As higher and higher ISO values are become more available and really usable, I am wondering if auto-ISO/manual shooting becomes the standard for shooting in natural light....even for things like sports.
I have set my cameras to auto-ISO, but continue to shoot primarily AV because with the 1DMIII I can set the minimum shutter speed. However, I wonder if it makes sense to got to manual, set the shutter speed and aperture where I want them and let ISO do the rest.
Has auto-ISO changes anyone elses way of shooting?
Not me - Just like I seldom use "P", "S" or "A" modes... I don't want my camera doing my thinking for me...
Certainly it is another tool in the kit.
However, having said that, I usually keep my cameras in "P" mode when not in use in case I run across a "grab shot" where I don't have enough time to meter...
Bottom line, even though the high ISO has gotten much better, there is still a visible loss of quality with each stop - I want the be the one to determine when it is time to boost the ISO.
I'm with Ken, don't even know how I 'd set auto ISO on my camera. I want to control my settings as much as possible.
I could see auto ISO being handy for wedding or event photogs who move back and forth from indoors to out. Though it would have to have some sort of limiter (max ISO it would use) to make me happy.
The 1DMIII and the D3 both have settings that allow you to choose min and max for:
shutter speed
aperture
ISO
In a studio where the lights were under your control, I can see why it would not be useful, but imagine shooting sports under variable lighting (clouds coming and going).
You want at least 1/500 for stopping the action and a fairly large aperture (say f4) for isolating your subject. Set the camera on M, 1/500, f5.6, and auto-ISO with a max ISO of 3200 and a min ISO of 50.
Both the D3 and 1DMIII product very nice images at ISO 3200.
nathanlake wrote:
The 1DMIII and the D3 both have settings that allow you to choose min and max for:
shutter speed
aperture
ISO
In a studio where the lights were under your control, I can see why it would not be useful, but imagine shooting sports under variable lighting (clouds coming and going).
You want at least 1/500 for stopping the action and a fairly large aperture (say f4) for isolating your subject. Set the camera on M, 1/500, f5.6, and auto-ISO with a max ISO of 3200 and a min ISO of 50.
Both the D3 and 1DMIII product very nice images at ISO 3200.
Ummmm - I can imagine it - I shoot sports all the time.... even in a broken cloud situation I can't see the need for an autoISO - heck, even using aperture priority has its risks due to the situation of moving from backlight to frontlight over the course of a single play... Besides, in your situation, I'd rather set the ISO and aperture to where the darkest cloud gives me the minimum shutter speed then use Aperture Priority to allow the shutter speed to rise above that when the light allows.
The only single use I could see is for an twilight game which starts in daylight and ends under the lights - during that transition period I usually check/adjust exposure every 5-10 minutes... Not particularly difficult to do manually, and I would still need to turn off the autoISO when the daylight became dark enough that the stadium lights became the primary light source...
Think of it this way...of the three main settings in your camera, which one has a range of six stops without seriously altering the image? Only ISO. Therefore, you set aperture and shutter speed for the effect you want and let ISO control the exposure. While I don't do it this way, I am giving it more thought. In five years, maybe we have really usable ISO range of 50 - 25600. You set the ISO at 1600 with auto-ISO on and that gives you an 8 stop of range with no changes in DOF or shutter speed.
