The TRUTH Behind the ISO 100 MYTH that the PROS Know!

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In this week’s episode, we discuss the truth behind the ISO 100 myth that professional photographers know. When you're a beginner photographer, there's many techniques and "rules" you hear about. One of the most common misconceptions is the ISO 100 myth, which is the belief that one must always shoot at ISO 100 in order to create the best and cleanest possible photograph. In this video, I'll put this myth to the test to see if you can really even notice the difference between a high ISO image versus the same photograph taken at ISO 100. I guarantee you'll be surprised by the results. I hope you enjoy this week's video and as always thanks so much for watching! - Mark D.
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[@MarkDenneyPhoto]

🔥QUESTION: Do you say "EYE-SOH" or do you say "I.S.O."?

[@JesusChrist-xb7jq]

Eye-so

[@FabianNotts]

I Say Izzo😂

[@WilliamWallaceRoss]

EYE-SOH

[@onlyvideoillupload]

I.S.O. gang checking in.

[@King01st]

EYE-SOH" because that how the ISO organization states it should be pronounced.

[@guykerr8111]

My question ....... why do the breezes wait until you want to take a photo before they start to blow???????

[@MarkDenneyPhoto]

I know, right!

[@commenter4799]

It's like the breeze saying "cheese."

[@sarahmae8991]

🤣🤣🤣I thought that only happens to me!

[@markgoostree6334]

EXACTLY! Easter, we wanted family pics... the girls took position... the breeze had their hair standing straight up. It was just crazy. Not two minutes before , it was dead calm!

[@lucacanever]

😂😂😂 there's always breeze! Try to take a phocus stack, an hdr image or an hdr phocus stack, you will get breeze. I think it's part of our cameras firmware

[@markallemang7745]

Ok. Haven't finished the video. But you up close to the monitor looking with one eye up against it made my day. 😂

[@MarkDenneyPhoto]

😁

[@markallemang7745]

@@MarkDenneyPhoto a few seconds of it need to be made into a gif.

[@swebsurf]

Yes a GIF from the perspective of the monitor 😳

[@markgoostree6334]

I am old. It was A.S.A. so I have always said it as I.S.O....I may be wrong but , does is really matter? I have the position that I want my ISO high enough that I can use a decent shutter speed as well as keeping my f-stop kind of in the middle. However, I am just a hobby photographer. No one sees my pictures... rarely are they shared. It is always a dance... trying to balance the triangle to get the picture we are looking for. That's the fun of photography!

[@MrBlubb80]

Haha, I also thought I’d pronounce ISO the way I do because of the way I used to pronounce ASA back in the film day - except I say eye-son and said ah-sa… there’s enough space on this planet for both versions I hope 😀

[@JeepSec]

Same here, it was always A-S-A, and now it's I-S-O. Oldsters unite!

[@semperfi-1918]

Iso or asa is important for film to get the other 2 correct. However digital... not sure.

[@PeterEdin]

Then there was also DIN in the ASA days.

[@ared18t]

I work professionally Shutter speed is important to me especially when using flash and ambient light together

[@shanewilliams613]

It's funny listening to you as a landscape photographer talking about going above ISO 100 when as mainly a bird shooter I routinely shoot at anywhere from 1000 - 3200! Especially with todays brilliant noise reduction software and sensor tech those days of worrying too much are gone. As the old saying goes "I'd much rather have a noisy sharp shot than and clean blurry one"

[@JoannaMalak]

But after all, it's not just about the sums. A high ISO entails a whole host of consequences. Is it possible to see your photos smashed at 3200 ISO somewhere?

[@mikafoxx2717]

​​@@JoannaMalak The big problem with iso is that it's basically artificial. You're just underexposing and boosting it in the sensor instead of in post. Old cameras improved noise because their DAC didn't capture the whole sensor dynamic range, but since 2012 or so sony sensors have been pretty much iso invariant, 14 bit, and makes little difference between brightening in post vs in camera. When you shoot high iso, reminder that you lose a stop of dynamic range for every doubling of iso. If you like you clouds not clipping and also edit to bring the shadows up.. you want that extra couple stops of dynamic range unless you want it to act like a 20 year old camera in the edit. I use auto ISO. If they're not enough light, there's not enough light, but it's not like the landscape will run away from you.

