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Question: When would you use a very high ISO!?
I've been reading up on different camera settings and keep running into complaints about ISO!. All I see is that you should keep it as low as possible!. Even when someone is saying what it's good for (low light situations!?) they still say keep it as low as possible!. My question is, why does the ISO of some cameras go so high if you're unable to get a good picture with a very high ISO!? Is it possible to get a clear picture with ISO 1600 and above!? I guess I don't understand the purpose of the higher numbers when everything I've been reading up on says to never set it that high!Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
ISO is a bit of a joke in many respects!. the higher the ISO, the more grainy a picture becomes!. After a while doing regular shooting, you will find that there are some things crammed down your throat that you don't need but you are going to pay for anyway!.
You don't need 1600 ISO unless you are attempting to take a picture of a lump of coal in a coal mine after dark!. Photographers are all too often seeking to be prepared to take that one picture that requires a wide aperture and a high ISO!. It is sort of like having a 10 speed bike, you can use high to low and you can't use low to high, so you have only 8 gears!.
I am seeing cameras with shutter speeds beyond 2000!. why do you need that!? 90% of your shots are between 125th and 500th and between 4!.5 and 11 f stop!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Some DSLR cameras that have an ISO capability of going higher than 1600 usually also have a higher resolution than 10 million pixels!. Using a high ISO should be used in conjunction of RAW format files so that you can do a noise reduction after the exposure!. Thoroughly read your users manual for your camera to see if it has this function!. Doing this reduces the need for post-photo editing software!.
Using JPEG leaves the file as-is and results in high levels of 'noise' or 'grain' in the photo once it is processed or put onto you computer!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
You will need a very high ISO when you are in a dark lighting situation and you don't want a long exposure!. Your photos will end up a bit grainy, but you will at least get a clear image!. You can definitely get a clear image with an ISO of 1600 and above, the grainy effect can actually be cool!. Basically low ISO = fine grain and high ISO = lots of grain!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Samples here:
http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/little_pook!.!.!.
http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/little_pook!.!.!.
http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/little_pook!.!.!.
http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/little_pook!.!.!.
http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/little_pook!.!.!.
etc!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Well high ISO has always been a problem, but camera manufacturers are always trying to push the limits!.
ISO is a term from the film days!. Its the same as film speed!. You used to say "use 400 speed film if its not bright and sunny"!. Well the numbers still mean the same thing, 400 is 400, but the "noise" that your hearing about is getting better with each camera!. There are cameras that can give you good results at ISO 1600 and above!. Sometimes you need to edit out the noise with PhotoShop or Noiseware, but some cameras do just fine without it!. The more you enlarge an image the worse it is, so a 4x6 probably wont show any noise at all on most digital cameras at 1600!. Underexposure will increase the problem as well so its best to tell the camera to overexpose!.
Back in days of old, anything over 200 speed film was considered noisy!. Now, even film has advanced to give good results with 800 speed film (the right film of course) for color, and 3200 speed film is pretty good for black and white (overexpose it a bit if you can)!.
"High ISO" used to be 200 speed, then it was 400, now its 800 and who knows if 6400 will ever be reached with good results (we are talking film here not digital)!. Digital has begun to surpass film in this aspect with the Nikon D300 giving good results at 3200 from what I hear!.Www@QuestionHome@Com