Manual with auto ISO, who does this?

ShinySideUp

ShinySideUp

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I have set my camera up to use manual settings for aperture and shutter speed while setting my ISO to automatic, as per the instructions on a couple of Youtube videos, as I fancy trying it out. I'm presuming it will be a question of getting used to it, similar to when I started to use back button focussing.

Anyone use this method of exposure and how is it for you?
 
I use this method when I need 1.1600th sec shots to stop action.

Works well for me, especially now we have all these DeNoise apps available.
 
Yes, I find it hugely useful for indoor sports. Set shutter speed and IS mode based on what I'm doing, aperture depending on subject/background separation or if very low light purely to help keep iso as low as possible, and let the camera do the last variable in the equation.

Depending on your use case you might want to change the max iso your camera can auto select.
 
It's a technique I frequently saw mentioned but never really understood how useful it was until I started using it on a camera that has a very basic auto iso and won't go below 1/80 on the shutter when it's in control. For me I find it handy when shooting in low light and trying to balance as low a shutter speed as possible and how much depth of field I can get away with.
 
LancsMak said:
Yes, I find it hugely useful for indoor sports. Set shutter speed and IS mode based on what I'm doing, aperture depending on subject/background separation or if very low light purely to help keep iso as low as possible, and let the camera do the last variable in the equation.

Depending on your use case you might want to change the max iso your camera can auto select.
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It's a D850 so I think I'll be ok setting it to 6400 but I'm going out tomorrow to experiment. I have used aperture priority since the nineteen seventies so having one eye on the shutter speed has been second nature to me for decades. It may be that this method will gain me nothing but the camera can do it so it'll be interesting to try it out.
 
I quite often use it, but usually with aperture or shutter priority, not quite so often with fully manual, as it is more often I only want to fully control one parameter.
 
I also use it when I have to take indoor shots. I am currently using max iso of 4000 on both the d750 and the z6ii.
 
I use auto ISO in Av mode with a minimum shutter speed if I'm just general walking about handheld shooting.

If I'm on a tripod or night skies then obviously it's in manual for more control.
 
I tried it a few days ago, I like the shutter being on one wheel and aperture on the other wheel but found it difficult to change exposure compensation. This could be as am using a different camera make to what I used to. I will have to try again as it should solve so many problems.
 
ShinySideUp said:
Anyone use this method of exposure and how is it for you?
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It's the way I operate almost all the time - with exposure compensation (which some stupidly designed cameras don't allow). It's the best thing that digital has brought to my photography. Love it!

Only times I don't is in a controlled situation when I need want a low ISO - which is rare. - or when fluorescent light makes a certain shutter speed essential to prevent banding (although flicker reduction can overcome that).
 
For me it's usually a toss up between manual with auto ISO or aperture priority with auto ISO and min shutter speed. The most useful feature I find on my Nikon is metering for highlights.
 
I use this.

I usually use aperture priority until failing light causes the shutter speed to drop too low. I then switch to manual and dial in appropriate aperture and shutter settings and let auto ISO take care of the rest.

There are other ways of doing this such as dialing in minimum shutter speeds if your camera has that ability but that possibly doesn't cover every need. I find aperture priority in good light and manual with auto ISO in lower light to be the best combination for me, and things get even better if exposure compensation is also available in manual with auto ISO.
 
adrianday said:
It's got some (minor) limitations, but as long as you ensure your subject is properly lit, it's an absolute godsend.
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I often apply some positive exposure compensation as it can be conservative in preserving highlight. Like all features you have to learn how to use it. (y)
 
ShinySideUp said:
I have set my camera up to use manual settings for aperture and shutter speed while setting my ISO to automatic, as per the instructions on a couple of Youtube videos, as I fancy trying it out. I'm presuming it will be a question of getting used to it, similar to when I started to use back button focussing.

Anyone use this method of exposure and how is it for you?
Click to expand...
I use it now and again, but you do need to keep an eye on what the cameras setting for iso.
 
Exposure comp is brilliant, I'll often add a stop if I'm trying to photograph a black dog to avoid the metering accounting for all the background.
 