[@tonydesarzec907]

According to the International Organization for Standardization, the abbreviation for their name is ISO. On their website, they go on to explain that you should pronounce the abbreviation as a word: eye-soh and that the abbreviation and its pronunciation are based on the Greek root word for equal: isos.

[@wmpx34]

That’s interesting…eye-soh sounded right to me because of the Greek prefix (as in isomorphic etc.), and when he asked the question I thought of that, but I never would have imagined that’s actually where it came from

[@jkdubya85]

Back in the before times, I remember taking my 100 foot rolls of ISO 400 film, loading it into a canister, and then shooting it at 1600 at sporting events because film with a decently high-enough ISO was too expensive for a high school student to afford. I'm just now getting back into photography (now mirrorless, I guess) and people refusing to shoot above 100 is one of the weirdest things I've ever heard.

[@PoulLausen]

As an old electronics engineer, I probably see it more from the electronically optimal side. There is a constant electronically generated noise, from all the chips in the device, that we can never escape. In order to get as clean images as possible, we need to keep the incoming signal (the light) as high as possible. This will give a high ratio between the light and the natural noise. The same experiment done in low light conditions is guaranteed to give a much worse image with a high ISO. As a bad amateur photographer, I will take advantage of every opportunity to get a good result when I bring home too many "big" pictures.😁 Hooray for ISO 100 🍾🍾🍾

[@jimstreeter8430]

So well put. Using the tools you have available to create the image and/or feeling about the subject in front of you. Thanks for sharing.

[@jimtipton8888]

Cracked me up that Gavin Hardcastle figured out how to work his way into your video!

[@youngmurphy7556]

Came to find out about the ISO 100 myth I've heard absolutely no one talk about and you didn't disappoint. Great service. 👍

[@alanglassman6473]

Good argument for shooting in manual, and setting ISO to automatic, and letting it float. That is precisely how I shot airshows for years.

[@CarolSperoni]

Me too works a treat.

[@ianmartin5389]

Same. I shoot sports and NEED my shutter speed high (3200 if possible). Shooting in manual with the aperture wide open & shutter set to 3200, the ISO has to "float" on Auto. I also prefer to set the ISO well above 100, so that it has room to "breathe". I achieve this by altering the shutter speed even faster to keep the ISO around 320. That way if it need to dip down to 200 or 100, it can.

[@digitalperson108]

Could not agree more! Requires a small change in how you think about metering since you really manipulate exposure compensation more once you have chosen your shutter or f-stop for conditions, which at an air show are pretty static usually.

[@khangtranstation]

Auto iso. Aperture priority

[@bruhdabones]

For nature photography, I hate this. I’ll try to meter for a closeup of a flower for example, and I can’t easily tell how far I can go. Because ideally I could take it at native ISO, and if that means I’m shooting 1/30th then so be it (IBIS has my back). But it’ll complain if I try and do that.

[@MikeWilley]

Awesome video as always Mark

[@rmd4845]

Thanks for reminding me I should already know this, good presentation.

[@AlainNoimoutier]

Beautifil photo samples and great advices on using ISO ! Thanks a lot !

[@ronboe6325]

When I got back into photography with Pentax DSLR's, which were fairly good with pushing the ISO. Down the road I switched to Nikon, found that in most cases ISO6400 is as far as I like to push things - so now ISO is maybe the 4th or 5th thing I worry about. Composition, shutter speed, aperture etc. are much more important. So I really like the fact that I can set the other two and just not worry about the ISO. I'll let the camera choose what is needed - today's camera's really do a good job with noise (and we typically have editing tools to reduce noise). If you want real noise - push Tri-X to 800 or 1600. LOL

[@kenl2861]

Good video - thanks!!

[@dennisblack4444]

Cheers Mark, thank you for an awesome video, sometimes we forget how good camera's are now. Love the SSS, will help me greatly in remembering 👍

[@thejudys4]

Great video and advise about ISO...I begin to tremble whenever I push beyond ISO 400. Thanks for a dose of courage to push it!

[@madelynrobinson1222]

Good thoughts and definitely going to practice increasing my Eye-S-Oh to increase the shutter to help with increased detail I’m wanting especially when handholding my camera - thanks 📸

[@dirkgibbens377]

Eye-so Great video! Just discovered your channel. Getting back into photography now that I'm retired. Liked and subbed!

