Changing ISO settings on EOS 10D?

[chris_shawn]

Hello,

 

I use the EOS 10D and wonder if you guys ever change the ISO

settings? I always left it on ISO 100 so far after I discovered that

when I set it to 800 for example it only lead to "dirty" images.

 

Any recommendations? Just leave it at 100 always? Or are there

advantages I could profit from with changing this setting?

 

Thanks.

[ian riches]

The ISO setting is a measure of how much light will be required to give an adequately exposed image. Changing from ISO 100 to 200 means that you only need half as much light. Changing from 100 to 400 means you only need a quarter of the light, and so on.<P>

 

Digital cameras need to amplify the signals received at their sensors to create an image. The higher the ISO number, the greater the amplification. As with all things, when you amplify a signal, you also amplify the noise. This is the "dirty" image effect that you are seeing at ISO 800.<P>

 

So, why change the ISO setting to a higher one?<P>

 

Well, you will be able to take images that would be impossible otherwise (or at least impossible without a tripod). You might me shooting a sports event, and need a fast shutter speed to freeze the action. The sun goes behind the clouds, and at ISO 100, the fastest shutter speed you can get is 1/125 of a second. Not enough. Just change the ISO setting to 400, and you can get a correctly exposed image at 1/500 of a second. The image might be a bit "dirtier", but a noisy image is far better than no image at all!<P>

 

This is one of the huge advantages of a digital camera - you can easily change the ISO setting from shot to shot.<P>

 

Incidently, there are techniques for removing the digital noise from photos. There is (what I find) an excellent program called "Neat Image" that is available in a freeware version (or you can pay for more features). Look at <a href="http://www.neatimage.com/">http://www.neatimage.com/</a>

[rodolfo_negrete]

some pictures (most of them don't )benefit from the grainy effect.

 

IF the higher the ISO the more sensible to light=allowing you to take pictures in darker places and faster the bad thing is giving up the clear an fine grain pictures that come out of a 100 ISO .

I personaly like to keep it at 400 ISO in dark events and in bright events to 100 ISO.

 

I guess the advantage is that at 800 is sometimes the only way to get a decent picture .and atleast get it(in low light situations)

 

Or gettin that grainy effect.

[chris_shawn]

Ok, thanks.

 

I was asking because when I used to shoot with film my favourite film was the Kodak 800. It had nice colours and a grain that wasn't to bad. It let me take great pictures even in bad light situations.

 

Now, next question: In what situation do you use settings < 100 (e.g. 50)?

[phil vaughan - yorkshire u]

Chris

 

I can't believe that you got better quality images on ISO 800 print film than with the 10d at ISO 100. Have you examined 10x8 prints side by side, or are you comparing 6x4's with the image on screen, this is not a fair comparison.

 

With a little noise reduction the images I get from the 300d at 800iso are better than 400iso print film, and not just by a little bit either.

 

To answer your second question, you would use iso50 to purposely slow down the shutter speed, for instance to get that nice dreamy effect of running water. This is a converse of the first answer.

 

As said earlier, being able to change iso 'on the fly' really makes the choice of shutter/aperture a 3 dimensional equation, so you can get exactly the look you want to your images (within reason).

[stefanovandelli]

Chris, ISO50 is not possible on a 10D.

 

You migh want to read this:

 

http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial_ISO.html

 

or this:

 

http://www.digicamhelp.com/advanced-digital-camera-settings/iso.htm

 

or this:

 

http://www.acdsystems.com/English/Community/ColumnsArticles/TechTips/tech-2003-01-23.htm

[chris_shawn]

Thanks, very good answers. Thank you!

 

P.S. No, I didn't say that my pictures on film were better. I was just satisfied with that 800 film. Anyways, using digital instead of film taught me how important a good lens is. But that is another issue...

[edward_h]

Could you please explain to me why you have a 10D when you don't know what ISO does?

 

Isn't a P&S more up your alley?

[jbq]

I change it as I need it. E.g. I shoot pretty much all indoors flash pictures at ISO 400, and in a pinch I've taken a shots at ISO 1600 or ISO 3200 (long telephoto no-flash indoors).

[tom_cairns]

One of the reasons I bought a 10D was reviews that reported that the CMOS sensor was relatively free of noise at ISO 400 and maybe even 800.

 

C'mon Edward H! Photography is a great example of an interesting activity where you can buy capable equipment and then learn how to use it and what all the words mean. I think of the costs as tuition.

[phule]

<< One of the reasons I bought a 10D was reviews that reported that the CMOS sensor was relatively free of noise at ISO 400 and maybe even 800. >>

 

And it is, but the question is, relative to what?

 

Relative to the Canon 1Ds, probably not. But relative to any digital point and shoot, it has less noise by far.

[jbq]

According to DPreview the only camera that has less noise than the 10D at ISO 400-800 is the 1DII.

[jim_larson1]

<i>Could you please explain to me why you have a 10D when you don't know what ISO does? <p>

Isn't a P&S more up your alley?</i>

<p>

What a condenscending remark. Next, you are going to recommend I use a P&S because I use auto WB for *all* my shots and I don't slave AF to the exposure lock button.

