| Author | Thread |
|
|
02/25/2011 01:42:31 PM · #1 |
I know you use high ISO when in low light conditions to give you a higher shutter so that you can stop movement and motion blur.. But.. today I was watching a video with Scott Kelby and Jay Maisel and they were walking down the streets of New York talking and taking pictures. It was an over cast day, and Jay Maisel told Scott Kelby not to shoot with an ISO of 100 or 200... He simply said to shoot at ISO 1600... I'm stumped as to why he would say this and is it something I should be doing? keep in mind Maisel was shooting with a 70-300mm lens on a D3 body... I'm shooting with a 70-200 f2.8 on a Nikon D300 body... his pictures didn't seem to be "noisy" at all.. mine on the other hand are... any suggestions as to why he say's to shoot with such a high ISO on a over cast day? the light seemed to be more than enough and you would definitely get away with an ISO of 200 - 500 even..
I just want to make sure i'm not missing out on something? maybe to do with sharpness as Maisel is a stickler for sharpness. |
|
|
|
02/25/2011 01:48:39 PM · #2 |
| I think with the exceptional quality and effectiveness of present-day noise reduction software, we can afford to shoot ISO and remove it easily with some PP. |
|
|
|
02/25/2011 01:50:44 PM · #3 |
| gcoulson, I agree.. I just don't get why? i'm sure if I sat down and really thought about what high ISO offers I could figure it out... but i'm at work and don't really have a lot of time to think about it... so I was looking for a quick answer on here. |
|
|
|
02/25/2011 01:55:20 PM · #4 |
First, unless you're using a very high end body, you'll usually find that full stops are the best when it comes to noise (100,200,400,800,1600) and that the in-between are noisier than they should be, due to the amplification process used on most bodies (1D owners need not worry)...
Also, proper exposure is extremely important with higher ISO's, when in doubt, expose to the right (of the histogram), as the dark areas will have more noise..
As to why he's shooting soo high? Perhaps he wants to have a greater DOF, and a smaller aperture, or perhaps he just likes a bit of grain in his street work..
Note that I find 1600-3200 just fine for shooting at night on the street, (@ f/1.8), but the real key is finding what works for you, just try to make sure your shutter speed is never below about 1/100 or there will be excessive motion blur usually... |
|
|
|
02/25/2011 01:57:58 PM · #5 |
| I just noticed that I seem to be on a night shot binge recently. |
|
|
|
02/25/2011 02:10:02 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by coryboehne:
I just noticed that I seem to be on a night shot binge recently. |
Climate changes will screw up your sleep patterns for sure.
|
|
|
|
02/25/2011 02:12:25 PM · #7 |
I agree with the DOF comment too. Another thing about street shooting, you never know when you are going to see the shot that you only have about two seconds to capture.
If shutter speed is low you may have that one big opportunity image turn out to be motion blurred due to not having time to "assume the position" prior to getting the shot.
The D7000 is pretty good with noise control too. I shot a night fire a few nights ago, and one of the shots is in the local paper this week. There was some noise in the very dark areas, but not enough to be a problem for NR post.
It was serious but funny that the guy stealing gasoline was using his cigarette lighter to see what he was doing when the fire started, which caused an explosion, burning his face and arms. He left his gas can, and dropped his car keys while running away. The keys had a store "rewards card" thing on the ring, so the cops took that to the store, got the address, and went right over and arrested him.
|
|
|
|
02/25/2011 02:20:19 PM · #8 |
There is no compelling reason to shoot with an ISO higher than is necessary to support whatever shutter speed and aperture combination that is required. On a heavily overcast day with a slow lens, the required ISO might well be quite a ways above 100 ISO.
If the lowest ISO that I can get away with is 400, I might well elect to shoot at 800 or even 1600 so that if I get into an area where light is lower, I can shoot confidently without my shutter speed dropping too low.
This is a good strategy if you are shooting in Av mode, and Av mode is almost always where I shoot, because I want to have creative control over DoF.
With modern bodies, the penalty for being at ISO 1600 is not all that great. I still don't go there if I can avoid it. |
|
|
|
02/25/2011 02:29:19 PM · #9 |
| In street photography, technical IQ issues that tend to obsess DPCers take a back seat to actually getting the capture crisp and sharp. The higher ISO, the better, really, up to the limits of acceptable noise for your gear. Higher ISO = faster shutter speed, and that's what you want. 1600 is absolutely not a problem on the 5D, for example, very manageable. What noise there is, is good, clean, attractive noise. |
|
|
|
02/25/2011 02:37:54 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
...What noise there is, is good, clean, attractive noise. |
LOL! Sounds a little like rationalization, but I do have to agree. Compared to the ugly-arse blotchy chroma noise of the not-so-distant past, the 5D's noise characteristics are downright pleasant! And I'd add that there is ample evidence the next generation of cameras will again improve the situation.