I shoot like this 99% of the time. I can always use the exposure compensation dial to tune the exposure to exactly what I want if the Auto ISO isn't exactly where I want. But I shoot Raw anyway so half a stop of exposure either way doesn't really matter. The high-ISO performance on my X-T4 is good enough for me that I don't really worry about the ISO value being picked, anything up to 6,400 is perfectly acceptable to me.
 
I am using this more and more - as others have mentioned, you can use EC as you would have with Aperture or Shutter priority to adjust for scenes where you know the camera won't give you the overall exposure you'd like.
It's the ability to give good images even with relatively high ISO that has really made this way of working more generally useful.
 
RichardC27 said:
I shoot like this 99% of the time. I can always use the exposure compensation dial to tune the exposure to exactly what I want if the Auto ISO isn't exactly where I want. But I shoot Raw anyway so half a stop of exposure either way doesn't really matter. The high-ISO performance on my X-T4 is good enough for me that I don't really worry about the ISO value being picked, anything up to 6,400 is perfectly acceptable to me.
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What do you do if the ISO goes higher? Stop taking pictures?

I'll use any ISO rather than not take the picture as if it is truly awful and not useable at all you can delete it but if you don't take the picture you don't have that choice.
 
woof woof said:
What do you do if the ISO goes higher? Stop taking pictures?

I'll use any ISO rather than not take the picture as if it is truly awful and not useable at all you can delete it but if you don't take the picture you don't have that choice.
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I have the camera set to max auto ISO of 12,800, which is the maximum normal range ISO. Given I have IBIS as well then I can always go slower and slower with the shutter speed if necessary. I've used the camera in very dark environments and I've never felt the need to manually choose the ISO, as I have the camera set to use the full ISO range anyway. Just checking my photos and we visited an outdoor light trail and Christmas grotto last December, in the dark. Loads of images at ISO12800 and they look fine, certainly for family snapshots anyway. I'm not really bothered about image noise, if I need a sky high ISO to get the shot then so be it.
 
RichardC27 said:
I have the camera set to max auto ISO of 12,800, which is the maximum normal range ISO. Given I have IBIS as well then I can always go slower and slower with the shutter speed if necessary. I've used the camera in very dark environments and I've never felt the need to manually choose the ISO, as I have the camera set to use the full ISO range anyway. Just checking my photos and we visited an outdoor light trail and Christmas grotto last December, in the dark. Loads of images at ISO12800 and they look fine, certainly for family snapshots anyway. I'm not really bothered about image noise, if I need a sky high ISO to get the shot then so be it.
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adrianday said:
Make a decision to lower the shutter speed or increase the aperture size?
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My view is that it's better to take the picture than not. That's the first thing. Unless it's obviously and definitely not going to work even as a record shot.

Other than that there's a couple of issues. Firstly there's a limit on the aperture size you can use and that's a hard physical limit and once you're there you're there and there's no more you can do. Secondly low shutter speeds and even IS aren't always the answer if your subject or just the world in general isn't compatible as something is likely to move. Some subjects and situations require a minimum shutter speed otherwise motion blur is likely to be a real issue. Sometimes some noise or even a lot of it may be preferable to motion blur which may be a move obvious and serious issue in the final picture.

We all have to make our own decisions within the limits of aperture, shutter speed and available ISO and we all need to decide what is an acceptable level of IQ and I think that does have to be related to how important having the picture is to us. I do have pictures taken at very high ISO's and I'm glad I have them.
 
Had another go just this minute, Exposure compensation is not too hard at all to set, it just does show in the evf when its set to none.
So nothing not to like after all.
 
juggler said:
I've never found any advantage to shooting manual + Auto ISO + set shutter speed limits + exposure compensation, might as well just go full manual and then you don't need to deal with the camera second guessing you.
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The disadvantage of going full manual is that you have to monitor and change everything manually. Going auto in manual could leave you more free to concentrate on composition and pressing the shutter at the right moment rather than fiddling with settings.
 
woof woof said:
The disadvantage of going full manual is that you have to monitor and change everything manually. Going auto in manual could leave you more free to concentrate on composition and pressing the shutter at the right moment rather than fiddling with settings.
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but if you're twiddling exposure comp and min shutter speed then you're still twiddling, no?
 
A downside is that many cameras (mine for example) don’t go higher than ISO6400 in Auto, even though the camera is more than capable at higher speeds.
 
