What, When, Were…Discussion of the Use of Auto ISO Settings

Pistnbroke

What you say is fine but I find that if the exposure includes 1/30 and people are walking I can get blurr.
If I zoom in in dark conditions the speed can go up ..say 1/200 which means the iso goes up which is not neccessary if the VR is on and people are not moving ...

So I dont use this feature...1 step too far ..works against me !!

sevencrossing

The good news, Auto ISO can quickly be turned off, without going into the menus

WestEndBoy

The good news, Auto ISO can quickly be turned off, without going into the menus

I do that quite a bit. I also have it on my quick memo so I can change the maximum ISO quickly (OK quicklyish).

spraynpray

@Pistnbroke: Well, Saturday I scoped out a venue for a last minute wedding I have on the 16th. I set up my D7100 like yours and when I entered the reception room I found the lighting was way beyond anything I have experienced in a wedding before - huge window pouring bright sun onto the brilliant white table, hard from the side, warm coloured walls and ceiling plus the ceiling was heavily hung with large odd shaped and coloured maritime objects. My settings ended up back where they normally are to get soft shadows behind and to control the shadows across the face. I liked the idea of a 'one size fits all' setting for weddings but if I used your settings, I would have still got the shots, but they would not have been as good. To be fair, they were exceptional conditions, maybe those settings will work for the next wedding venue - I'll certainly try them.

Pistnbroke

Must admit I have never seen sunlight shining direct onto the top table but I am pleased to know you will give it another go !! You are never going to do much good if you have shadow and sunlight across people faces. As you had two weeks perhaps pointing this out to the couple and changing the room layout may have worked and if it did not your liability would be mitigated.

bland

I used Auto ISO when shooting concerts and other low light shooting. (D800 & Df)

sevencrossing

I used Auto ISO when shooting concerts and other low light shooting. (D800 & Df)</</i>blockquote>
As Auto ISO works in M A and S I wonder if people could tell us which mode they are using it in
Also, like bland, what model Nikon they are using, as I think it works slightly differently with different models

Vipmediastar_JZ

There is an auto iso topic on another site. Somebody posted a link to a Dynamic range versus ISO comparions.

Here it is Chart DRvsISO

spraynpray

@Pistonbroke: In the end I balanced the flash output to the ambient using HSS. It worked really well.

Pistnbroke

yes good but I think you will find thats automatic if you are on 1/320 FP and you are NOT using an SB400

spraynpray

Manual mode, 1/1250s f5.6 55mm SB700, Gary Fong. Soft shadows and a pleasing light ratio across the face.

Pistnbroke

Garry fong absorbs vast amounts of power and no better results than a flash flipper and dircet flash ..IMHo hah
a ..mind you very posy for the wedding guests who never seen one before ....all good pr fun

spraynpray

I keep comparing it to other attachments and it is IMHO still better than them. When I use it where I need power I line half the inside with aluminium foil.

With regard to direct unmodified flash comparison, no way mate! It's waaay better than that!

...and I can keep my sandwiches in it too

Pistnbroke

The latest fongs have a silvered reflector built in and a hole in the top to let the light out so it can bounce on the ceiling.....because I sling both cameras throughout the wedding (one on each shoulder which means I can let go and use my hands) I find the fong too big

sevencrossing

Should I start a thread on ON CAMERA light modifiers ?
http://forum.nikonrumors.com/discussion/2840/which-on-camera-light-flash-diffusers-do-you-use#Item_2

spraynpray

The latest fongs have a silvered reflector built in and a hole in the top to let the light out so it can bounce on the ceiling.....because I sling both cameras throughout the wedding (one on each shoulder which means I can let go and use my hands) I find the fong too big

I'll have to try one of those chrome dome thingies.

SquamishPhoto

I'll have to try one of those chrome dome thingies.

"WARNING: More knowledge and practice - not new gear - produces better photographs..."

spraynpray

...LOL @SquamishPhoto! But after I have tried it, I will know more and it just might help me in those difficult situations.

Good news is I know somebody who has got one so I don't need to buy one $-)

snakebunk

Does anyone use auto iso for nature photography?

PB_PM

@snakebunk Yes. I use it in combination with manual mode to get the correct exposure with the shutter speed and aperture I want (corrected with exposure compensation as needed). I used to use aperture priority, but auto ISO works very well with manual these days.

snakebunk

@PB_PM: That is exactly what I was thinking about. I want to set shutter speed and aperture myself but could use small iso compensations for clouds and other things that change. Thank you, I will try it.

sevencrossing

snakebunk Does anyone use auto iso for nature photography


Yes, shooting Red Deer, rutting, at sunrise
D800 Manual mode, about 1/1500 @ f 5.6 with the 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S
The auto ISO will start at ISO 6400 and as the sun quickly comes up, drop down to about ISO 1600

Vipmediastar_JZ

I used auto iso on the little league game. I was doing Manual mode and auto iso worked out since it was cloud and the sun was in and out every few seconds.

Coastalconn

I use auto-iso all the time with my birds. I like to control my aperture and SS. I almost always shoot in manual that way. The beauty is I can go from 1/400th to 1/1250th if a bird takes flight with just 5 clicks on my thumb wheel. I also use EC all the time. I only go into full manual if my camera can't figure out what I want like bright white birds in harsh light. When I was shooting with the D300 I generally didn't shoot this way, but the D7100 handles higher ISO so much better I generally don't worry about it much..

Photobug

Special thanks to @Pinstbroke and everyone else who left comments in this forum. This is what I learned from reading this forum.

The wife and I flew to Florida on vacation. The night before I read Pistnbroke's post telling me about how he uses Auto ISO on his D7100. So I went into my Menu's and turned on Auto ISO, using 1/60 for the minimum and 3200 for the highest setting.

The first morning on vacation we went to Historical Pensacola and took the 90 minute guided tour. ((HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)) I turned on Auto ISO and took pictures in three buildings and the Church. WOW and I mean WOW!. No flash and great pictures with no dark shadows. Now I have not looked at them on my monitor, but the picture quality looked good to me. I did not see any noise...I am hooked.

Plus love the ability of holding the ISO button in and turning the front wheel to turn on/off Auto ISO. Just love it. Thanks a lot to everyone who provided their input.