# Question for Auto ISO users...



## SuzukiGS750EZ (Apr 22, 2017)

So I have the Canon EOS 80D and since I bought it I've used Auto ISO (Nice step up from manually changing it all the time!). I've kept it on 100-16,000 for Auto and Manual range from 100-25,600. So it's maxed out. I've always been told it's better to get the shot and have some noise than to miss it altogether. I shoot birds outdoors and I've noticed sometimes it shoots up to ISO 8000 and it gives a fairly noisy image. My question is, should I limit my Auto ISO to a point where I'm happy with the amount of noise produced and possibly have to lower my shutter speed and get a shot that may not be sharp or should I let the camera max out the range and just let the noise happen. I'm happy with ISO 3200 but can deal with ISO 6400, anything above that it gets soft. But at the same time I got a shot of some deer which I don't even remember what it was shot at but it was above 6400 and it was salvageable, just not something I was proud of. Insight please! I've been trying to refine the settings in my camera as I get more acquainted with it and shooting birds and other wildlife.


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## otherprof (Apr 22, 2017)

SuzukiGS750EZ said:


> So I have the Canon EOS 80D and since I bought it I've used Auto ISO (Nice step up from manually changing it all the time!). I've kept it on 100-16,000 for Auto and Manual range from 100-25,600. So it's maxed out. I've always been told it's better to get the shot and have some noise than to miss it altogether. I shoot birds outdoors and I've noticed sometimes it shoots up to ISO 8000 and it gives a fairly noisy image. My question is, should I limit my Auto ISO to a point where I'm happy with the amount of noise produced and possibly have to lower my shutter speed and get a shot that may not be sharp or should I let the camera max out the range and just let the noise happen. I'm happy with ISO 3200 but can deal with ISO 6400, anything above that it gets soft. But at the same time I got a shot of some deer which I don't even remember what it was shot at but it was above 6400 and it was salvageable, just not something I was proud of. Insight please! I've been trying to refine the settings in my camera as I get more acquainted with it and shooting birds and other wildlife.


I don't think there is one answer. It sounds like sometimes you just want to document what you've seen, as with the deer you mention, and sometimes you are going for a great photograph, i.e. an image, not a spotting, you can be proud of.


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## zombiesniper (Apr 22, 2017)

I try and keep my ISO as low as I can.
I don't limit what the camera can use but I do watch my ISO while I'm looking through the viewfinder to ensure it's within a range I'm happy with. For me the max ISO I've used is in the 6k range but only once or twice.
Sometimes when the light isn't the best this can test the lens IS and my stability with slower shutter speeds. Whether good or bad light I always try to practice a stable shooting stance so that it is second nature. This way when I need to shoot slower I don't have to really think about it.

Short story. Always practice a stable shooting stance so when you need to you can slow down the shutter in less than ideal lighting situations.


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## SuzukiGS750EZ (Apr 22, 2017)

Yeah, I guess I should monitor ISO as well. I set my aperture first then square up the shutter speed depending on if the subject is or isn't moving. If moving I try to set 1/1000 or better, if not i'll drop the shutter speed down to where I think I can hand hold without blurring the photo and up the aperture depending on the scene. I guess I fail to look at ISO because I enjoy not having to mess with it so much! I almost forget ISO exists...


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## Derrel (Apr 22, 2017)

Yes, I do think you ought to set some parameters/limits on how high you will allow the AUTO ISO setting to go...of ISO say 12,500 or ISO 8,000 is the top limit for **your** camera, or for **your** own personal standard of acceptability, then definitely do make the necessary inputs to keep the ISO to within **your personal** limits.

Same goes for the minimum acceptable shutter speed for the lens in use, and so on.

I've used AUTO ISO mostly with FX Nikon, in Manual exposure mode, and typically set the slowest allowable shutter speed to a fast-enough level where it will "lift" the ISO rather quickly, and give me a fast-enough shutter speed to stop some movement. If I were to set the slowest shutter speed very low, to say, 1/40 second or something crazy like that, I could find myself getting low-ISO and blurred shots, so I generally set the slowest-allowable shutter speed at 1/250 second or even 1/400 second, which FORCES the ISO level "Up" rather quickly.

As with so many things in photography, "it all depends" on what you want to do! In some cases, shutter speed is critical; in some cases, having a small-enough f/stop, like say f/8, is a critical factor. 

