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March 10th, 2010
ISO... What does it do? And why should we use it? Let's find out!
So you've noticed this button called ISO on your DSLR body and wondered what it did ? Or maybe when you've been using your camera in AUTO mode you've been wondering why the ISO number changes all the time ?
Okay, the ISO function is the camera's way of creating extra light to get those much needed shutter speeds in certain situations but not only that it's also a way in overly bright situations to reduce the amount of light taken in.
So if you're shooting on a bright sunny day and your ISO is set to 800 you're going to risk getting overexposed shots.
Here is a rough guide on what your ISO should be set to.
On a bright sunny day you're not going to need to go any more than ISO 100-200. Even on the slower lenses shooting at F3.5 - F5.6 you'll still be getting more than enough shutter speed for static and fast moving objects alike.
On a bright but cloudy day you might need to step up to ISO 400, especially on the slower non-IS lenses.
On a dark cloudy day, ISO 800 is going to be the lowest you can safely use.
For indoor photography when you cant use a flash, this is where ISO 1600 is often needed.
Depending on the camera body you are using, ISO 1600 is the highest you'll really want to go as beyond that image noise is very noticeable and it's probably better to use a flash at lower ISO than going to ISO 3200 which will give you very noisy images.
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