[@chriswittstruck282]

Great vid thanks! Subbed.

[@raymeedc]

I follow your approach as well, well put 👌

[@tjmanou6422]

I agree also especially considering the fact that there are very powerful softwares out these days to reduce noise even more without compromising the image quality.

[@fredjansohn8888]

Hi Mark, freezing the video for a few seconds I quickly decided the one on the right was the one shot at ISO 100, from the superior clarity and resolution of the rock face to the lower right of the image. I have to say, though, I would not have put money on my assessment!!! Still, I was blown away when you said the image on the left was shot at 12,800. The largest ISO I ever shot was at 2,000 and that showed minimal grain, but the "trick"/technique I learnt is letting in enough light from what was a relatively stationary scene to illuminate the sensor, thus preventing excessive grain. It's not necessarily your high ISO that produces the grain but how you "marry" shutter speed with aperture value!. Enjoyed your video, as usual. Cheers, Frederick Jansohn

[@thechappist]

What a great illustration of the difference. And wow, what a beautiful area to hike around in; love those foggy mountain spots. You can almost smell the air from the video

[@absolu222]

Great video! I also of the opinion that the shutter speed is the most important, more than ISO. Great video!

[@MrBlubb80]

Great shirt for this weeks video!

[@vstone4628]

Good stuff!!!

[@rustdesk09]

I so happy when you release a new video.

[@MarkDenneyPhoto]

❤️

[@michellamontagne]

I am just at a little over six minute and I already learned something that is very useful. Thank you, Mark 😊

[@elliotmarks06]

I've found recently that I really enjoy manual mode with auto ISO. I still get the creative control over SS & aperture, but without an additional setting to worry about. In the best case scenario the scene isn't noisy at all, but if it is, I can either use the newer denoising techniques or just embrace the photo with a bit of noise!

[@michellamontagne]

Wow the details in the water in the waterfall of the Olympic Park are just perfect. Exactly as I like them. Awesome.

[@543dp3555]

Great video and good advice. Actually Mark I'm so old I sometimes catch myself still saying ASA from the old film days. You are correct , go ahead and use the higher ISO. I was reluctant to do so but it made a noticable improvement in my photos. The high end I use is 3200. The technology is much better now so use it!

[@CReyes811]

I think for landscape work, you’re right. It’s hard to see the difference but for portrait work I can see the difference.

[@RGP_WA]

I say eyeso. Great discussion today on a subject that I haven't commonly heard! Thank you Mark!

[@user-ue8pw7lf6e]

Very good information. I also believe that most keep low ISO for safety/security/snobbery/vanity reasons. Best Regards, Jay

[@TeddyCavachon]

I started buying and using digital cameras back in 1994 (Apple Quicktake 100) and analog to digital processing in today’s camera do a much better job of eliminating noise in the shadows at higher ISOs and todays sensors have greater dynamic range. 12 and 14 bit sensors also do a better job of dealing with noise than the 8 bit sensors of earlier cameras did. Earlier cameras just didn’t have fast enough processors to deal with noise whist shooting at high frame rates. The biggest problem with noise is in cross-lit or back lit sunny scenes outdoors which are exposed for accurate highlights with solid white around 245-250 and only specular reflections allowed to ‘clip’ at 255. When exposure is biased for the highlights the darkest shadows don’t reflect enough photons to register any voltage in sensor sites and what gets amplified is any residual noise from previous exposures. The problem of shadow noise would increase with prolonged shooting due to the sensor heating up and that also doesn’t seem to be as much of an issue with new cameras.

[@goranritterfeldt2608]

Thanks a lot. Very inspiring. take care! Göran in Latvia

[@craigcarlson4022]

Yeah, you make good points. Have had many shots that seemed fine on the LCD. But then i get home, look at them on the computer, and realize i didn’t raise my SS high enough. Lots of great shots!

[@boutdoors8234]

Thanks Mark 👍

[@lawrencelunsford6028]

I probably say "EYE-SOH" most of the time, but I also remember when my film boxes had ASA/DIN on them! :) When shooting action (birds in flight) I'm still using 9-10 year old Nikons so I'm not shooting with the latest and greatest but those cameras are way ahead the 20 year old Nikons I used to shoot when it comes to usable higher ISO.

[@charlesfisher2134]

More and more people need to understand about ISO I came from the film days I had no idea you could use higher IS0. No no problem bumping it up now.