There can also be extreme examples, where the settings need to be rather specific, and maybe out of the ordinary. For example, one day at the beach* in really gusty, windy conditions*, I wanted *f/5.6 *for deep enough depth of field AND *1/1250 or faster shutter *speed to stop movement with 70-200mm zoom and 300mm lenses on wind-blown hair in 20 to 30 MPH winds, and there was a LOT of natural fill-light coming from the ocean, and from light-colored sand, so I set the AUTO ISO up in Manual mode for a shutter speed minimum of 1/1250 and an f/stop of f/5.6, and allowed it to go up to ISO 2,500 if needed. Due to the high minimum shutter speed of 1/1250, and the moderate f/stop, it kept my ISO levels mostly in the ISO 400 to ISO 800 range.


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## SuzukiGS750EZ (Apr 22, 2017)

Derrel said:


> Yes, I do think you ought to set some parameters/limits on how high you will allow the AUTO ISO setting to go...of ISO say 12,500 or ISO 8,000 is the top limit for **your** camera, or for **your** own personal standard of acceptability, then definitely do make the necessary inputs to keep the ISO to within **your personal** limits.
> 
> Same goes for the minimum acceptable shutter speed for the lens in use, and so on.
> 
> ...


You set your Auto ISO while on the go?


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## CdTSnap (Apr 22, 2017)

I've stopped giving a **** about grain. Easy to say on an A7R2 but still, your better off getting a good shot than not. 

Weddings I go up to 10,000 or 12,800 if I really have to. (Not often)  


Sent from my iPhone using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app


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## Derrel (Apr 23, 2017)

SuzukiGS750 said:
			
		

> You set your Auto ISO while on the go?


Set it for the day, or for the hour, or for the shooting scenario at hand. Depends on what is needed. Turn it on or off as needed.


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## SuzukiGS750EZ (Apr 23, 2017)

Are there specific habits you have when you arrive where you'll be shooting? Maybe I need to develop a certain habit/ way of thinking.


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## beagle100 (Apr 24, 2017)

SuzukiGS750EZ said:


> Are there specific habits you have when you arrive where you'll be shooting? Maybe I need to develop a certain habit/ way of thinking.




I shot auto ISO is most situations, works great
*www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless*


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## TCampbell (Apr 25, 2017)

There are two reasons to keep ISO low... assuming you have options.  

One reason is the obvious "noise" ... but as you already know... better to have the noisy shot then the blurry shot.

The second reason is "dynamic range".  There's a maximum value (based on bit depth) that can be stored in any single "pixel" (ok, RAW images aren't really pixels but they still have bit-depth).  If you increase the light value of a dim pixel then you're fine.  But if you increase the light value of an already bright pixel then you clip the data because you go beyond the highest value that can be recorded.    As you increase ISO, you bring up the darks... but bringing up the lights tones without clipping gets tricky (so some cameras have things like highlight-tone-priority, etc.)  The bottom line is... if you bring up the "floor" but can't raise the "ceiling" then you're squeezing the middle... you lose dynamic range.  

If you can boost the exposure by slowing the shutter speed instead of ISO... great.  But that won't necessarily work so well for fast-action.

If you can boost exposure by adjusting aperture... also great.  So long as you don't end up reducing depth of field to the point where things that needed to remain in focus fell outside focus.

There are some tricks to dealing with noise.

If you globally apply noise reduction then the software analyzes pixels to see if they're anomalous relative to the surrounding pixels.  If they are, then it reduces the difference.  This tends to "average out" the image... but it also means that edges that should remain "sharp" may get averaged down and softened (and you don't want that.)

You'll also notice that noise is much more evident in dark regions... where an anomalous bright pixel really stands out because it is so much brighter than surrounding dark pixels.  But in the brights... you won't notice so much because all the surrounding pixels are ALSO bright pixels (and there's no such thing as "anti-noise" -- an anomalous dark pixel in the middle of a region that should be bright.)  

This means software can do a few clever tricks...

1)  use software that allows de-noising aggressiveness to be tuned to tonal range.  This means you can more aggressively go after the darks and you can practically leave the light ranges alone.  More of your detail will likely be in those light ranges anyway.  This helps preserve some sharpness when de-noising.

2)  some de-noising software can build a contrast mask with helps identify edges of contrast in your image... mask those out, and then only de-noise the non-contrasty areas.  It's generally easiest to spot the noise in those flat non-contrasty areas.

Knowing these two things can help deal with the noise problems without sacrificing much in the way of overall image sharpness and quality.


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## SuzukiGS750EZ (Apr 25, 2017)

TCampbell said:


> There are two reasons to keep ISO low... assuming you have options.
> 
> One reason is the obvious "noise" ... but as you already know... better to have the noisy shot then the blurry shot.
> 
> ...


Wow, thank you for all that. I learned a ton just now. Off to do some research!


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