It is challenging to take good pictures without a good understanding of how ISO works and what it does. Camera ISO is one of the three pillars of photography (the other two being Aperture and Shutter Speed) and every photographer should thoroughly understand it, to get the most out of their equipment. Since this article is for beginners in photography, I will try to explain ISO as simple as I can.
Before we go any further, you should first understand how DSLR cameras work.
1) What is ISO?
In very basic terms, ISO is the level of sensitivity of your camera to available light. The lower the ISO number, the less sensitive it is to the light, while a higher ISO number increases the sensitivity of your camera. The component within your camera that can change sensitivity is called “image sensor” or simply “sensor”. It is the most important (and most expensive) part of a camera and it is responsible for gathering light and transforming it into an image. With increased sensitivity, your camera sensor can capture images in low-light environments without having to use a flash. But higher sensitivity comes at an expense – it adds grain or “noise” to the pictures.
Take a look at the following picture (click to open a larger version):
ISO 200 and ISO 3200 Comparison
The difference is clear – the image on the right hand side at ISO 3200 has a lot more noise in it, than the one on the left at ISO 200.
Every camera has something called “Base ISO“, which is typically the lowest ISO number of the sensor that can produce the highest image quality, without adding noise to the picture. On most of the new Nikon cameras such as Nikon D5100, the base ISO is typically 200, while most Canon digital cameras have the base ISO of 100. So, optimally, you should always try to stick to the base ISO to get the highest image quality. However, it is not always possible to do so, especially when working in low-light conditions.
Typically, ISO numbers start from 100-200 (Base ISO) and increment in value in geometric progression (power of two). So, the ISO sequence is: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400 and etc. The important thing to understand, is that each step between the numbers effectively doubles the sensitivity of the sensor. So, ISO 200 is twice more sensitive than ISO 100, while ISO 400 is twice more sensitive than ISO 200. This makes ISO 400 four times more sensitive to light than ISO 100, and ISO 1600 sixteen times more sensitive to light than ISO 100, so on and so forth. What does it mean when a sensor is sixteen times more sensitive to light? It means that it needs sixteen times less time to capture an image!
ISO Speed Example:
ISO 100 – 1 second
ISO 200 – 1/2 of a second
ISO 400 – 1/4 of a second
ISO 800 – 1/8 of a second
ISO 1600 – 1/16 of a second
ISO 3200 – 1/32 of a second
In the above ISO Speed Example, if your camera sensor needed exactly 1 second to capture a scene at ISO 100, simply by switching to ISO 800, you can capture the same scene at 1/8th of a second or at 125 milliseconds! That can mean a world of difference in photography, since it can help to freeze motion.
Take a look at this picture:
Black Skimmers, 1/2000th of a second at ISO 800
I captured these Black Skimmers at 1/2000th of a second at ISO 800. My camera sensor only needed 1/2000th of a second to fully capture this photograph. Now what would have happened if I had ISO 100 on my camera instead? My sensor would have needed 8 times more time to capture the same scene, which is 1/250th of a second. At that speed, I would have introduced motion blur into my picture, because the birds were moving faster than that. In short, I would have ruined the picture.
2) When to use low ISO
As I’ve said above, you should always try to stick to the lowest ISO (base ISO) of your camera, which is typically ISO 100 or 200, whenever possible. When there is plenty of light, you should always use the lowest ISO, to retain the most detail and to have the highest image quality. There are some cases where you might want to use low ISO in dim or dark environments – for example, if you have your camera mounted on a tripod or sitting on a flat surface. In that case, bear in mind that your camera will most likely need more time to capture the scene and anything that is moving is probably going to look like a ghost.
Oh No! It's a GHOST ATTACK!
Just kidding, of course! That’s my lovely nephew being the subject of my long exposure test. I set the camera to the lowest ISO to retain the detail, which also resulted in a long exposure of 5 seconds. My nephew sat still, while my friend stepped in for a brief moment to introduce the ghost :)
3) When to increase ISO
You should increase the ISO when there is not enough light for the camera to be able to quickly capture an image. Anytime I shoot indoors without a flash, I set my ISO to a higher number to be able to freeze motion. Other cases where you might want to increase ISO are when you need to get ultra-fast shots, like the bird picture I posted above. But before increasing the ISO, you should think if it is OK for you to introduce noise to the image.