I've always used auto-iso and manual mode when the light or environment light is constantly changing. Events where it's moving quickly from bright outside to dark'ish in-doors - this is where auto-iso is useful for me. I use flash to add a bit of fill rather than change the lighting (of rooms / halls). Also, once in a single location for a period of time ISO is normally set manually.
 
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juggler said:
I've never found any advantage to shooting manual + Auto ISO + set shutter speed limits + exposure compensation, might as well just go full manual and then you don't need to deal with the camera second guessing you.
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M + Auto ISO isn't a panacea - for some kinds of photography it's a menace. If you mostly shoot under conditions where you can control lighting and subject then auto ISO is far less useful.

Where it comes into its own is under changing conditions, especially for subjects which require a fast shutter speed. I find it much easier that riding an ISO dial in changing light. The less I have to think about changing the settings the better for me.

The compensation dial effectively becomes an ISO dial which can be twiddled only when you think the camera is making the wrong choice.
 
juggler said:
but if you're twiddling exposure comp and min shutter speed then you're still twiddling, no?
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When using auto ISO like this I tend to set aperture, shutter and comp once, then take a bunch of shots, letting the camera handle any exposure variations via auto ISO.
 
It puts your camera in a semi auto mode.. people still think they are shooting manual.. But the camera is making decisions about your exposure just like any other semi auto mode... and juts like them its a great option when the light is changing and you want to control aperture and shutter.. but its only as good as the camera.. yours needs to be able to handle high ISO just in case..

years ago i used AV mode for changing light situations.. now i use auto iso mode... its perfect for me but then again my camera can shoot high iso and look good :)
 
I have never used auto ISO. However, as I take more landscapes than anything else I keep the ISO low and use Av so I can control the aperture. Sometimes I'm using a tripod so a slow shutter speed is a not big problem.

I do use full manual for star photos(lowest f number, longest shutter speed I can get away with to stop trailing and I play about with the ISO to get what I am happy with) but other than that I'm in Av. I'm guessing many/most of us are in some form of semi auto a lot of the time.

Dave
 
ShinySideUp said:
I have set my camera up to use manual settings for aperture and shutter speed while setting my ISO to automatic, as per the instructions on a couple of Youtube videos, as I fancy trying it out. I'm presuming it will be a question of getting used to it, similar to when I started to use back button focussing.

Anyone use this method of exposure and how is it for you?
Click to expand...
I use it for birds/wildlife (and on my very occasional street photography).

I set the aperture near to wide open, and then choose a shutter speed to match the action. I can see the ISO in the viewfinder and try to choose the best shutter speed while also watching what is happening to the ISO. If things are happening fast, I just adjust the shutter speed and ignore what the ISO is doing.

If a flying bird ends up perching in front of me, after grabbing a few shots in the air, I can take the time to choose a longer shutter speed and bring the ISO down.

As others have also said I use the highlight weighted matrix metering on my Nikon D500, and almost permanently have a +0.7 exposure compensation dialled in. But I often add more than this. The Nikon highlight weighting seems to make very little differences if there are only a few high lit areas, but becomes stronger as the proportion of bright areas increase.

I feel (not tested it yet) that although the highlight weighting seems to work extremely well, it's also easy to badly underexpose the shadow side of backlit birds. Which is less of an issue with ISO invariant sensors (400 ISO and above on the D500) and software like DXO, than it once was. However, I still add some exposure compensation in backlit circumstances. I chimp the histogram to help judge this, or just add 1 to 2 stops.

I have the Nikon function control option "release button to use dial" set to "on" (f6 on a D750), so I don't need to hold the compensation button down while trying to adjust the compensation. I found this makes adjusting exposure compensation much easier than the Nikon default.

For landscape I use fixed ISO and manual aperture and shutter speed. When you have the time. I find this the most straight forward approach and only go above base ISO when there is subject movement (flowers blowing in the wind etc), and I need a higher shutter speed.

But for fast action type photography, I find auto ISO invaluable. I can "set and forget it" for when taking time to make any adjustment might lose me a shot, but equally I still have quick access to fully controlling the choice of ISO, shutter speed and aperture, when time allows.
 
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