PRO Nikon Auto ISO tricks

[@darenaubiephotography8570]

Great tip on the ISO button and front wheel to toggle between auto and not. Works great on the Z9. I like that Nikon keeps some consistancy over the generations of cameras

[@ekadde]

Thank you so very much! Did not know that I could map a fn-button to quickly change auto ISO-settings!

[@thomastuorto9929]

I assigned the Movie Record Button for ISO. The Fn would be easier, but have it set for the level indicator & the Pv for preview. Don't have anything set in my menu or have not set up any of the Shooting Banks. Cut me a break, Only purchased the camera (D810} in March of 2016!

[@teedeeking527]

Very helpful! Am I doing something wrong? It doesn’t work when I use the front dial (Auto iso switch) I have a D700

[@aftereightphotography1977]

You're not doing anything wrong, the D700 just doesn't have that feature. As far as I know, it's something you can find on more recent cameras (like the D600/D610, the D750/D780, the D800(E)/D810, the D850 and the Z cameras).

[@teedeeking527]

@@aftereightphotography1977 Good to know! Thanks for your answer!

[@dance2jam]

On the D700 (I own one) you can program a function button to switch AUTO-ISO on and off, you just can not follow the procedure in this video, but you can set it up so it's easy to do. Highly recommend it.

[@indrajitadvani3742]

Very helpful thanks

[@kevanalbrighton5887]

I regularly use Auto ISO with Manual mode. I love having the option to control Shutter Speed and Aperture for the creative options that they give, but I struggle to see the value in manually adjusting ISO. I see many Photographers on KZbin seem to look down on using Auto ISO, why is that? what creative value does manually setting the ISO bring to the table unless for some reason you want to deliberately under or over expose an image. What are your thoughts on this?

[@aftereightphotography1977]

I'm not sure why some look down on auto-ISO. Perhaps they don't need it, it doesn't work for their type/style of photography, or maybe they've had bad experiences with it. To me, it's just another tool you can choose to use or not, depending on the situation. Under controlled lighting situations (e.g. studio work), or when I need consistent exposure from shot to shot (and the light doesn't change), then full manual is a good option. In other situations, I tend to let the camera pick the ISO (up to some maximum value) so I can concentrate on composition and timing. I usually use exposure compensation if I want the deviate from my camera's chosen ISO value.

[@socksonfeet8125]

Which models have reliable auto iso? Early dslrs from both nikon and canon have pretty bad auto exposure settings, they tend to overexpose

[@aftereightphotography1977]

That's an interesting question! From personal experience, I would agree that early Nikon cameras tended to overexpose to some degree. My first Nikon DSLR (a D40) was in that class of cameras, and I recall that I permanently left the exposure compensation to -0.7. That fixed the overexposure tendency, also when using auto-ISO. Later models didn't need neg exp comp as much in my experience. My latest Nikon model (a Z30) in fact seems to consistently underexpose (and I routinely need to dial in +0.3 or more). Based on my experience, I don't think the "auto" aspect of auto ISO is necessarily the problem, but rather just the way the camera is programmed to meter a scene. But that's just me of course, and I didn't use all Nikon cameras, just a few (D40, D70, D90, D300, D500, D700, D800E, and Z30).

[@maverick9708]

In theory it is a great feature, a lot of the problem is that on a lot of the Nikon cameras (like my d5000), the Auto ISO causes the noise to become incredibly unpredictable and far more apparent than my constant, but higher ISO. I've had too many shots ruined by auto mode to trust it again on nikon dslr

[@brettryan3298]

You are using a D5000! So am I and I've found noise not a problem in JPEG as I also have the camera paired to Lightroom 5.7. Noise reduction with that application is simple, but often I want some form of "film grain" to show up in some of my finished products, especially in monochrome photos. I limit the high ISO to 3200 as everything above that is useless.

[@maverick9708]

@@brettryan3298 nice setup :) yeah i agree that hi 0.3-hi1.0 has unrecoverable noise. I probably should just settle for jpegs with how much i hate editing but i notice on my RAWs on fixed iso it looks normal but once i look at auto-iso pictures the camera generates black pixels EVERYWHERE its so hard to recover in editing and looses so much clarity :c it could also be my specific copy of the camera because it also has the most dead pixels and hot pixels of any camera sensor i've ever seen on the internet xD hope you have a good one and get great shots!!!

