Why higher ISO can be usefull

[Grandpaw]

I was talking with a friend of mine about why I like the higher ISO capability of the Nikon D90 over my great Nikon D80 that I am very happy with. The person that I was talking with said she has never used an ISO over 400 and didn't see the need for anything higher. I was telling her that sometimes you need a higher ISO even in bright daylight to get the picture you want and I found a good example with the picture below. I took this picture at 10:26 AM on a nice sunny day with a tripod. The settings were shutter speed 200 at F22 with an ISO of 640. By having the F stop on F22 to get the depth of field I wanted and the shutter speed of 200 to stop any movement of the trees tall grass the ISO needed to be on 640 to accomplish these settings. I realize that ISO 640 is not really very high but I hope that you see the point I am trying to make is that shooting in lower light situations are not the only time a higher ISO might be needed. If I was trying to get this same shot in the evening with a lot lower light the ISO would have needed to be much higher and the D90 would have handled it just fine.

The reason for this post is to make the point that higher ISO abilities can be helpful in other situations other than just in low light, Jeff

[Frog]

Good point, Jeff. I accidently was shooting at 800 yesterday which was great for freezing some action but the noise is definitly a problem I just might have to break down for a D90.

[gahspidy]

Good shot Jeff and a good point. With the great advancements in digital capture we can take greater advantage of the quality high iso levels that are becoming more available to us.
A couple of things to note however. Although we can have very usable high iso images these days we should keep in mind that as the iso goes up the level of sharpness goes down even if the image seems to be very clean. This is especially the case for most now at anything above 800 iso. So, what you may have gained in dof/sharpness by stopping down could be negated by a very high iso selection.
Also, be careful how far you stop down, f22 will actually soften an image due to lens diffraction. Here is a short and sweet article about it.
Thanks Jeff, and good food for thought in your thread.

[OldClicker]

Also, some of the techniques used by the camera companies to get high ISO is selective color filtering - generally filtering the green and a little of the blue channels. There is no free lunch. - TF

[Axle]

Both at ISO-3200 on a D300. I go into the high ISO ranges. Mostly 1600, but occasionally up to 3200. I hardly touch 6400.

[Loupey]

I often use high ISO's when using a strobe (as counter-intuitive as it may sound to newbies) to bring up the ambient lighting in backgrounds.

If I can't open up the aperture and/or reduce the shutter speed any further when using a strobe, I have no choice.

Example below. EXIF attached.

[readingr]

I often use high ISO's when using a strobe (as counter-intuitive as it may sound to newbies) to bring up the ambient lighting in backgrounds.

If I can't open up the aperture and/or reduce the shutter speed any further when using a strobe, I have no choice.

Example below. EXIF attached.

WOW Christmas has come early - I love that photo, was it his present?

Roger R.

[another view]

Lots of good points here. I see it as simply another tool, if the job requires it. With low light and action, that "fast" f2.8 zoom won't get you too far. Two stops faster with an f1.4 helps but then your focus better be perfect...

I don't see any reason not to use 1600 (for example) if that's what your shot needs to make it work - almost seems like a matter of personal pride to some people not to go above 400 (another example) which I have never understood.

[Liz]

Jeff,

Excellent topic with good information and input.

I agree with you - especially since I've owned the E-P1. It's slow autofocus is helped immensely by the high ISO that can be used with comparatively little noise. I've gotten some sharp images and little noise in low light situations with the ISO at 800+.

Thanks for starting this topic. Good conversation piece.

Liz

[SmartWombat]

Liz, did you see my 1600 and 3200 pics of Tess?
I was amazed, compared to the 1DSmkII and 1DmkIIN it's got fantastic low ISO.

[OldClicker]

I was just reading elsewhere where the question was asked, "Is high ISO the new megapixel race?" Is it being demanded by the marketers on all new models no mater the compromises necessary? – TF

[Frog]

I was just reading elsewhere where the question was asked, "Is high ISO the new megapixel race?" Is it being demanded by the marketers on all new models no mater the compromises necessary? – TF

Being technologically challenged, I'd like to know what those compromises are?

[OldClicker]

First, price/value. Does it justify it's cost? What is being left out?

Another is color. One easy way they get the higher ISO is to filter the green channel (the noisiest) and a little of the blue. Some of the subtle greens get lost.

Other compromises? I don't know, but there is no free lunch.

