What ISO Setting?

[rbalcom]

What is the "normal" ISO setting you use for everyday shooting? I am an old film shooter who has made the move to Digital SLR. While I know the "use the lowest ISO you can to get the shot" concept, it seems that the amount of noise at the higher ISO settings is not much of an issue. With that in mind, a higher ISO will give me a higher shutter speed resulting in the sharpest image.

Am I missing something? If not, what is a good setting for normal daily use?

Dick

[Michelle Allmon]

Depends on if you are indoors, out in the sun, shade, etc.

Indoors I usually use 800. In the sun I use 100. In the shade I use 200 or 400.

[Dobick]

Originally Posted by rbalcom

What is the "normal" ISO setting you use for everyday shooting? I am an old film shooter who has made the move to Digital SLR. While I know the "use the lowest ISO you can to get the shot" concept, it seems that the amount of noise at the higher ISO settings is not much of an issue. With that in mind, a higher ISO will give me a higher shutter speed resulting in the sharpest image.

Am I missing something? If not, what is a good setting for normal daily use?

Dick

My personal way of selecting is to prioritize the three, ISO, Aperture, and Shutter, in order of importance to the shot that I am taking at that moment. For example, if I am shooting a football game, I will decide that I can absolutely not go slower than 1/320 (Faster if possible), and I want the most shallow depth of field that the lens has, so I will then look and see how low I can set the ISO and still achieve half a stop or better than the slowest shutter speed. In poorly lit HS games this inevitable ends up being ISO 3200. :)

If I am shooting a landscape shot on a still day/evening, then the aperture is the most important, followed by a low ISO, and then I let the shutter fall where it will.

But to answer your question of what I leave my camera on, it's usually set to ISO 100.

[AndrewCCM]

What camera body are you using? Typically, the lowest ISO setting is preferable. However, many newer models have very good high ISO performance. I run the gamut with my settings... In good light, I go low ISO for the most part...

[fivegrand]

"Normal daily use?" Is there such a thing? LOL

I pretty much keep mine at 200 unless I MUST bump it for lighting reasons.

[rbalcom]

Originally Posted by AndrewCCM

What camera body are you using? Typically, the lowest ISO setting is preferable. However, many newer models have very good high ISO performance. I run the gamut with my settings... In good light, I go low ISO for the most part...

I shoot with the Canon 1Ds Mark II and have just added the 1D Mark III.

Let me try to put it another way. When walking around with my camera I keep it set to the Program mode to allow me to grab a quick shot if something pops up. That is what I was considering as normal daily use.

Dick

[AndrewCCM]

On my Mark III, unless I need slower shutter speed for some reason, ISO 400 is perfectly suitable for daytime walk about. But what you might consider, AUTO ISO SHIFT. This works great on the MKIII...

[Hogleg 44]

I used to buy ASA400 film mostly, so I frequently set my cameras to ISO400...
I wanted speed more than DOF/brokeh.

[kenmyers70]

To me, this is the most revolutionary part of digital photography. You can set the ISO on a shot by shot basis. It becomes simply another variable along with shutter, aperture, focal length...

[bondarnes]

My studio camera is set to 125 my outdoor camera stays on 200 until late in the day when light levels get too low. For weddings all cameras are on ISO 800 unless it is outdoors.

[darktiger]

I usually keep it around 160....

[Anthony Martinez]

I don't have a normal setting, I go all over with it.

[fran reisner]

I'm with Kent. What's your priority? I set my ISO according to what light level I have and what combination of f-stop and shutter speed would be optimal for me. Since I shoot Canon I'm ok if I have to crank up my ISO in a dark situation to get the exposure combo I want, but I still opt for the lowest setting I can use.

[iCe]

I use the ISO setting that gives me the shutter speed and/or f stop that I need to capture the image that I want... within reason... when shooting in "football dungeons" it's ISO 3200, f2.8, and 1/500 in most cases. Wildlife or landscape? It's all over the place and depends on whether I need to stop motion, control DOF, both, or... what could be the most common mistake that I make... I forget to set it back the day after shooting a football game (not that hard to catch but it's got me a few times). For non-sports, I always start at ISO 100 and go from there but there really isn't a "normal" setting for me.

Modes? Av and M. Never P.

[Cope]

Originally Posted by bondarnes

For weddings all cameras are on ISO 800 unless it is outdoors.

Don, I can see 800 for available lighting in a church, but is this with flash (reception) also?