[@gashead2]

Great thanks

[@Ed-ve9of]

Why is under exposed to the right in your video and over exposed to the left?

[@aftereightphotography1977]

I had "reverse indicators" switched on. It's now switched off again as I find left=under and right=over more intuitive. Thanks for watching (with such great attention!).

[@renejul2534]

Can you make a video on micro ajustment fore your dofrent lenses?

[@aftereightphotography1977]

Thanks for your question. I have a video on the procedure that I use (kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGTQXmCaiLefia8), so hopefully this can get you started.

[@PeterGaunt]

Interesting but I reckon you've over-complicated it a little. I'm very much an amateur but I only recently discovered 'Manual with Auto ISO' on my D7500 and it's now my default setting. I have it set to 1/100 @ f8 with max ISO at 12800. The latter is a stop or two over what I'm normally happy with. I just use the front and back wheels to change shutter speed and aperture to suit the situation while keeping an eye on the ISO and only resort to the ISO button/front wheel in extremis to bung the ISO up to something insane. In some ways despite it being manual it's a kind of flexible Auto mode.

[@aftereightphotography1977]

Thanks for adding on. I also use manual + auto ISO for some (slower paced) situations. For others, I'm happy to let the camera pick a shutter speed as long as it doesn't drop below some value. It's nice that cameras can be set up to suit the situation and our personal preferences!

[@pkennethv]

I use Manual + Auto ISO in most indoor situations and outdoors when it's dark because I want to pick my exact shutter speed. But when it's really sunny out, Aperture Priority + Auto ISO (as shown in this video) is still useful because (most of the time) I don't really care whether my shutter speed is 1/500 or 1/2000. Having quick access to the full auto-ISO menu to change the minimum shutter speed is useful as I'll typically change this depending on the focal length of the lens I'm using.

[@key2adventure]

Doesn't work on D3X 😞

[@aftereightphotography1977]

Too bad, but you do have one of the greatest Nikon cameras ever!

[@key2adventure]

@@aftereightphotography1977 Yes I definitely agree on that.

[@Audimann]

What do you mean exactly by it doesn't work? The D3x has an auto ISO setting for sure.

[@ravi-h8v]

Why I can’t do that on my Nikon d3

[@aftereightphotography1977]

Some older cameras may not have the feature.

[@Hominid999]

Sorry, but auto ISO is a crutch for inexperienced photographers. "Want more noise/grain in your shot?" "Sure, why not..." It's another reason to use post production software to make up for poor in-field judgement.

[@DrGreenthumbPhd]

Sorry, but your opinion is irrelevant when many pros use this in highly variable lighting conditions when they need to keep aperture/shutter consistent. The ISO is kept gated to a level that is acceptable for the work being done. It's one less thing to worry about in a fast paced environment.

[@jimsmith556]

You are incorrect. Only pompous know-it-alls would profess to use only complete Manual settings. Using Manual with auto-ISO ensures you will get the shot with the two most important settings controlled; shutter speed and aperture. The camera will adjust ISO to ensure you get the shot; with maybe a bit of noise that can be removed in post. Better that than not being able to get the shot at all isn't it. Otherwise you are compromising with added motion blur or too shallow a DOF; you know, the artistic side of photography. Other than studio work, using auto-ISO just makes sense. It's 2023 you know.

[@dance2jam]

@@DrGreenthumbPhd I'm glad someone said this! ;-)

[@dance2jam]

@@jimsmith556 Well put, and glad you pointed this out. That said, I have only one point of contention with this response. Auto-ISO will not ensure you get the shot, depressing the shutter will. Auto-ISO might ensure there is an image there to view! ;-)

[@Hominid999]

@@DrGreenthumbPhd You're entitled to my opinion! ;-) This method still breaks the rule of doing as much as you can in-camera as opposed to depending on post processing. I guess I'm just old-school; I'll take an Ansel Adams technique over any new Lightroom newbie any day.