On many of the newer DSLRs, there is a setting for “Auto ISO”, which works great in low-light environments. The beauty of this setting, is that you can set the maximum ISO to a certain number, so when the ISO is automatically increased based on the amount of light, it does not cross the set barrier. So, if I want to limit the amount of grain in my pictures, I typically set the maximum ISO to 800.
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please post them in the comments section below. Please note that the above explanation of ISO is given in very basic/simple terms, similar to film sensitivity. Correctly defining ISO in digital cameras can get fairly complex. If you want to find out more about ISO in digital cameras, including the ISO 12232:2006 standard, please see this article from Wikipedia.
About Nasim Mansurov
This is an excellent explanation for beginners like me!
Now I understand the ISO speed by your very detailed example.
I will be looking forward for your further explanations on photography :)
Thank you.
Thank you Dilorom, glad you liked the article. I will be posting more tips and tricks for beginners in photography very soon.
I´m new to photography and your site is proving invaluable. I´ve been looking for a basic understanding of common terms and it´s helped a lot.
Thank you.
Got here by a link on dpreview. Excellent stuff. Very good explanation. Your site is bookmarked now. ;)
JD, thank you for visiting us! I will be posting more info and pictures later this week, so stay tuned! :)
Nasim, thanks for your knowledge! Why can’t you just increase shutter speed in low light, and make the aperture large? And, does increasing SS automatically increase the ISO? I wasn’t sure if it was a two-way thing.
Cece, you are welcome!
In low-light situations, if you max out on aperture (every lens has a specific limit on maximum aperture), you can only go so far on shutter speed before the image gets darker (depending on the amount light). For example, let’s say you are shooting in aperture priority mode and set your aperture to f/1.4 on your 50mm f/1.4 lens. Let’s say the camera meters and wants to use 1/25th of a second shutter speed at ISO 100 to expose the image properly. At 1/25th of a second, you have a chance of introducing camera shake, because the shutter speed is too low and if your subject moves, you can also cause motion blur. By increasing ISO to 200, you essentially make the camera double the shutter speed, so this time it would need 1/50th of a second to correctly expose the image. Increasing ISO to 400 would make it 1/100th of a second and increasing ISO to 800 would make it 1/200th of a second. So as you can see, by increasing the ISO from 100 to 800, you can essentially increase the shutter speed from 1/25th of a second to 1/200th of a second, which is sufficient to freeze normal motion.
As far as the second part of your question “does increasing SS automatically increase the ISO?”, it depends on the camera mode you are using (in auto mode most cameras have “Auto ISO” turned on, which causes ISO to automatically increase/decrease depending on light conditions). If you are shooting in other modes, then the camera might not have “Auto ISO” turned on. In that case, just go to your camera settings and set it to on yourself.
For more information, please read my article on camera modes here.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Thank you,
very informative.
I like your series of “A Beginner’s Guide” articles.
So in low light condition using high ISO one can take sharp (of course with noise) images without a flash and a tripod?
Just curios, why they call it ISO speed, when ISO refers to the sensor sensitivity?
NanOnaN, you are welcome!
That’s correct, as long as it is not too dark. Increasing ISO to a higher number allows you to shoot at higher shutter speeds. In low-light conditions, even a slight increase in shutter speed can help to get a sharp photograph. There is a huge difference between 1/25th and 1/50th of a second shutter speed, while there is only one stop of ISO increase in between. For example, if in a low-light condition your camera is set to ISO 100 and your shutter speed is 1/25, simply increasing ISO to 200 gives you 1/50 shutter speed, while increasing ISO to 800 gives you 1/200 of a second!
I will write more about this in my next article where I’ll mix shutter speed, ISO and aperture altogether.
As far as why photographers sometimes say “ISO Speed”, it is because back in the film days, photographers used to say “Film Speed” when they referred to films with different sensitivities. ISO does increase the speed of the camera by increasing the sensitivity of the sensor, which in turn, increases shutter speed.