For someone who needs it, like shooting sports, I'm would guess that it is worth the cost and how much color is there in a gymnasium? But if marketing drives it to a maximum in every model (like megapixels), those who don't need it may be getting less than full value.

TF

[Grandpaw]

I have the Nikon D80 and the D90 and both listed for the same amount when I bought them. I like the higher ISO capability to be there when I need it but I also know that I can set the camera to ISO 200 just as easy as I can 3200. I think that there are many of us out there that cannot afford the expensive faster glass and this gives us another option. As far as costing more I think I paid around the same for my D90 than I did my D80. By adding the higher ISO capabilities to be used when needed , the movie function, live view and many other things the D90 has to offer over the D80 I believe there was much to be gained for about the same price tag.

As far as the video on the D90 I have tried it to see if it works but really haven't played with it much yet. One of the big pluses on the D90 for the older age group is that I can press the info button on the rear of the camera and actually see all the setting that the camera is set at on the LCD screen with ease. This is very nice for me because of my eyesight. I can actually read the back lit screen and change settings with ease compared to the D80 and trying to read the screen on top of the camera that requires a magnifying glass to look at.

One of the big reasons I bought the D90 was the ISO capabilities, the other things mentioned and many more. I feel I got the higher ISO that I wanted with all the great features with no price increase at all. To me the Nikon D90 gives me a lot of bang for my buck and I am VERY HAPPY with it. And note that I didn't even mention the little higher megapixel ability Jeff

[realart]

Lots of good points here. I see it as simply another tool, if the job requires it. ...

I agree. ISO is can really be a tool. ISO can help dictate shutter speeds for action, aperture for depth of field (very useful in macro photography under certain conditions), ability to even be able to shoot a photograph (sans flash) under certain conditions (useful for indoor shots such as concerts or museums etc where flashes are prohibited), assist with effects as in granular texture or in simulating high ASA (there, am showing my age) film, etc etc.

I sometimes feel ISO can be seen as a challenge as in "how to get the lowest ISO for this shot?" With post processing abilities, even higher ISO shots can yield wonderful results.

Let the shot dictate the ISO when certain circumstances arise. If you feel a certain aperture or shutter speed is ideal for a shot, and boosting the ISO gets that shot, then boost it. As a tool, ISO can be a godsend.

You betcha!

[Loupey]

WOW Christmas has come early - I love that photo, was it his present?

Roger R.

Thanks, Roger. No not that one but he did tear into the "right" one the following day.

[Grandpaw]

Thanks go to everyone for joining in on the discussion. I believe that higher ISO capability is like a lot of other things we eventually get, once you get a camera capable of using the new feature you have gotten access to you find many uses for it. It is one of those cases of you don't know what you have been missing until you have access to that feature or piece of equipment and then you find it very useful, Jeff

[JETA]

I couldn't do what I do (football at night) without my higher iso. I'm at 6400 every Friday night. Your shot is the perfect example of using an higher iso too.

I just got done with about 400 football portraits. I had to use higher iso on the little dudes who couldn't hold still during the darker hours. I was able to use a higher shutter speed to freeze them. lol Also just like you when I do their groups and it was raining and dark I wanted a deeper dof and no flash.

I've found a lot of people own slr's and aren't sure why. As in they don't really use the camera's full capabilities.

[Speed]

Hey Jeff,

I couldn't agree more. I have a D200, and the only time I shot it above ISO 400 was at wedding receptions. Reality is, noise is a problem above ISO 400, and I could get away with ISO 640 because no one buys anything bigger than a 4X6 of the reception photos.

The ONLY reason I bought a D300 was for the higher ISO capabilities. Not the 6 frames per second (the D200 does five) or the 12.3 megapixels (the D200 has 10.2) or the 3.0 inch playback screen (also bigger than the D200's). All the above are nice, but none of them justified buying a new DSLR.

Shooting weddings, I find the higher ISO a blessing. Most churches have abysmal lighting, and some of the places I've shot receptions would make you cringe. The Aquarium is a lovely place to have a wedding and/or the reception, but it is DARK place to take pictures. The high ISO capabilities of the D300 helps solve that problem for me.

This post has some shots taken at ISO 3200:

Camping At Ocracoke

They were taken by moonlight, and I wouldn't have dreamed of taking them with my D200!

Here is another post that shows the high ISO capabilities of the D300:

High ISO Anyone?