48
votes
Accepted
Do I have to shoot a whole film roll on the same ISO?
The ISO of a film roll indicates how sensitive that whole film roll is to light. That's a chemical property of the film roll, which you cannot change shot by shot.
The ISO "setting" on your ...
- 8,154
42
votes
Is it true that the best images from all digital cameras can be obtained at ISO 200?
There is an ISO which is not necessarily 200 that is the native sensitivity of the silicon from which the sensor is made. That sensitivity depends on the sensor itself, so will vary between cameras, ...
- 101k
32
votes
Why use higher ISO when using a tripod and the object is static?
The mountain and the valley obviously are static -- even more from that distance. The clouds, however, move. If you chose a low ISO value, e.g., in the range of 50 to 100, the exposure time might be ...
- 571
32
votes
Why would using higher ISO and faster shutter speed yield more noise than using lower ISO and slower shutter speed?
So I first shoot with ISO 1600 and shutter speed set to 1/125 second and then I shoot with ISO 3200 and shutter speed set to 1/250 second. The amount of light should be identical and indeed both shots ...
- 169k
28
votes
Accepted
If I want to shoot darker shots, is it better to increase the lighting and then darken in post to retain clarity?
The look you are going for is known as low key lighting. It is not necessary for the room to be dark. You just need to put enough light on your subject that there is a large enough difference between ...
- 169k
28
votes
How is it possible to have shallow depth of field in very bright conditions?
The easiest way to solve this problem is to use a neutral-density filter. They are essentially neutral grey filters that cut down on the light reaching the film or digital sensor. Good ones are ...
- 1,730
26
votes
Accepted
How can I reduce noise at ISO 100 in photos taken in the twilight?
This is a perfect example of "expose to the right" — that is, even though you want the final result to be low key (largely dark), take the initial exposure as bright as you can (without blowing out ...
- 140k
24
votes
Accepted
Is it true that the best images from all digital cameras can be obtained at ISO 200?
The information your friend gave you was essentially correct for most digital cameras, particularly compact digital cameras with very small sensors, made about 15-20 years ago. Digital imaging sensors ...
- 169k
22
votes
Accepted
What are the practical differences between the exposure settings my camera picked for me in auto mode and my own choices?
It's hard to really tell from the small versions here — which is a lesson in itself, because at 1280x850, which is a perfectly fine online viewing size, the differences really don't matter that much.
...
- 140k
21
votes
Accepted
What is the relationship between ISO, aperture, and shutter speed?
The Factors
There is an equation, and by convention, it's set up to be really simple. There are basically five factors to consider together:
Aperture — the size of the opening which lets light in,
...
- 140k
19
votes
If I want to shoot darker shots, is it better to increase the lighting and then darken in post to retain clarity?
Just because the image is mostly black doesn't mean the scene is dark.
With a flash positioned on the left pointing at the subject (he's facing the flash) and a black backdrop you could possibly even ...
- 8,334
19
votes
Do I have to shoot a whole film roll on the same ISO?
In addition to Saaru's good answer, I wanted to point out that the reason you might have been switching around the ISO setting and not really noticing much difference is because film has reasonably ...
- 9,251
18
votes
Accepted
What is considered High ISO?
Being a man of science, I did some scholar-googling and came across some articles.
Too long, didn't read:
None of the scientific articles I found give a clear definition of "high ISO". However, they ...
- 6,317
17
votes
What to do when you've set a too high ISO for your film?
Your camera "thought" it had film with an ISO of 400, while in reality it was only 160. So it adjusted it's exposure meter for ISO 400 film, underexposing your film by a bit more than 1 stop.
To ...
- 8,154
15
votes
Accepted
How do I disassemble FujiFilm X-T1 camera to disable the ISO dial lock button protection?
How to disassemble / take apart Fujifilm X-T1 and how to disable ISO Dial lock switch.
It is relatively easy to take apart FujiFilm X-T1. You only need one type of screwdriver, although the screws ...
- 464
14
votes
Why is it called ISO "speed"?
The concept of light sensitivity is related to speed in that a faster film (higher ISO value) requires less time exposed to light than a slower film (lower ISO value) for a single exposure. Fast film ...
- 327
13
votes
Why use higher ISO when using a tripod and the object is static?
I can't think of any technical reason for this to be the case. Even assuming that he used the lens at 105mm, if he was more than 387 ft from the closest object in the frame, he could have focused at ...
- 34.4k
13
votes
Is there any reason to change the ISO manually?
Is there any reason to change the ISO manually, rather than have it set automatically?
The primary reason to set ISO, along with shutter time and aperture, manually would be to totally control ...
- 169k
12
votes
Accepted
Dealing with exposure time during sports photography
Sports photography usually require two things: a long focal length and a wide aperture.
The long lens is required to shoot action a long way away.
The wide aperture is used for two purposes:
...
- 4,816
12
votes
Dealing with exposure time during sports photography
Selecting an appropriate aperture
When shooting sports in low light you're not going to be able to shoot at f/11. Most of us use f/2.8 lenses and shoot wide open. We do this not only because it helps ...
- 169k
11
votes
Accepted
Why can't I set my Pentax K-5 IIs to ISO 100?
You apparently have Highlight Correction activated. This forces the higher ISO limit (usually forcing it from 100 to 200, though you also have Expanded Sensitivity enabled, which gives you a broader ...
- 1,166
11
votes
How can I see the photo settings like f-stop, ISO etc. of a image?
Your camera saves this information, which we call "metadata" (because it is data about the data captured in the photo itself — one level beyond, or meta), in every file. There are many utilities which ...
- 140k
11
votes
Why are ISO settings not available/grayed out on Nikon 5100 in auto mode?
There is no way to change the cameras ISO when you are on the preset Auto mode. This is typical of all cameras. This is because by being in Auto you are telling the camera that you want it to control ...
- 604
11
votes
Accepted
Why use ISO instead of Aperture and Shutter speed?
All three have different uses and different .
Aperture
- by closing your aperture you're increasing depth of field and sacrificing light
- by opening your aperture you're decreasing depth of field,...
- 1,031
11
votes
How is it possible to have shallow depth of field in very bright conditions?
Some considerations:
Turn your ISO right down to the minimum value
Do you really need f/1.8? Depending on the composition of your shot you can usually still get decent shallow DoF up to around f/4....
- 398
11
votes
What does the ISO setting for mechanical 35mm film cameras actually do?
Usually, it does not affect or limit the aperture or shutter speed at all. Rather, it tells the exposure meter where the center is. In some ways, it's exactly like exposure compensation dials.
If the ...
- 140k
11
votes
What is the role of Shutter Speed while using a Manual Flash?
Flash duration is typically much shorter than most cameras' flash sync speed.
If the flash only has a duration of, say, 1/1000 second (or 1 millisecond), it matters not if the shutter is open 1/250 ...
- 169k
10
votes
If I want to shoot darker shots, is it better to increase the lighting and then darken in post to retain clarity?
Your ISO is causing your grain issue. I have a studio assignment I give my students that is very similar to what you are attempting to recreate. It can be done with a single hot light or even window ...
- 101
10
votes
In situations where you aren't compelled to pick high ISO (low light/needing a high shutter speed), is there ever a reason to NOT prefer low ISO?
Generally, the best image quality will be obtained at base ISO, which is usually the lowest ISO setting normally available. Some cameras let the user set an ISO value lower than the base ISO by ...
- 1,482
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