[@alienbyaccident]

Nice and informative video....i think modern day camera today manage the noise way better now but in the past It was signitificaly visible at highter ISO .

[@BP-xe7dw]

Camera, lenses, you need to know your equipment. I just shot a baptism in a church, no flash was allowed. Having a good lense with low aperture is a must. I don't like grainy pictures so I set my ISO range and I know well my lenses. Every situation is different. How good is your camera's stabilization system. Bottom line. Your technical knowledge is crucial. Great video. I always appreciate them.

[@KJ-eb6tt]

I use a canon r5 body with a zoom lens... whenever I raise the ISO too high to use a faster shutter (as my camera allows it go to VERY high, I was excited about this!), but when I'm editing, I get a wavy pattern on my images. It's frustrating because otherwise the photo would be perfect, considering the light and sharpness I was able to get in a low light, windy setting. What causes this? I'm an amateur nature photographer, so I'm sorry if this is basic knowledge. I don't see these waves until I'm working in photoshop. I apply filters using a program called the Nik collections and that's when they REALLY show up.

[@willsimpsonphoto]

Great video! I remember when I first started I was terrified of raising the ISO super high but now Im so free with it.😂 btw, love the hoodie. got one myself and its one of my favs

[@scottashley1]

I’m so old I still say “ASA”!

[@ridderus]

What happend to DIN? lol

[@cleanlens]

OG

[@adrianhicks6935]

How about Gost

[@Triplebuc50]

I forgot what ASA stands for in DSLR Photography

[@cathyfraser6524]

@@Triplebuc50it stands for American Standards Association in relation to sensitivity of light to film. 😊

[@michaelhale416]

Hi Mark, great video. I typically say eye-soo. For the longest time I insisted on staying below ISO 400, and subsequently missed a lot of opportunities because I could not get the right settings. Now I set it to what it needs to be so that I get the shot. Maybe it is not portfolio worthy, but it is a reminder of what is possible if the conditions are different. When hand holding I often will set it to auto ISO. You mention IBIS, and how it has improved. My camera does not have IBIS, but if it did, could the lenses with image stabilization be used with IS turned on along side of the IBIS? I have never heard anyone talk about this. Thanks again.

[@dennisfrederick9304]

Great stuff Mark. I'm an Eye Soh guy.

[@francisbuckley3539]

I.S.O. Thanks so much Mark for your efforts in making us better photographers, you are so good at making a point that I understand.

[@tombishop7545]

Thanks!

[@JosephRossPhotography]

Yea I believe a lot of photographers are still shell shocked from the DLSR world when if we went over 400 👀👀😬😬 things got scary quick!!!

[@geoffc1862]

I'm still suffering film range anxiety, 10, 12, 24 or 36 shots, and I've been using digital cameras for over 25 years.

[@JosephRossPhotography]

@@geoffc1862 I’ve started my career digital but I’ve never been spray and pray. A large Majority of my shots are well thought out. I’ve also learned more to edit money work in front of the computer less time shooting.

[@EpicDreamerz]

Brilliant hoodie! Where did you get it from?

[@richardsimms251]

Very good video

[@Wolfer1OOO]

The main issue I'm finding with ISO atm (pretty new to photography) is the dynamic range impact. It can be a struggle to not just be blowing out the sky and I know bumping the ISO up makes the dynamic range worse! Mainly shooting things where I want a good Shutter Speed (like sport or wildlife) so it's pretty much the most extreme circumstances possible, must have high shutter speed and can't just bracket the shots!

[@joshuawheeler8743]

i did a media photography/videography internship with a college when i got my first camera and i learned quickly not to be scared of higher iso (especially shooting apsc) as most of it was indoors with no extra lighting it’s been a while since then and i’ve started to forget that, especially with a modern sony camera, i need not be shy with my iso lol

[@RickHowell89]

I thought i was alone in this. Since I started with my first DSLR, a Canon D60, I've never been able to tell the difference when using a high 'EYE-SOH' setting. If I zoomed in, yes there is a difference. It is the same way that when I was using film, i would use higher ISO film when I was shooting action or sports vs landscapes.

[@Deg99]

thanks for the info....I see that fototripper photobombed your video at 7:04.... 🙂

[@canucklehead28]

Thanks for alleviating my fear.