The fact that they were doing street photography is really key here. I'd never want to use ISO 1600, on any current camera, for a studio portrait, but for street photography, a little noise is almost never objectionable, and in a lot of instances can even be said to add something. |
|
|
|
02/25/2011 02:54:23 PM · #11 |
I'll often use ISO 400 as my walkaround ISO. When lighting conditions are changing frequently it's a good compromise. It maintains a good shutter speed under most conditions and any visible noise is easily cleaned up in PP if needed. My G11, however, does not handle the higher ISO's as well so I try to keep it under 200 if possible, though 400 can still produce an acceptable image.
|
|
|
|
02/25/2011 03:03:23 PM · #12 |
| Thanks everyone.. I think I have a better understanding of it now.. the DOF comment makes a lot of sense! |
|
|
|
02/25/2011 03:04:25 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:
I'll often use ISO 400 as my walkaround ISO. When lighting conditions are changing frequently it's a good compromise. It maintains a good shutter speed under most conditions and any visible noise is easily cleaned up in PP if needed. My G11, however, does not handle the higher ISO's as well so I try to keep it under 200 if possible, though 400 can still produce an acceptable image. |
Dittoish... On the 5D I can't see any difference between 100and 200, and practically none at 400, so I leave the camera set on 400 and move to 200 if the light is bright. I hardly ever use 100 anymore. I frequently use 800, and sometimes 1600. The FF has to be stopped down more than the APS-C for DOF, so extra ISO is handy, especially when I'm using the big cannon. |
|
|
|
02/25/2011 03:58:56 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:
Originally posted by coryboehne:
I just noticed that I seem to be on a night shot binge recently. |
Climate changes will screw up your sleep patterns for sure. |
LOL, not to bad actually, I think it's just more the fact that I've got the 15-85 with the 4 stops of IS (handheld shots up to 1" if I'm careful), and the 85 f/1.8... Between the two I've found that I can pretty well shoot just about anything in the dark, without a tripod. :) Of course, my latest entry was done with a tripod.... :)
The last four challenge entries have all been night shots, two are either in voting are about to be in voting, so you'll see them after a bit, I like both quite a bit actually, we'll see if they can outdo my silhouette shot from Bourbon Street.
 (1600 ISO BTW)
Message edited by author 2011-02-25 16:02:04. |
|
|
|
02/25/2011 04:28:34 PM · #15 |
| is there a problem setting ISO to AUTO and letting the camera you spent good money for do the work? |
|
|
|
02/25/2011 04:34:48 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by mike_311:
is there a problem setting ISO to AUTO and letting the camera you spent good money for do the work? |
On the lower end (read non 1 series) bodies, yes, there can be...
In short, the camera will select intermediate ISO's, and that can lead to increased noise. However, in highly dynamic lighting situations, then yes, auto ISO is fine, as it's far better to have a bit of extra noise, than to have missed the shot entirely. |
|
|
|
02/25/2011 09:28:56 PM · #17 |
ISO 6400
It's not the ISO, it's all the other factors....exposure, aperture, light, subject.....
|
|
|
|
02/25/2011 10:05:03 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by NikonJeb:
ISO 6400
It's not the ISO, it's all the other factors....exposure, aperture, light, subject..... |
True but not everyone is fortunate enough to be using the superb Sony sensor that you're using.
bazz. |
|
|
|
02/26/2011 02:01:48 AM · #19 |
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:
I'll often use ISO 400 as my walkaround ISO. When lighting conditions are changing frequently it's a good compromise. It maintains a good shutter speed under most conditions and any visible noise is easily cleaned up in PP if needed. My G11, however, does not handle the higher ISO's as well so I try to keep it under 200 if possible, though 400 can still produce an acceptable image. |
Yeh, iso 400 is my default around my part of the world, even iso 800.
|
|
|
|
02/26/2011 06:57:14 PM · #20 |
 ISO 8000 with no noise reduction. In my line of work I live in high ISO land. properly exposed shots are the key as has been said before. I find I rarely use less than 800 ISO unless I'm using strobes. Even with them I try to stay around 400 to keep my recycle times low.
|
|
|
|
02/27/2011 06:35:16 PM · #21 |
Shot at ISO 6400 w/o post processing noise reduction. Not all cameras will give you these great results but the Nikon D3 is terrific! |
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 08/02/2025 11:55:51 AM EDT.