I am really enjoying the articles on your website. I have been doing a lot of photography reading on the internet and i must be honest your articles are among the best for their clear and simple explanations, especially to beginners like me! Keep it up.
Donald, thanks so much for your feedback! I’m glad that you like the articles – I wish I spent more time on these, because I know I can do better :) I’m hoping to go back and update these later with more information and write some more new guides for beginners.
If you have a hard time understanding what I write, please let me know and I will be more than happy to explain it in more detail.
Thank you. Very well done for beginners. Concise and clear.
Thank you for your feedback, you are most welcome! :)
i go through all your articles on aperture, shutter speed and ISO, still not really understand even you describe in a simple words, but better than before reading your articles. thank you, really good for beginner like me. i just bought a NIKON SLR D5000, still learn how to use, will continue trying and read your article.
Huang, what exactly are you having a hard time understanding? Let me know and I will do my best to help you out.
thanks again for your kind offer. first- facing problem to apply all this in real condition especially in manual mode, combination of shutter speed, aperture and ISO to get the desired result, like freeze motion, flying bird, night scenery etc. second-facing problem understanding the camera user’s manual(nikon D5000). this 2 combine together confuse me a lots, will spend more time to understand all this.
Huang, I recommend using Aperture Priority mode instead of Manual mode. You should shoot manual only when the camera cannot properly meter the light and when you have special situations (like shooting panoramas).
Try reading my “understanding shutter speed, ISO and aperture” article where I talk about how you can combine the three to create an exposure.
The best you can do right now is to photograph more. Take lots of pictures outside and experiment with camera settings. That’s how most photographers learn…so for the start, set your camera on aperture priority and take plenty of pictures. Understand what depth of field is and how you can control it with your camera. Within a week or two, you will start to understand how shutter speed works in different lighting conditions and once you have a good grasp of shutter speed, aperture and ISO, then you can experiment with Manual mode.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
thanks and i will definitely follow your suggestion – set on aperture priority and take lots of photo in different situation.
Hi, any suggestion for macro lens (Nikon D5000), with limited budget. Thanks
on a d700 would you go up to 6400 iso in dark conditions, or would that be to grainy? Specifically on the auto iso feature, should I do 200-3200 or 200-6400. The reason I ask is because I had it on 200-6400 and I was taking some pictures in my house without the flash in a room lit by lamps and the auto iso was going all the way up to 6400. I was thinking going up to 6400 would be in almost pitch black conditions.
Monty, it really depends on what noise levels are “acceptable” to you. I personally set my Auto ISO to 200-1600, but in some situations increase it to 3200 (if my shutter speed is too low). I rarely increase it to 6400, because the noise starts affecting the sharpness of the image and I do not like it.
Hope this helps :)
Awesome !! Thank you so much!!! You are now bookmarked and I will be visiting everyday! Again Thank you
Brenda, you are most welcome! Thanks for stopping by and dropping a comment :)
Excellent, simple explanation of ISO. Had no proper idea what it is, and the difference between the low ISO and higher ISO.
Great job!
Thank you for your feedback Ilhom!
If I take pictures in Manual , what ISO should i use. When I use 200 there is this flicking on ISO 200
When you say “flicking”, do you mean that the exposure is too long that you hear several clicks in the camera? What is your shutter speed and aperture?
i love this site.
helped me a lot. im a newbie with a d3000. i regret it that i got it over the d5000. :(
will be visiting you more often. :D
thanks so much
Jin, do not regret and just shoot pictures! :) Cameras are just tools, it is the person behind the camera that makes awesome photos!
Love your site!!! I took out my note cards and got busy. I really understand your information clearly. Thanks so much, this is my favorite site!
