Nikon D300 Users, Question about ISO

rpsmith79

rpsmith79

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Rich
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Well i have bought myself a used D300 off here (thanks to CTR_Chris ;) ), and it has landed at work today so i had a very quick play in my lunch time (couldn't do much as i don't have a lens yet)

But one thing that struck me initially is that the ISO starts at 200 with Low Boost mode to 160 & 100

Now what does this actually mean, and what should i set the camera to as i have always tried to shoot at ISO 100 (whenever possible), but with this being a Boost mode i presume it is not a real ISO 100 and would using the Boost mode introduce noise
 
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200 is the native ISO of the camera's sensor.

I have had a D300 for years, but with what I shoot I am usually up the other end of the ISO scale, so have never used the LO settings, however if my fading memory is correct the advice has always been for the optimum results use the native ISO.
 
Cheers, i thought as much, but i see so many post on here where the advice always seems to be to shoot at ISO 100 (if the conditions are correct etc)

Can anyone explain what the whole Boost thing actually means
 
rpsmith79 said:
Cheers, i thought as much, but i see so many post on here where the advice always seems to be to shoot at ISO 100 (if the conditions are correct etc)

Can anyone explain what the whole Boost thing actually means
Click to expand...

From Thom Hogan's review HERE

"The base ISO of the sensor is 200, with third-stop increments up through ISO 3200. You can also boost ISO one more stop, up to an effective ISO 6400. If that weren't enough, you can un-boost it by a stop to ISO 100, however I'll warn you that you can't do this with high contrast scenes, as the method Nikon is using will truncate highlight detail in such situations."

This is also covered on page 97 of the manual, Nikon's advice is to use ISO 200 and above, as the lower settings can see a slight loss of contrast.
 
Awesome, cheers Martyn, looks like i will be having fun reading the manual this weekend while i wait for my lens to arrive :thumbs:
 
rpsmith79 said:
Awesome, cheers Martyn, looks like i will be having fun reading the manual this weekend while i wait for my lens to arrive :thumbs:
Click to expand...

If you want an easier read, that explains in plain english what the buttons and settings do, have a look at Ken Rockwells guide, just ignore his love of the vivd settings :D LINK

With regard to the basic "picture controls", if you are shooting jpegs I would tweak the sharpness up a couple of notches, but leave the rest of the adjustments alone.

Neutral - best for natural skin tones

Standard - for everything else

Vivid - holiday brochure snaps
 
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