Who uses auto iso and why

do you use auto iso

  • yes

    Votes: 111 56.6%

  • no

    Votes: 85 43.4%
  • Total voters
    196
Said no,

But mainly because I've not tried it. Never really found a need for it myself.
 
the answers from people very much will depened on the camera body they use. I never used it on the 5d mark 2 because the lack of control, but on the mark 3 i use it always because you can set minimum shutter or use it in manual with set shutter and set aperture - doing that on the mark 2 always resulted in iso 400
 
Agree with Joe. I use it now as I primarily use Aperture priority and can set the camera at minimum shutter speed so the auto choice is always going to be what I would choose anyway.
 
I use it about 50% of the time so ticked 'yes'. Find it superb when light is changing fast, it works far faster than I can. Not fool proof of course but I pick and choose when I use it to suit.
 
Yes. Quite a bit. The range on the sony 100-1600 is perfectly usable and I'm invariably in AP mode. In ultra gloom then I'd be back to fixing the iso as I'd need 3200 or 6400.

I don't use it on the bridge camera I have. That's usually set at 100 or 200 as it is flipping noisy on 400 or more so it's pointless.

I think it just depends on the camera body and whether the auto iso range is either customisable or set sensibly to begin with.
 
Always,it is so good on the Nikon system.
 
No as its got some very annoying issues on the D300s. The worst that comes to mind is when you use a flash in a dark room and put the sync speed to max, the iso goes to max also due to the shutter speed. This is especially annoying with the CLS system when you use off camera flash and the commander mode on the body if you don't turn off auto iso to start with.
 
The poll is not really perfect and I have selected yes but would have liked to have selected sometimes, as with anything it's a case of using what is appropriate for the time/situation, take on saturday, I was shooting the Avro Vulcan as it did a single fly past at CVT lasting less than 60 seconds under light that changed from one minute to the next, so I knew I wanted f/8 and 1/4000th of a seconds so I set this as a manual setting and then used auto ISO to ensure the camera would always reach those settings :D

I didn't have the time to get the shot's and adjust my own ISO, so as I have said it's horses for courses, most of the time I set my own ISO but there are occasions when I let the camera do the work on that front :D
 
If you want or need to shoot with specific shutter speeds and aperture settings, in changeable light, then auto iso on the D700 is excellent. You are still in control, creatively.
 
Exactly. ISO is a quality and exposure setting, not a creative control setting. If you are happy that your camera does it's job in a specific set of conditions then it work great while letting you getting on with the other factors.
 
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Don't use it.
 
Adam_M said:
No, never. How on earth can you really be in control of your exposure with auto iso?
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Hope this doesn't sound argumentative but would you say that the same about Av and Tv mode? I guess if you always shoot entirely manually auto iso is going to seem like the devil.
 
I'll give this a bash. Wandering through woodland I know I'm missing shots because I'm fiddling with ISO because of the ever changing light.

While I'm at it ill try fully manual settings, was very used to it using film but for some reason never felt confident to use it on a dslr.
 
I use it sometimes, specifically in situations where the light is changing quickly and unpredictably. On my 7D it appears to do a very good job provided you keep an eye on it and set a realistic maximum (possible in the latest firmware).
 
Dervish99 said:
Yes i nearly always use Auto ISO on the 5D2, unless using flash.
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same here. it's excellent on 24-105L kit lens in Av.

but when using my ultrawide 17-40mm, auto-ISO thinks it's okay have 1/15 shutter speed. :wacky: I either do Tv and auto-ISO or set ISO manually in my usual Av mode. I do wish I can use auto-ISO in manual mode though, it just goes to 400. :puke:

sounds like 5D mark 3 has fixed mk2's stupidities: minimal shutter speed control and auto-ISO in manual mode. i'd have thought a firmware update would allow mk2 to do the same :(
 
Using Tv or Av is using the camera in auto mode, which most people find acceptable, however chnage to manual shutter and aperture combined with Auto ISO and attitudes change for some inexplicable reason. Auto ISO is just one of the three factors determining exposure, unless fully manual on all three the camera is doing part of the job for you anyway. The only drawback to Auto ISO when using manual shutter and aperture is no compensation,so you had better be aware at what the camera is metering from, but that applies in any situation.
 
My camera doesn't offer auto iso in metered manual mode. I find this a glaring omission. Even my bridge camera has it.
 
Adam_M said:
No, never. How on earth can you really be in control of your exposure with auto iso?
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Because all you're changing is the ISO, you set the aperture and shutter speed, the ISO shouldn't have an impact on the resulting image as long as you work within the usable range of your body.