Nina, you are most welcome and thank you for your feedback :)
Hey Nasim
What an excellent explanation, I just recently received a Nikon D90 for my birthday and i am loving it and now i will love it even more, just by following your simple steps I have captured some lovely picturs, thanks you so much, defiantly bookmarked and will be visiting everyday for more tips
Lawrence, thank you so much for your feedback! That’s a nice present you got for your birthday, the D90 is a superb camera.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Hi Nasim, I have a client and he wants images taken in low light, I have read your article on how you should take pictures in low light by adjusting your ISO to a high than normal, I have tried it and i still cannot get the shoot perfect? do you have any suggestions how i should take the pics and do i need special equipment and on what setting do i use the camera to take the pics.
ps I do not have a tripod or any special lense I only have the D90 body and the lense that came the with camera Nikkon DX (AF-S Nikkor 18-55 1:3.5-5.6G)
really looking foward to your response
Lawrence, if increasing camera ISO does not help and you are still getting blurry images, it means that the amount of light in the room is not enough for the camera. When you shoot in aperture priority with the largest aperture (f/3.5), what kind of shutter speeds are you getting? If your shutter speed drops below 1/30th or 1/15th, the only solution is to use flash. In that case, the best thing is to buy an external flash like Nikon SB-600.
Hope this helps.
Today has been a good day….I just got a D5000 a few days ago and today was the first day that I was able to take a shot, realize what was wrong and knew what settings to change to make it better, then to top it off, I found this amazing article which makes it even more understandable! I still have a loooooong way to go in learning all of this and thanks to you it is already seeming a little easier! I can’t wait to explore your site and see what else you have to say!
Michelle, thank you for your feedback and I’m glad that my article helped you. Please let me know if you have any questions!
Hi Nasim, I just got my Nikon D5000 with Nikkon DX (AF-S Nikkor 18-55 1:3.5-5.6G)last week. Im so happy with it.
This is my first DSLR camera and I am still learning how to use it.
Your site is one of the best and easy-to-understand site that I stumbled.
I’m sure I will be spending more time here and will read all your articles.
Keep them comming. Great site!
Have a nice day!
Thank you for your feedback Russell and congratulations with your purchase! You got a great combo, now you need to take lots of pictures! :)
hello there!!!thx alot for sharing such great n wonderful tips with us…i’m still new to DSLR..n i’m currently using D5000….hope to learn more on how to capture nice n memorable moments….i’m always not too sure on setting up the ISO, shutter n aperture level…
Noorjan, I recommend reading my articles in the photography tips for beginners page. If you cannot understand everything, I recommend buying a good book like Bryan Peterson’s “Understanding Exposure”.
Nasin – Your website on DSLRs is, by far, the easiest to understand and most informative! Thanks for sharing your jewels of wisdom!
Refering to the “Black Skimmers” photo above, do you have any rule of thumb for using a tripod when shooting wildlife scenes at different times of the day or, is it a matter of preference? Will a tripod help eliminate any unwanted motion blur or, will my camera’s shutter speed be fast enough to make this a non-issue?
Thanks in advance!
Tom, thank you for your valuable feedback, I appreciate it!
The image of black skimmers was taken hand-held. If you use fast enough of a shutter speed (preferably above 1/1000th for birds), you do not need to use a tripod to freeze action.
thanks for the tips i really want to get into photography. THis has been a great help. How long have been a photographer for? thanks a bunch :)
Tristen, you are most welcome!
I have been shooting for about three years now. Started when my son Omar was born…
salam,
thank you for explaining it in an easier way !it is great help for a beginner like me.seems like i shouldn’t look further more to find a great and helpful site since yours is more than enough.i’m going to stick to this helpful site!
Thank you for your feedback Izzah!
hello Nasim,
I’m really thankful that I found your site while I was googling.
you make beginners like me know more enough to take good pictures.
thank you for sharing your knowledge to us. it’s extremely helpful =)
Thank you Citra!
Wow thank you for the simple explanation of the settings.
You are most welcome James!
Brilliant…Nasim…
Your articles are itself pictures …explaining practically..
I am on of the fan of your photography techniques and the way you explain complex things in few simple words..
Keep the momentum going on
Anil
Anil, thank you for your feedback!
Hye Nasiim,
brilliant. and very clear explanation. thanx for sharing with us..appreciated it so much.
p/s – already bookmark your page as my own reference.
Thank you Lessa!
Hi Nasim,
Thanks for your effort on this website. The true expert is somebody who can really simplify things and your articles are all easy to understand and very informative.
