Tuesday, October 14, 2008

ISO camera settings

I have been doing some research on ISO settings for digital cameras. I have found out something rather interesting that I didn't stop to think about before. The ISO setting on a digital camera typically a D-SLR is different than the ISO setting on a film camera. The ISO on a film camera is a setting used to specify the film speed being used. Where as the ISO in a D-SLR indicates the sensitivity of light perceived by the cameras sensor.

A low ISO of 100 is great for achieving almost zero noise in your photograph. Low noise means your images will be clear and sharp. Noise in digital photograph is what grain is to film. A high is of 1600 can record images extremely fast with much less light than an ISO of 100. Though it will give you more noise than low ISO settings. Low ISO numbers require longer exposure with more light needed. While adjusting your ISO settings you need to keep in mind you will have to make a compensation when it comes to aperture and shutter speeds.

If you plan on making very large prints from your photographs, you will want to shoot with a low ISO typically around 100. The low to zero noise will make very clear and smooth photographs that are ideal for enlarging to a big size. Of course mega pixel size plays a vast roll in how big you can really produce prints. An ISO of 200 and 400 can manage to produce some good quality enlarged prints. I suggest using all the ISO setting and practice shooting with all of them. This will give you a much great feel for the capability of your camera. Keep in mind that selecting a higher ISO requires compensation of aperture and shutter speed. Knowing how all the settings of your camera operate can give you a crucial advantage over the amature shooting next to you. I recommend staying away from the Auto ISO mode, this will only keep you from knowing how each setting works. So get your camera out, set it to ISO 100 and start working from there and go through each setting and see each one operates.

1 comment:

FASHION CHALET said...

Thank you so much. :) I really do wish to have an official photo shoot done of myself someday. My dream? For a fashion magazine!! :)

xo/ fashion chalet