Why "ISO 100" Ruins Your Photos and Which ISO To Use Instead!

[@chrissbayer9561]

Vielen Dank mal wieder für diese tieferen Einblicke in die Profi-Fotografie. Ich als Laie kann da nicht wirklich mitreden, aber ich höre zu, sehe und lerne 😅. Komm gut durch die Woche, Christian 😊

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Chris, vielen lieben Dank für deinen netten Kommentar 😊 Hab ebenfalls eine schöne Woche! Schöne Grüße, Christian

[@margareteirmler6998]

Wieder ein sehr interessantes Video👍👍👍

[@christian.irmler]

Vielen Dank 🙂

[@gary9771]

Sometimes when I’m shooting bees, butterflies, or something like that, I use auto ISO. If both shutter speed and aperture need to be specific values, the auto ISO can give good results (in this I set my camera on manual mode). I like to use this in brighter conditions, but with the denoise options we have this method is viable. I haven’t used this in any landscape photos, but depending on circumstances it might work.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Gary, yes, that's a good choice. I also tend to use auto ISO for fast moving elements. But in landscape I anyway love to slow down and set the ISO to the value I need. And yes, it's really crazy how good these denoising tools have got meanwhile 🙂 Have a great weekend, Christian

[@hxl6162]

Big hug from Brazil 🎉

[@christian.irmler]

A big hug back from Austria! So kind, thank you @hxl6162 😉

[@DarrenJSpoonley]

Great video buddy ! The tech in Lightroom has also been a game changer for sure When I see ISO I am reminded of Gavin and his acronyms :-)

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Darren, oh yes, absolutely. Having the freedom to get even higher with the ISO is indeed a big gamechanger. Gavin and the acronym: that's a kind of "brain worm", I have to admit. Since he mentioned that some years ago, I don't get it completely out of my head anymore. It always finds back 😆 Nice greetings, Christian

[@thomaseriksson6256]

Thank you for a good video my usual mistake is that I don’t use a tripod and get an unshar picture due to I´m often shooting in bad light. We need to know how our cameras handled different ISO values and when the noise is too high. Newer cameras are better but the size of the pixels is important to. I use a 12 Mpix D700 for low light wildlife and woodland.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Thomas, oh yes, newer sensors got indeed better in ISO noise. But denoising tools work also well with older cameras. By the way, I can really recommend to use a tripod, at least for landscapes. Especially woodland. It so much fun to finetune a composition in woodland 😊 Thank you for watching, my friend and nice greetings, Christian

[@erichstocker8358]

There have been a number of these "don't stick at 100 ISO" videos on youtube. I think that yours and Simon D'entremont's are the best of all of these. I tend to stick at 100 more because of my film background because increasing ISO on film increases contrast and grain. However, the new digital sensors are so good that this "old approach" is really not good for digital photography. Also, there are so many good programs to reduce noise that it is staggering as you point out. Thanks!!!

[@hinahina2053]

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[@christian.irmler]

Hi Erich, thank you so much, Erich. That means a lot 😊 When I remember back to film photography, it was even more complicated to change the ISO, as it was not a setting on the camera as it is today, we had to change films for changing the ISO, which made things quite complicated 😂 There is nothing bad with using ISO 100 today, we should just not be afraid of increasing it when we need that for a photograph. Enjoy your Sunday, Christian

[@erichstocker8358]

@@christian.irmlerI still use a lot of film. Sometimes I load 100 ISO film in the camera and but find I need 1600 so I push the film. I find that using stand development even the few photos shot at 100 come out well. Stand development can be a god send when one forgot what the film was shot at or when one needs to get some extra speed without too much increase in contrast, sometimes even grain. At any rate with digital and digital post processing we sure have great and easier options now.

[@DaveKingMusic]

I’m not sure I buy your theory that bright areas do not display noise at higher ISOs. I took a photo yesterday at ISO 800 with my Sony A7C and there was a lot of noise in the sky. Is it true that my camera has dual native ISOs at 100 and 640? Thanks.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Dave, it is not that there would be absolutely no noise in brighter areas. The noise is just much more visible in darker areas, as there is simply more contrast between bright electrons and darkness. I don't know how your image with the sky looks concretely, but if there are darker parts of cloud shadows, for instance, you will see more noise there than in the brighter parts of the clouds. To your question of having two base ISO's: the second base ISO (640 in your case) is the "ISO invariant" base ISO. ISO invariance means that there doesn't appear more noise when you increase the ISO above the 2nd native iso (640 in your case) and decrease the shutterspeed at the same time to get the same exposure. That was a big revolution for ISO some years ago and is really, really useful. Have a great weekend, Christian

[@bellasvistas3463]

Great Video: With my Olympus OM-1 I find better quality at ISO 200 than at a Lower say 100 or 50 ISO. I like the De Noise in Lightroom but hate waiting for it. Life at 50x. Thanks. Mike

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Mike, most cameras have their base ISO at ISO 100, but not all. The Olympus OM-1, for instance, has its base ISO indeed at ISO 200. So, if you want to get lowest noise, you are right to use ISO 200 in your case. Just don't be afraid of raising it when it is necessary for a photograph 😉 Enjoy your Sunday, Christian

[@bellasvistas3463]

I often shoot very high iso on wildlife. I just did some profiling on my OM-1 with the X-Rite Passport and made a little video on the process. Thanks Mike @@christian.irmler

[@adrianalfordphotography]

Great info and video Christian. You used some great examples to explain what you were talking about. I do use denoise programs and they do amazing job cleaning up the image. Thanks for sharing the video buddy cheers 👍🙏

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Adrian, thank you so much, buddy! Yes, these denoising tools are really good 🙂 Enjoy your Sunday, Christian

[@EASYPhotography-ze2nu]

"ISO 100 lie" ? That's no fault of the way that ISO works. It's the result of those that don't understand how cameras really work. So, in the right circumstances and in the right hands ISO 100 can be the best setting to use. What's much more relevant is the use of the F number and shutter speed to achieve the right look for an image. That could be sharpness from back to front or it could mean sharpness in specific areas. It could mean using shutter speed to eliminate blurring or to selectively create blurring. Whichever way, ISO will always ride on the coat tails of the F number and shutter speed and provides a balanced exposure to support the use of the two main exposure controls just mentioned. There's nothing new in any of this. And it isn't true to say that noise won't sometimes be obvious in bright areas. As someone else mentioned, it's something that happens quite often in a clear blue sky. It depends on the amount of noise present in those bright areas. So, ISO 100 lie is an eye catching headline but it doesn't stand up when all components of exposure is explained properly.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @EASYPhotography-ze2nu, thank you for your comprehensive comment, my friend! The native ISO is technically spoken of course the best choice when shutter speed and/or aperture are not important for a photograph, as mentioned in the video. I just have so often photographers in my workshops who are really afraid of increasing the ISO, which is why I saw it as important to make this video. And it is not that there would be no noise at all in brighter areas. As mentioned, the electrons are always there. There is just more contrast given in the darker areas. I showed the difference in the video, which was significant, but try it out yourself. Nice greetings, Christian

[@liauchungren848]

Don't like this man's pronounciation, it annoys me. Forget it.

[@christian.irmler]

I'm so sorry that my pronounciation was annoying you, @liauchungren848. I'm always grateful for constructive critique that helps me to improve. So, thanks a lot and have a great weekend, Christian