I have a D5ooo. I can set the ISO noise reduction to low, normal, or high. Which would be your preference if shooting at high ISO between 1600 to 3200?
Thank you Zamsyari!
In terms of noise reduction, I would just leave it on low or normal. Setting it on high might affect the image quality and make images appear softer.
Nasim,
Let me commend you on two things. First, you have a very professional, classy and pleasing website to look through. Second, I’m amazed at how much time you spend responding back to everyone that has written here. I’m sure they must all appreciate you taking the time out of your presumably busy life to share with them. Bravo!
And now, a question. I’ve been a Nikon fan for years, having started shooting purposefully with a N70 (35mm) camera several years ago. Most recently I’ve purchased a D90 and I’ve really been able to grow and expand my photography through this wonderful tool. While I completely understand the relationship between shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings, I’d love for someone to explain to me what exactly changes in regards to how the sensor operates when the ISO is pushed up? If this is too technical of a question to post here then I completely understand. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Matthew
Mathew, thank you for your feedback!
In terms of what changes when ISO is increased, in very simple terms, the sensitivity of the sensor is boosted by electronics, which then allows the buckets/cavities on the sensor to collect the incoming photons faster. The noise that we see as a result of this boost is due to various errors that happen in this process. The higher the sensitivity, the more the errors. Larger sensor buckets allow more photons, which is why full-frame cameras with larger pixels have less noise than cropped-sensor cameras.
Hope this answers your question :)
Hi Nasim,
You really did incredible work for beginners like me. I have one question, I am trying to take my nephews pictures. he is 3 moths old. i tried all your tips for shutter speed, aperture and ISO also. it works well but pictures are not sharp enough. shows some blur when he move is hand. and My problem is i cant keep him stable. I am using Nikon D3000 18-55 VR lens. i have 70-300 lens and tripod also. all pictures taken inside.
Let me know if you have any solution for it
Thanks
Pankaj, if you are seeing blur while the child moves, it means that your shutter speed is still too slow. The only option is to either increase the light in the room (by opening doors/windows) or using flash.
Thanks Nasim, That really helps me…..
Really doing a great work by complete photography techniques………
all the best to you …….
Many thanks for all this tutorial Mr Nasim!! It is easy to understand for a beginner like me, and I will continue to follow your post.
You are most welcome!
Hi Nazim
Your articles are all good and impressive. I have already read many articles which contains photography tips. This link is very useful and simple. Thanks a lot for posting this. Have a great year…
Thank you for your feedback Kiran!
Best explantion I’ve seen. Thanks.
Thank you for your feedback Robert!
Terrific Blog the best photo blog I have ever read, I have picked up many books to compensate for your teachings. Please continue posting, I just purchased a D7000 and you are giving so much to look forward to.
Thank you Thomas!
Hello,
I just had to say that Mr Manseur, you are a genious and the best educator I have come accross pertainign to photography in all aspects. I have a mentor who is a dcotor but used to teach photography at university. He told me to set my f stop to 2.8 in order to get best depthj of field but I find that this is not so for me. After reading some of your articles (I am working my way thru them) I have concluded that you are quite sepcial not only in your scope of knowledge but in the detailed aspects of photography in general and your abilty to commnicate things to us at a very in depth yet simplified manner is very unique. You are the best. IO am so happy to have found your site. I wish I had a NIkon or Canon now, but I do not; I am using the E series Olympus four-thirds lens system cameras specifically the E1 and E5. I hope I will be able to take partin these classes although I do not shoot with Canaon or Nikon. Everything I have lerned here so far does pertain to my system as well. I raelly enjoy learnign and reading your material. You must have a vey postige outlook onlife as it shows. I have thus far not read very mcuh material that allows me to smile while learning. IOne book I am rading and your site are like this however so I hope to stick aroun for as long as you can provide such generous time and well thoguht out lessons. I say lessons as you rinformation and articles ar much moer than just informative. They enable us (just look at the feedback to know this) to put to use whatever you suggest immediately, and people do, they do not just read and move on. You are making a huge impact and I hope that you are recognzed for this by the magazines who give kudos to many who may be experienced but whose articles are still, confusing. Thank you. PS Your family are lovely! Cher Boston USA
Thank you for your feedback Cher, I truly appreciate it! Happy New Year!