[@sutv6754]

Hey Mark, If I may blow some smoke. Your channel is one of the few of hundreds I follow and learn from but I'll never miss one of your videos. You do a great job. I wanted to ask you this. I use micro 4 3.. GH5, GH6 and now g9ii. If I am using my 100mm to 400mm lens and I am zoomed in all the way in at 400mm (800mm equivalent) would I double the 400 or the 800 for my rule of thumb regarding shutter speed. ???? Also I was watching a bunch of solar eclipse videos. The one pro felt we should stick to the base iso so to get all the dynamic range possible. What do you think about that? I suppose it's true but not sure. Thanks again.

[@vperalta]

This was a great video. Coming from the portrait world, where most of us use ISO 100 to 200, this helps me to see why I need to adjust my thinking when going out shooting in landscape. Question, do you have a formula that you use to calculate what to set your ISO to when shooting at different settings?

[@howardholtzman1331]

I totally agree about shutter speed. Some other Shutter Speed/ISO considerations would be, dynamic range and subject sharpness. For an example, if you were photographing a propeller airplane in flight you would want the propeller to show motion and the airplane to be sharp.

[@sarahterry2140]

Thanks so much for this, I’ve been under the ISO (and previously ASA) 100 delusion in so many circumstances for 4+ decades.

[@markjones127]

I feel lucky sometimes that I started shooting in the film days when using higher ISO film was commonplace, 400 was one of the most common films used, especially amongst landscape photographers like me living in an area which is more famous for being rainy and overcast than sunny, these days I shoot Fujifilm and their lowest native ISO is 200 anyway so I never use 100. Living in Europe I say EYE-SOH as I think that's the norm here, you rarely hear it being pronounced I.S.O over here.

[@annerichard788]

Those Greenland iceberg images are just stunning, bravo!

[@raymeedc]

Being an old school photographer using A-S-A in the film days as separate letters, pronouncing the replaced I-S-O with individual letters as well just came naturally.

[@Dewey-CheathamAndHowe]

Thanks Mark, excellent video you explained everything is easy to understand English for the pro or novice. ISO is in fact an acronym or abbreviation for the International Organization for Standards. I know they are not in the correct order, but it wasn't my idea. Looking forward to more of your videos.

[@bencevarga6304]

Great video, I think too you can pump up those numbers to get the right image. I know in photography we shouldnt tell each other what to do, but what stood out to me in most of your photos is that the perspective tilts down a little too much in my opinion. Maybe you should look up a bit more, for more comforting photos.

[@SteveMcClanahan]

Informative video once again. To your pronunciation of ISO question - I say I.S.O. Probably because i used to say A.S.A in the film days so the cadence was the same.

[@williampetersen2899]

Great video Mark! I think the idea that high ISOs will degrade your image somewhat is a leftover truism from the "old" film photography days. Shooting with an ISO 1000 film would make your images look like they were shot through a screen door. Modern digital cameras ( and software) do a great job with higher ISOs. That and increasingly better dynamic range is where I'd like to see camera manufacturers put their emphasis when releasing new models.

[@athuddriver]

Great video!!!' I'll refer to the surf photos as an example. When you are presented with a situation where shutter speed is a key factor it would seem shutter priority (or manually set shutter and aperture) would be used. So, do you actually "bump up" the ISO or to you allow auto ISO to do its thing? Yep, I'm still in a learning phase.

[@deviant1001]

Hello Mark love your landscapes amazing images, the first example you showed the first image at ISO 100 to me looked to have better colour and contrast only slightly but still perceptible. I totally agree with you about being able to push ISO these days with better cameras and also the denoise feature in Lightroom. One gripe I do have though is please stop using pros do this pros know this, I have shot alongside people who are supposed to be pros and are clueless I have also shot along side some of the best club photographers in the UK and the are streets ahead. If this video had been from anybody else I would have probably clicked not interested just my little gripe keep up the great work.

[@chesterjohnson4504]

Thanks for sharing the I.S.O. info. I used Nikon DSLR cameras for as long as I can remember and always tried to keep the ISO as low as possible. Now using a high MP count mirrorless camera I have been able to shoot with a much higher ISO but rarely in the past have I went as high as 500. I thought the more MP in the sensor the more noise? Thanks Mark.

[@kenwichert]

Great insights to give me confidence in "taking the shot" regardless of ISO. I'd like to know more about how you process high ISO shots and your thoughts on ETTR.

