SLR PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE

WHAT IS ISO SETTING ON YOUR DIGITAL SLR (DSLR) CAMERA AND HOW DO
YOU USE IT?

The letters ISO on your digital SLR camera refers to film speed. Even though your
camera is most likely not film at all, but rather digital, the ISO camera setting still
has the same function as older film cameras. ISO determines how sensitive the
image sensor is to light.

Common ISO camera settings

The most common ISO camera speed settings are: 100, 200, 400 and
800. Depending on your digital camera model you may also have them in the
range of 64, 100, 160, 200, 400, 640, 800, 1600 and higher.

You can see what the ISO setting is by looking at the rear LCD screen or top menu
depending your model. The example image on the left is similar to most SLR
digital cameras. If you can’t see this in your specific model, refer to your manual.
As you can see by the example on the right, the ISO in this case is set at 100.

The lower the ISO number, the slower the speed. The higher the ISO number, for
example 1600 the faster the speed.

General rules for using ISO

Use an ISO of 100 or 200 when taking photographs outside in sunny conditions.

If the sky is overcast or it is evening time, then use an ISO within the range of 400
to 800.

Night time or in cases of low light you might need to set your digital camera
ISO to 1600 if photographing moving subjects like people or if you are hand
holding the camera. The result may be a grainy / noisy image, however it is
possible clean that up in post processing.Another alternative is to put your
camera on a tripod and use a much lower ISO with a longer exposure. This is the
recommended method for landscape night shots.

How does ISO speed affect the photograph?

If you set your digital camera to a low ISO, for example 100, the resulting pho‐
tograph will be better quality than one set at 1600. The higher the ISO the more
grainy the photo will look. Therefore go for a low ISO number whenever possible.
grainy the photo will look. Therefore go for a low ISO number whenever possible.

However there are circumstances where a lower quality photograph is better

than none at all. For example taking photographs of fish in a dark aquarium would
normally be out of range for most point and shoot cameras. Setting my DSLR
camera to a high 1600 ISO made this task possible. Otherwise there would not
have been enough light let in to the sensor and the image would have turned out
totally black.

Of course I could have chosen a lower ISO camera setting and used the in built
flash. However this would have resulted in unwanted flash glare bouncing off the
glass. With this in mind a higher ISO (say 800) is also recommended if you want
to take photographs of people inside in the evening without using a flash.

How to change your digital SLR camera ISO setting?

To change the ISO setting on your digital SLR camera, press the ISO button then
use the ‘up down left and right buttons’ to change the speed. Again, if you don’t
have this option refer to your cameras manual as it may be slightly different
between brands and models.

Note: When your digital SLR camera is in automatic mode, the ISO speed is
chosen for you to suit the level of light available at that particular time.

Program mode – Also referred to as ISO mode

A mode I photograph in quite often is called Program AE. With Program AE you

can choose the ISO you wish to photograph with and the digital camera with set
the shutter speed and aperture (exposure) automatically to suit. I like to think of
it as being similar to an ISO priority option. To use Program AE change your mode
dial to P, like the example image on the right.

If you’re a beginner in using a DSLR camera, you’ll find it takes some time to get
used to setting your ISO correctly. I can’t count how many times I’ve kept my ISO
at 100 and tried taking a fast night shot to find the photo turning out completely
black. However after six months or so taking photographs in all different
situations, you’ll soon find it becomes second nature. Like anything new, it just
takes practice.
Setting ISO speed (PowerShot SX60 HS)

Solution

Raise the [ISO speed] to use a fast shutter speed when you wish to reduce the
effects of camera shake or avoid blurry subjects, or to turn the flash off when
shooting in a dark area

IMPORTANT

The following section explains the setting procedures when the cameras shooting
mode has been set to [Program AE] (P).

Overview of ISO speed settings:

AUTO: Automatically adjusts the ISO speed to suit the shooting mode and
conditions.

100, 125, 160, 200 (Low): For shooting outdoors in fair weather.

250, 320, 400, 500, 640, 800 (Slightly Low): For shooting in cloudy conditions, or at
twilight.

1000, 1250, 1600, 2000, 2500, 3200(Slightly High): For shooting night scenes, or in
dark rooms.

IMPORTANT

If motion blur is not reduced enough at an [ISO speed] of [3200], you can specify 
 ] mode and choose [4000], [5000], or [6400].

NOTE

To view the automatically determined ISO speed when you have set the [ISO
speed] to [AUTO], press the shutter button halfway.

Although choosing a lower [ISO speed] may reduce image graininess, there may
be a greater risk of subject and camera shake in some shooting conditions.

Choosing a higher [ISO speed] will increase shutter speed, which may reduce
subject and camera shake and increase the flash range. However, shots may look
grainy.

Canon PowerShot Metering Modes : Evaluative, Center Weighted Average, Spot

By using other modes except for the full manual mode (marked by M), a Canon
PowerShot camera will determine the right exposure for you. Basically, that
means the camera will set the optimal shutter speed and aperture value that
yield the best shot for a particular scenario. Two important things that the
camera uses to calculate the exposure are the light condition and the metering
mode.

Usually PowerShot cameras come with 3 different metering modes. Let's take a
look at each of them.
1. Evaluative metering
Under the evaluative metering, a camera will meter the light information coming
from the entire scene. So, there is no weighting or exceptional area. Sometimes,
this metering is called an average metering.

In a manual of PowerShot, Canon suggests that the evaluative metering is

suitable for standard shooting conditions, including back lit shots. Normally, in a
normal light condition (not too bright or too dark) scenario, this basic metering
shall produce a good shot.
2. Center weighted average metering
In this metering, you PowerShot camera still uses the light information from
the entire frame. The only difference from the evaluative method is the center
weighted average metering would give greater weight to the center.

This metering is less influenced by small areas that vary greatly in brightness at
the edges. If your subjects are in the central of the frame, you can usually get an
excellent photo with the center weighted average metering.

3. Spot metering
This seems to be the most advanced metering mode provided by PowerShot
cameras. Spot metering will determine the right exposure by using only meters
within the [ ] (Spot AE Point frame) that appears at the center of the screen.
That's usually a very small area of the frame.

It's very accurate and is not influenced by other areas in the frame. We use this
metering for very high contrast scenes. One example is to photography the moon.
Because all area around the moon is so dark, we'll get the overexpose picture
if we use other metering systems. Spot metering is our hero for this special
scenario. It brings us the right exposure for the moon, but under exposure for the
rest of the frame.
Last modified: 11:20 AM