relaxing but they throw different lighting FX from time to time which can throw off some of the shots.

Basically in a lot of situations just changing exposure isn't enough. There are a ton of flash settings and firing modes depending on lighting conditions, focal length and the surroundings, plus white balance (primarily inside a building), plus changing AF modes and AF points and I need to be always ready to take a picture in a second. Because the conditions are always changing, I keep adjusting my camera settings and having less of a focus on what's happening around me. Recently I've been playing around with all different auto modes, only learning that the more I can offload to the camera, the better.

I totally understand a lot of comments that say "Auto anything? DON'T DO IT" because believe me, I don't like relying on anything automatic because somehow it always just "isn't it" but if it comes to having a more or less decent picture, or no picture at all because I was fiddling with the settings, I'll stick with some settings offloaded for the camera to do. I believe that as long as automatic settings are controllable, you can always shape that automation to help you get good results quick, rather than ruin your shots.

I am not talking about "auto ISO 50-100k+" here. I am merely asking about auto-iso 100-1600 outside, and maybe MAYBE up to 12800 inside. For people (moving subjects) I still always have to have a decent shutter speed like 1/125 so even it it raises my iso inside to match 1/125, it's better to have 1 stop higher ISO than underexposed image and motion blur (unless that is what I initially wanted)

 

[Derrel]

How well AUTO ISO works is dependent upon the implementation of the feature and the user's understanding and experience WITH using AUTO ISO. For many generations of cameras, Canon cameras had no AUTO ISO, and then a very primitive incarnation of it. As I understand it, the new 5D-III is the first Canon to come close to the Nikon implementation. Pentax has long had a superb AUTO ISO implementation. Nikon introduced AUTO ISO with the D70 back in 2004, and it has grown more and more capable. The thing that makes AUTO ISO more useful than ever before is the increasing use of slow, variable maximum aperture lenses among users who want to shoot run-n-gun style on family/candid/street/documentary/action subject matter; with slowish zoom lenses, one can EASILY "run out of f/stop" when a subject merely slips in to a shady spot. With a 70-300mm f/4.5~5.6 VR Nikkor for example, the maximum f/stop if f/5.6 at the longer focal lengths...if one spots a subject in a shaded area with that lens on the camera, the shutter speed can easily drop from 1/500 second in the sun to 1/8 second in a shaded doorway or on the "other side of the street"...there simply *is no other way* many times to gain shutter speed except by elevating the ISO.

If the camera has a capable AUTO ISO system, it makes sense to use it. But then again, one needs to know "how" to use it. With the rise of sow-speed consumer and pro-sumer level zoom lenses topping out as low as f/5.6 at maximum aperture, AUTO ISO has never made as much sense as it does today. And now that the better cameras allow shooting between ISO 100 and ISO 800 with almost no visible penalty, it makes more sense than ever. With the better FF cameras shooting well at up to and including 3,200, AUTO ISO has become another useful tool for those who have the smarts to actually understand how and when using it can offer a significant advantage.

 

[tirediron]

Why make it harder than it has to be?

Why indeed? One of the things I think you might be over-looking is the fact that "perfect" exposure is not necessarily the right exposure. Just because your histogram is a perfect bell curve, does not mean that it's the ideal exposure for the scene.

 

[Majeed Badizadegan]

How well AUTO ISO works is dependent upon the implementation of the feature and the user's understanding and experience WITH using AUTO ISO. For many generations of cameras, Canon cameras had no AUTO ISO, and then a very primitive incarnation of it. As I understand it, the new 5D-III is the first Canon to come close to the Nikon implementation. Pentax has long had a superb AUTO ISO implementation. Nikon introduced AUTO ISO with the D70 back in 2004, and it has grown more and more capable. The thing that makes AUTO ISO more useful than ever before is the increasing use of slow, variable maximum aperture lenses among users who want to shoot run-n-gun style on family/candid/street/documentary/action subject matter; with slowish zoom lenses, one can EASILY "run out of f/stop" when a subject merely slips in to a shady spot. With a 70-300mm f/4.5~5.6 VR Nikkor for example, the maximum f/stop if f/5.6 at the longer focal lengths...if one spots a subject in a shaded area with that lens on the camera, the shutter speed can easily drop from 1/500 second in the sun to 1/8 second in a shaded doorway or on the "other side of the street"...there simply *is no other way* many times to gain shutter speed except by elevating the ISO.

If the camera has a capable AUTO ISO system, it makes sense to use it. But then again, one needs to know "how" to use it. With the rise of sow-speed consumer and pro-sumer level zoom lenses topping out as low as f/5.6 at maximum aperture, AUTO ISO has never made as much sense as it does today. And now that the better cameras allow shooting between ISO 100 and ISO 800 with almost no visible penalty, it makes more sense than ever. With the better FF cameras shooting well at up to and including 3,200, AUTO ISO has become another useful tool for those who have the smarts to actually understand how and when using it can offer a significant advantage.

Brilliantly said Derrel, as usual.

The key is: know WHEN and HOW to use it. Then it can be a tool to your advantage. I don't use it all the time, but when I do, I cap the auto ISO limit at a level of digital noise I'm comfortable with usually 800 or 1600.

 

[tirediron]

...Okay, for example taking pictures at someones birthday party or a wedding or at a concert. Having to constantly run inside, or run outside, even inside, always turning the lights on and off, outside could-sun-cloud all the time. The exposure settings change like no other and I am having to spend more time readjusting my camera settings than actually shooting...

Okay, I understand your rationale; not really sure that I agree with it, but I understand it.

Question (and I mean this seriously, this is not a put-down, dig, slur, etc): Are you someone who can adjust their camera on the fly without looking at the controls? In otherwords, in a pitch-dark room, without removing your eye from the viewfinder, can you confidently manipulate all of the key exposure controls on your camera?