[@mikafoxx2717]

Basically always ETTR when you can. Boosting iso on modern (~2012+ Sony) sensors is just as good as boosting in post, short of hitting second base iso. You lose a stop of fynamic range per ISO stop because you throw away the brightest stop on the sensor. Cinema style cameras do better and shoot at ASA 800, really just 100 but underexposed by 3 stops so that you get 7-8 stops of highlights above middle grey instead of ~4 of stills cameras. Most noise in photos is individual light photons, so the more of those you have, the more tonality you have to work with for editing or such.

[@JHuffPhoto]

I tend to select my aperture and shutter speed for whatever artistic effect I am trying to achieve. I then treat ISO(eye-so) as a support of brightness control to get my desired exposure level

[@danielavery1272]

Before you zoomed in, I actually thought the one on the left looked slightly better. Interesting.

[@RichardBO9]

I think ISO is a misnomer. We should call it SNR for signal to noise ratio. The best way to ensure noise in your photo is to not feed your sensor enough signal. Great video,Mark.

[@DaveKingMusic]

I was out shooting spring flowers this week and had to bump up my iso to get a shutter speed that would prevent the flowers blurring in the breeze. Especially tough with close-up shots. By the way, eye so is correct.

[@andymcgarty3099]

EYE-SOH - Great video. I regularly shoot at ISO 800-1600.

[@dp91c]

Sadly I have pretty bad hand tremors, even as a 30 something year old due to medical reasons so i actually like to use higher ISO on "bad hand days". Thank you for the great video!

[@outsider_outsider]

I need that hoodie!

[@Kaotix_music]

I’m not a photographer, I do cinematography (where you absolutely want to be more careful with your ISO) but I did a wedding back in November where I did offer to do pictures aswell and where they wanted the pictures done wasn’t ideal on terms of lighting. Although, it was cloudy which I was happy about because the lighting was very diffused. But even shooting wide open on a Sony 50mm f1.8, I had to crank up my ISO…quite a bit. Came home to put them in light room and after I applied my color grading, I did notice such a SMALL amount of noise. I’m talking SOO small. But after the color grade…it looked…good? The wedding was a rustic vibe wedding and this almost looked like film grain so…I kept it. Let’s just say that customer was so happy they sent me way more clients

[@jamesbarnes3063]

Thanks

[@The_CGA]

Nowdays the main reason I’m reaching to get down to iso 100 (160 for Fuji) is to actually preserve some shadows and blacks in the image., while still showing some motion or keeping up with flash sync. Which, you nailed it, it’s a shutter speed manager more than anything else For my part it’s something like “eyessoh,” no acronym, full slur but all the phonemes present and distinct.

[@dfinlay587]

Thanks Mark. I became a free ranger a few years ago, I set my SS and Aperture to fit the scene, then review the ISO (I say Eye-So) . If it is too high/low, adjust, rinse, repeat.

[@darylcheshire1618]

when I take photos around dusk, I select a minimum shutter speed of 125 to eliminate motion blur. You might be able to do something about noisy high ISO photos but you can do nothing about motion blur. When I take bird photos with my Canon 5D mk III, birds flying around a tree, birds in the shade had artifacts as the ISO moved up for the higher shutter speed. This effect was less noticable with the Canon R5.

[@johndurham5629]

I don't care how you say it, you are so on the mark, Mark! ISO saves me trying to capture moving insects and flowers in the breeze. It's also so beneficial when I can't hold steady with a macro lens - too much spinal issues and arthritis in my hands. And, my ON1 software can clean it up, no problem.

[@Bob_Amaral_Photography]

1:02 😂😂😂 About time you get some comic relief in your videos. 😂

[@zach6050]

I could immediately tell that the left photo was a higher iso, but I would never have thought it was even close to being over 3200 or something. I thought MAYBE 1600, but over 20,000 blew my mind.

[@goodearthrecordings1989]

I usually shoot in manual mode with auto ISO using my Canon camera. Seems to work well most the time but not always. If I'm shooting a longer exposure say 1/2 to 1 second or more then maybe use a ND filter with ISO set to 100. I'm in the woods a lot so like you said, a higher ISO is often needed to get the shot in low light. Thanks for the video!

