Use of ISO settings for beginners

[LSI_CameraGuy]

I'm new to photography having purchased my A6000 about 1 month ago.  I am shooting predominantly in Manual mode as I'm getting comfortable adjusting shutter speed and aperture for what I want.  Regarding ISO, I've read lots of opinions to just use ISO Auto setting, while others have suggested that I start manually adjusting ISO as well.  FWIW, I did take all my pics the other day while manually adjusting ISO and the pic quality seemed a little worse than previous days when I mostly used Auto ISO.  Not sure how much to read into results from a 1 time event, so far.

 

I realize there is probably no right answer, but likely two different perspectives:

1) There's so much to learn at the beginning, use ISO Auto so that I can pay more attention to composition, focus, etc. and then learn to adjust ISO later

2) One can best take great pictures by understanding and utilizing all available variables and is best to start practicing from the beginning

 

I'd love to hear from other Sony A6000 (or similar) owners what their experience has been and if there are any words of wisdom.

 

Thanks 

[LiveShots]

I use ISO Auto, but set an upper limit of 1600 (I think)

[alasdairmac]

Always try to use as low an ISO setting as possible, eg 100, and only increase it if that’s your only way to get a smaller aperture or higher shutter speed than you would otherwise be able to. Modern cameras generate much less noise that previously at high ISOs but nevertheless your image quality will suffer.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Username]

`    

   

   

I usually ignore ISO. I set it to 1250 and leave it there.  

   

Thaz pretty much the same as I did with film. Using the 

same film most of the time, my ISO was almost always

1250, as that was the speed of that film.   

   

Others might have a different fave film, but they would 

also use their fave most of the time, at whatever ISO it 

called for. 

   

IOW while you wish to learn manual controls, do NOT 

think of ISO as another frequently dialed-in variable as 

you would for shutter or aperture. The latter pair you'll 

change almost constantly and they influence the look 

of each shot quite a bit. Two constantly varied controls 

is enuf for a noobie, don't add a 3rd one. Think of ISO 

as a constant while shooting a given event. You might 

choose a different ISO for a different event, but at least 

it's not an additional variable to think about while you're 

working that event [or subject]. 

   

OK so if it's good to eliminate a variable, wouldn't auto 

ISO also accomplish that ? NO. Auto ISO means you 

don't hafta think about ISO as a third variable but it will 

also confuse your experience with the the basic pair of 

exposure controls, the aperture and shutter. Manually

controlling that pair will only teach you anything if they

are applied against a constant ISO/sensor sensitivity

setting. The ISO/sensor sensitivity is  also an exposure

control. If it varies of its own accord, then you are NOT 

directly controlling exposure with shutter and aperture. 

Brightness/Darkness of your resulting image becomes

uncoupled from manual control of shutter and aperture.  

   

Auto ISO is like having some sneaky demon constantly

changing the film in your camera without notice, while 

you try to learn basic two-control exposure control. For 

manual control of shutter and aperture, auto ISO does 

not eliminate a variable, it actually adds 2 variables to 

the mix, and completely removes/isolates the user from

manual exposure control. Shutter an aperture become 

strictly pictorial-control-only. Exposure level winds up 

entirely controlled by the camera. If you wanna work 

that way, just engage the CA [Creative Auto] mode via  

the Mode Selector dial. It's exactly the same thing, and 

shows you graphic diagrams as well ! 

[Kirkp]

When I have the time to compose shots, I tend to first select aperture to suite my intentions for depth of field and sharpness, then decide on shutter time to suite my intentions for dealing with subject motion and/or camera stability, and then choose the lowest ISO setting that will provide a correct exposure with those settings. If I don’t have time to go through all those steps I might with auto-ISO. It depends on the situation though. Birding vs. landscapes vs. portraits require different approaches.

 

Sometimes I’ll even use one of the auto or scene modes, but I try to look at the aperture, shutter and ISO settings that the camera wants to use before or after I capture the shot. If they don’t make sense to me I might go back to a less automated mode to change to a better setting.

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

All ISO does is make the picture worse. Don't play with it. If you have enough light to shoot at ISO 100, then use ISO 100. If there isn't enough light, consider adding light or using stabilising techniques before bumping ISO. If you can't add light or stabilise, increase ISO conservatively until you have enough light.

 

The only reason to increase ISO above 100 is if you need to increase shutter speed to freeze movement or counter camera shake.