I use it for non-landscape stuff on my 5D3 (landscapes are usually on a tripod at ISO100 with a shutter speed as long as it takes).

With the 5D3 I can fix aperture and shutter speed and let the ISO take care of itself, within brackets that I fix. With the high ISO being as good as it is I don't worry about shooting even at 6400.
 
Adam_M said:
No, never. How on earth can you really be in control of your exposure with auto iso?
Click to expand...
as said above, set your shutter speed and apature and the camer will select the right iso for the correct exposure and it works, the 2 main things for me are i select the apature and the ss, the iso i set a range in camer so it cant exceed that. my d300 is set from iso 200 to 1600 so it wont go higher than 1600 which i no noise wise the d300 does a good job.

my d700 is set from iso 200 to 12800 which again is a range i know i can trust.
 
All the time, except when using flash or doing long exposures. Nikon's implementation is very good, and the latest version in the D4 and the like is even better as I understand it (takes focal length into consideration).
 
scottthehat said:
as said above, set your shutter speed and apature and the camer will select the right iso for the correct exposure and it works,
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While that works you are still not fully in control of your exposure, which was the question I think. The camera is deciding the exposure for you by changing the ISO. To be really in control and 'fix' the exposure you cannot leave ISO to change as the camera sees fit.
 
love this on my 7D
manual mode, so you have creative control
Maybe sweet spot on the lens for aperture
Shutter speed might have to be at least 1/250s to reduce shake...then the camera will automatically make the shot as least noisy as possible.
 
Adam_M said:
No, never. How on earth can you really be in control of your exposure with auto iso?
Click to expand...

you can't use it properly on your body. But get the mark 3 and you'll see exactly why you should use it.

On the mark 3 (and lots of nikons) you can use it two ways:

1. In manual mode it can effectivly give a new Iv mode (Av for apeture, Tv for Shutter and now Iv for ISO mode) where you can set a shutter of say 1/250 and an aperture of say 2.8 and then your ISO will jump up and down to exposure correctly for those settings.

2. In Av mode you can set a minimum shutter speed. So if you set it to 1/250 and your aperture is at 2.8 your camera will keep the ISO as low as possible and just change the shutter until the shutter drops to 1/250, at which point it will drop no more and instead your ISO will creep up.

In both of these modes it effectively means that you can shoot in every condition needed and get exactly the exposure you want with the settings you have set without ever needing to change them.

Do you see now why it's the most awesome feature ever to be added to a camera body?
 
I didn't know you could set a minimum shutter speed (which is obviously very handy!)
will investigate to see if this is possible on my canon model
 
ernesto said:
To be really in control and 'fix' the exposure you cannot leave ISO to change as the camera sees fit.
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You can still control the exposure, well you can on the Nikon, as in manual mode you can still dial in plus or minus EV.

However if my intention was to be creative, or for long exposure night time stuff I would turn it off, but for the stuff I shoot it is a godsend.
 
Martyn... said:
You can still control the exposure, well you can on the Nikon, as in manual mode you can still dial in plus or minus EV.
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But the camera will still change the ISO as light changes even if it remains at -1 for example. It will just be -1 of the amended exposure with the changed ISO.

Not sure why I am arguing this one as I use auto ISO 99% of the time anyway :)
 
DizMatt said:
I didn't know you could set a minimum shutter speed (which is obviously very handy!)
will investigate to see if this is possible on my canon model
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let me save you the time. Nope you can't do it on your model (well not the ones listed in your camera bag anyway)
 
Martyn... said:
You can still control the exposure, well you can on the Nikon, as in manual mode you can still dial in plus or minus EV.

However if my intention was to be creative, or for long exposure night time stuff I would turn it off, but for the stuff I shoot it is a godsend.
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Knowing what Martyn ,primarily, shoots and the fact that I do the same type of stuff, then it is an absolute godsend.

However, I accept that for more controlled enviroments, it is not necessary,landscape off a tripod for example.

But for wildlife flitting about in woods or through vegetation, then the camera can adjust itself a lot faster than a human can. I would rather have a noisy shot of a peregrine in flight rather than a blurred noise free subject of the same creature. Example, if shooting peregrines with my D700, I set the camera to A priority,F8 say, I set the max iso to 6400 and the minimum shutter speed to 1/2000. The camera will keep the shutter speed at 1/2000 and adjust the ISO when it needs to.It changes itself if it flies with a blue sky behind it, white cloud or rock face whilst always keeping the important shutter speed up where it simply has to be. Exposure compensation can also be dialled in if needs be, not sure if Canon or others work that way, but Nikon do.

Of course ,if the light is really bad, then it will drop the shutter speed if it reaches that set 6400 iso.
 
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