[@RinJERKS]

Great video, Mark! I have two questions: When you say that you're raising your ISO (pronounced I.S.O. lol), do you use Auto ISO? I'm on the fence with that myself, as I am using an 11 year-old Nikon d5200 that I've had since new and the ISO performance often peaks out around 1000. Also, not necessarily related, but you mentioned it...while my setup doesn't have IBIS, but a few lenses I have, do have VR, would the IBIS fight against the lens VR or would they help each other? -Rick

[@jamescaldwell5]

Great video. How fast is your shutter speed typically to keep the leaves sharp in the forest? Also, what do you normally have your aperture set to? Definitely eye so.

[@silverstreettalks343]

I went to the zoo with my grandkids a month ago, and what do you do with the nocturnal or crepuscular creatures? You can't use flash, and who carries the two Ts -- tripod and tranquilising dart -- to the zoo with grandkids? I so often use ISO 100 for grandkids and giraffes that I had to dig around menus to find how to lift my ISO to 3200 (or was it 6400?) I probably say "eyeso" more often than I.S.O, from back when I used to just say "eyeso A.S.A". But when we first started using ISO ratings, I said I.S.O when I said it alone, not including the A.S.A bit, because as an engineering designer in those days, I thought of it as "International Standards Organisation", and was used to the various Australian and International standards which applied to aspects of my work.

[@terricarpenter1798]

I say ISO from my film days in the late 70s. If my shutter speed needs to go high, my ISO goes high. And if I have a little noise, that doesn't bother me. I either fix it in post or leave it in and still enjoy my image. Especially the very large black bear in the early morning standing on his hind legs looking straight at the camera. It's all about enjoying the moment. Thanks for the video, I enjoyed watching it.

[@daviddow3260]

ISO levels vary in different cameras depending upon the sensor size. For travel and on the go photography I use a Lumix 2500 (1 inch sensor) which is great in decent lighting but you get above ISO 800 it's noticable. I can shoot ISO 3200 on my full frame Lumix S5 and it's hard to tell from ISO 100. I like shooting auto ISO on both cameras but cap the maximum ISO at 1600 on the 1 inch sensor camera and 6400 on the full frame, that way I can shoot in A, S or M mode without worrying about messing with the ISO settings.

[@johngrant5448]

I. S. O. started in the sixties but it was foreign. It stood for International Standards Organisation that represented the sensitivity of film. In Britain we used a different measure called ASA which stood for Advertising Standards Authority. The measurement of the sensitivity had a different numerical indicator to the foreign ISO and we'd set our camera for the ASA indicated on the cassette. We could at times alter this setting so long as we altered development appropriately. For example, Ilford FP 4 produced better results if rated at 100 ASA rather than 125, and then printed on multi-grade paper at grade 3.

[@sandeephmaher]

Thanks for the education. Would the type of camera one is using impact the ISO choice / quality of images at higher ISOs? Say a mirrorless vis a vis medium format? What would you advise? Thanks and keep it going...

[@BrettBodkinsPhotography]

That is one thing not really talked about here. I had three crop sensor Nikons and three FF Nikons over the years and each one was different and required experience to see what level I was happy going with. Megapixel level, sensor size and the sensor performance all make a difference. You take a medium format image and it requires less scaling to fill a particular workspace. Any perceived grain will appear smaller compared to the image size. Another assumption I see in comments is that people all always underexpose and crank exposure in post, but in many cases you still have room in aperture/ss to avoid raising iso. But I think the biggest takeaway of this video is that when you hit that wall, don’t be afraid to go higher when compromising on the other settings would negatively affect your image. There’s a juggling act to all of the points of the exposure triangle. It wasn’t directly addressed in the video but your use of the image makes a big difference. I have some early images and 35mm film scans that look fine on a small screen or print but wouldn’t work printed large unless the image itself is strong compositionally or thematically that makes technical excellence not really matter (think photojournalism). Just some food for thought.

[@l.m2517]

As photographers we don’t always take photos for the average, “normal ” person to see it. Many of us actually take photos for themselves, only to enjoy the technology in the camera. As an astrophotographer, resolution is quite important, if possible I want to see the smallest galaxies deep in my image.

[@grantrobertdavies]

I.S.O - GREAT Video man!!! So funny - I've been pushing my ISO alot more lately and yeah, it's great... Especially because I use M43, It's sort of opened up my world :) LOL