<P>

I *default* my camera to iso 100. I will move iso at will when the shutter speed falls below the 1/f (or sometimes 1.5/f) shutter rule for motion shake. I have no fear of iso 100, 200 or 400. I have seen the noise at iso 800, and only use that setting when desperate.

<p>

ISO on the fly is the second greatest benefit of a dSLR (instant feedback is the greatest benefit). I wish future cameras would have ISO in the viewfinder and an ISO priority mode (set Ap, Set shutter, let camera figure out necessary ISO)

[gerry_szarek]

Chris if you want to send me a RAW file (zip it please) with high ISO setting I can post process it for you in neatimage, it is amazing what the program can do. I actually use the 3,200 ASA setting alot for indoor shooting with my long telephoto.

 

Gerry

[martin_cole]

over in the UK we would not get much use of cameras if we were stuck at iso 100 except for subjects like landscapes etc were you can use a tripod .

[digitmstr]

1) Noise is NOT equivalent to grain

 

 

2) the 10D has the lowest NOISE in its class and can be used at higher ISO without fear.

 

 

3) It's a digital camera, YOUR camera, don't be afraid to experiment and explore all of its features/settings, even if/when others tell you otherwise. Nothing to lose by experimentation, you'll only gain some knowldge.

[jon_austin]

In response to Edward H's comment, I knew what ISO does when I bought my 10D, but there was a lot of other stuff I still had to learn. I bought the 10D intentionally as a camera to grow into. Thanks in large part to photo.net, I've obtained a considerable education in photography over the past 16 months, and I'm still learning.

 

I second Jim Larson's wishes for displaying ISO setting in the viewfinder and an "ISO priority" mode; in other words, the ability to set any two of ISO, aperture and shutter speed, and have the camera calculate the third.

[tan]

I have a very low tolerance for noise, and I too "default" the ISO at 100. I wish

Canon would drop the ISO to 50, and/or increase the sensor size for the 10D.

I shoot in low light a lot, as I used to do with ISO 50 Velvia. Tripod mounted, of

course.

[jack_pizzillo]

My EOS 10D is my first digital camera. Before that I shot with a Canon film SLR. I always felt that the best way to learn was through hands on experience and the 10D is an excellent tool to do just that.

 

Edward H's comment has no place in a forum where the theme is to share idea's and learn from others.

[mike kelly]

The fantastic thing with a quality DSLR is the ability to accelerate your rate of learning

about photography. In the space of a couple of hours you can play to your hearts content

until you thoroughly understand each concept: ISO, aperture, RAW vs JPEG etc etc at no

additional cost and with the superlative help of this forum.

[michael focus97.com lee]

Okay, Edward H's comment was kinda harsh, but you know, in the EOS forum, I've seen worse. And there are repeat offenders who consistently seem to bleed pretentiousness. Always annoying to read, and sometimes too dificult to refrain from jabbing back at them.

 

At first, I thought Edward's comment had some merit -- how could you have a fairly advanced 'pro' camera like the 10D and not know ISO? Then I remembered when I bought mine last year, I had no idea how useful things were like MLU, RAW, and good glass, among others..., including stuff I'm sure I've yet to learn about! We're all newbies in some way, and are all constantly learning. It'd be a sad day if I stopped learning new photography stuff, particularly since I'm all 'digital'.

[PuppyDigs]

I normally use my 10D at ISO 100 or 200. At ISO 400 the noise is appartent in

shadows and sky but cleaner than most ISO 400 films. Yes, ISO 800 and 1600 are too

gritty for my taste, but useable if

you

gotta have a picture. For long exposures--30 sec or more--I only use ISO 100.

 

Film grain, even at ISO 800, is more pleasant to the eye than digital noise. It has a

more "organic" look (even patterns) whereas noise artifacts are rather ugly when

printed.

[www.philwinterphotography.]

Being able to change the ISO is a HUGE advantage for digital. It's not so much on the digital P&S cameras like my G3, where ISO 400 is pretty noisy. The 10D is remarkably clean. I've gotten some great 13x19 prints at ISO 800 that I would NOT have been able to get had I been stuck with a roll of 100 ISO film in the camera.

 

Recently in Peru, I was shooting outdoors at ISO 100, then went inside a dark hut. I cranked up the ISO to 1600 and was able to hand hold at around 1/30 sec. I got some great shots that I simply could not have gotten otherwise.

 

Yes, I normally shoot at ISO 100, but if I don't have a tripod, I have no hesitation about cranking up the ISO. Enjoy!

 

Phil

[jury_nel]

I must blatently state that I am a ISO 100 Freak! But then I must humbly give credit to the 28-135mm IS USM lens I use to get me through the rough spots. In places that ISO 100 simple runs out of breath, the IS lens can still give clear shots where with any other lens I would have to change the ISO to 400 or more. So my 10D has it's ISO welded to 100 . . .