how many of you shoot auto ISO?

Elaine

As I'm considering an upgrade in camera system, it occurred to me that if I had a camera that produced nice high ISO images, maybe I could let the camera decide what ISO to use, at least in certain situations, like a fast moving event or capturing wiggly kids in low light. I've always controlled the ISO setting, and I would still keep an eye on it for sure, but I wonder...how many people aren't too concerned about the ISO (more concerned about preventing motion blur) and just let the camera decide what's right, to keep shutter speeds up where they need to be for the given circumstances?

I'm more of a people shooter and tend to work with wider apertures, but at an event (like a reception) where people are moving around and you're just trying to capture crisp shots of quick expressions, shutter speeds can dip because of lighting, etc...so knowing you were still capturing the moment because your camera's ISO was doing some compensating seems like it would be a good thing. :dunno

wxwax

Never. Partly that's because I shoot in manual more often than any other mode. But regardless, I like to have control: call it a personality defect.

DavidTO

I often shoot in auto ISO on my P&S camera. But that's just for snaps.

pathfinder

I never shoot in AUTO ISO, or anything else for that matter:D

I shoot Av, Tv, or Manual. I very, rarely MIGHT try Program.

I want to be in charge of my ISO. I guess there are a lot of folks with personality defects around here.:D

Having said that, I doubt that anyone could tell whether one is shooting in AUTO ISO or not by looking at their PRINTS. And, it might actually offer some advantages, such as higher shutter speeds or smaller apertures.

z_28

I always set ISO according to my will !
It works

kirbinster

I'll give it a qualified yes. I shoot auto ISO on my Nikon D40, but it has several parameters that control it. I set the base ISO I want to shoot at and it will only kick it up if the shutter speed drops below a pre-set value, which I currently have as 1/20th of a second. Next I set another parameter which limits it to a max of ISO-800, although the camera can do 3200. This allows the camera to push things when needed but not to such levels that you get crappy noisey pictures.

seeker

Elaine wrote:

As I'm considering an upgrade in camera system, it occurred to me that if I had a camera that produced nice high ISO images, maybe I could let the camera decide what ISO to use, at least in certain situations, like a fast moving event or capturing wiggly kids in low light. I've always controlled the ISO setting, and I would still keep an eye on it for sure, but I wonder...how many people aren't too concerned about the ISO (more concerned about preventing motion blur) and just let the camera decide what's right, to keep shutter speeds up where they need to be for the given circumstances?

I'm more of a people shooter and tend to work with wider apertures, but at an event (like a reception) where people are moving around and you're just trying to capture crisp shots of quick expressions, shutter speeds can dip because of lighting, etc...so knowing you were still capturing the moment because your camera's ISO was doing some compensating seems like it would be a good thing.

I have found it useful in some settings - low light where I am shooting indoor in aperture priority with no flash, and I don't want the shutter to drop below 1/60s. I use a D200 which lets me control enough parameters that I find it useful.

I find I use it less and less these days as I try to use flash more and more.

BK

SloYerRoll

wxwax wrote:

I like to have control: call it a personality defect.

jeffreaux2

Never Ever. I usually use AV mode...aperature priority, or Shutter speed priority if shooting sports( Sometimes AV on sports too), and if I am somewhere where the lighting is difficult, but constant I will go full manual. I ALWAYS set the ISO so that I can get the cleanest possible image and still have a fast enough shutter speed to eliminate myself as a source of blur. I typically use a monopod, sometimes hand hold, and very rarely use a tripod. Even a camera that has great high ISO performance will produce a cleaner image at lower ISO, and I always strive to stay as Low as I can dare go on ISO.

LiquidAir

If I had it, I would use it occasionally for shooting candids in low light. Here's the scenario:

I am shooting with the 85/1.8. The ambient light in the room varies by 1.5 stops and the exposure for the darkest part of the room is ISO 1600, 1/100s and f/2. I am happy with 1/100s and f/2, but I would really prefer to shoot at ISO 800 when I can. While I never use any of the auto modes on my camera, I would consider using anything that let me switch ISO quickly in this situation.

frg

Not on the d70 , doesn't handle noise too well when the ISO is anything other than 200...

A friend of mine uses a Fuji S5 and uses Auto ISO , the S5 aparently handles noise really well.

time2smile

auto iso
One thing I noticed is that auto iso give a variation between set iso manual settings 100 200 400... I have taken many auto shots that came out as ISO 480, 640 ...

I still perfer to set it myself, but take some test shots, it just may surpise you.

D50 70-300VR

Miguel Delinquento

Never
I've never used this function. Just too new-fangled for me. I don't even activate auto-focus. Aperture-preferred shooting is about as radical as I get, except for sports when I favor continuous shooting.

Icebear

Back to the first post
Elaine, I just went back to your post initiating this thread. Obviously no one who's responded uses Auto ISO (or is willing to admit to it). I don't either. BUT I think it's important that you understand that even if you DID use it, I don't think it would give you much assistance in the situations you were describing. Your brain will understand much better than the camera what is important to you in a shot, and you can set your own ISO appropriately. All Auto ISO does is MAYBE salvage a shot that would have been horribly exposed had you not anticipated the need to increase or decrease the ISO yourself.

wxwax

Miguel Delinquento wrote:

I've never used this function. Just too new-fangled for me. I don't even activate auto-focus. Aperture-preferred shooting is about as radical as I get, except for sports when I favor continuous shooting.

Until I got the full frame 5D, I couldn't see well enough to manual focus. Stuff was too small.

Miguel Delinquento

wxwax wrote:

Until I got the full frame 5D, I couldn't see well enough to manual focus. Stuff was too small.

As a 50+ bifocal-wearing guy I totally understand. One compelling reason for my going with a Pentax DSLR is that the viewfinder is noticable larger and clearer than most APS-C cameras.
I also purchased a split-screen that helps me out sometimes. It's what I was used to when shooting film for so many years.