Just curious…By raising the ISO, Why would anyone want noise in their photos to begin with? is there a way of getting rid of that grain? How were you able to capture that image of that bird at a higher ISo and not see the grain?
Thank you
Seher, I apologize for such a late response – I somehow missed your comment. It is not that one would “want” noise in their images. Everybody obviously prefers to have noise-free images. I would not mind being able to shoot in the dark and have grain-free images :)
However, even the most advanced sensor technology cannot yet reach noise-free levels. We have gotten very far with today’s technology, which has already surpassed film by a huge margin, but there are limits to everything, including sensor’s ability to collect light quickly without any artifacts.
As for the bird image, there are many programs you can find online that can “clean up” noise from digital cameras. Adobe Lightroom, for example, has a built-in capability to do this.
Hi,
I want to buy a semi-pro dslr mainly for birds in flight . I am a bit confused between some choices which I have set as per my budget. Firstly , do nikon d90 fits in a semi-pro category and will I be able to get good quality pics (to sell) with that ( with a good lens), I mean if its good at birds in flight / action shots ?
Secondly , is canon 60d also holds good for this , as I saw many reviews on internet not recomending it for BIF ,but featurewise it has all plus points.I really didn’t understand why it is not recommended fir BIF.It has good focus points , good css /fps and iso .
Lastly, how about d7000 ? Are there any negative reviews/complaints about it and will it be good enough for BIF ?
Which one should I go for ? I want to shoot professionally.
Thanks .
dexter
I am wondering what calculation is used to determine Shutter Speed?
Assuming is a fantastic day and you have PLENTY of light, and you are in Av mode,
does it simply pick the lowest possible ISO and then calculate the Shutter Speed based Metering of Neutral Grey and assuming 18% Reflectance..
I am not sure if that question is more technical than it should be or if i am just exposing my ignorance.. Sorry!
Wesley, I apologize for a late response. The calculation of Shutter Speed depends on many variables, such as exposure mode (Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, etc), metering mode (Evaluative, Spot, Area) and aperture + ISO values. If your camera is equipped with an “Auto ISO” feature, the camera will change the shutter speed based on pre-defined values in the camera menu. If you do not have such a feature, then the ISO value will be whatever is set on the camera (normally base ISO such as 100) and the shutter speed will be automatically determined by the exposure meter on the camera.
Thanks Nasim for really nice and simple explanation of ISO!!! Will do some tests tommorow…)
thank u so much sir Nasim… gained so much knowledge by merely reading your articles. I do keep on reading more of your articles everyday after work.. and im learning day by day! thank u sir!
Wow…Wow…very excellent article for beginners like me…Great Job. thanks Nasim
Thanks for sharing this excellent article! It helped a lot for a beginner like me understanding about stuffs like ISO…
Many thanks to you……. I am slowly beginning to understand the lingo of “Photography” Well done!!.
So…I just purchased my first DSLR (Nikon 5000) and am trying my best to understand the art of photography as opposed to simply pointing and shooting without truly understanding how all of this works. I am currently trying to take good quality photos of my son on his skateboard and YES all the images are coming out looking like a ghost. Does this mean I should increase the ISO to 800 or higher?
Any feedback on how I can correct this would be greatly appreciated. I appreciate your expertise and knowledge . Thanks for sharing it.
Karen, I apologize for a late response. If your images have motion blur in them (ghosts), then it basically means that your shutter speed is too slow. The only way to increase the shutter speed without darkening the image is to increase your camera ISO. So try increasing your ISO to 800 or higher and see if you get better results.
Sorry Nasim, this article is wrong in several fundamental ways. ISO is not ‘the level of sensitivity of your camera to available light’ and the sensitivity of a digital camera’s sensor never changes. The ISO Exposure Index, which is its proper name, only describes a relationship between scene brightness and final image brightness, and has no connection to the sensor’s ability to collect light. A sensor does not have an ISO rating at all. By increasing the ISO setting on your camera, you do not enable it to capture more light. In most, you don’t change the way it captures light at all, all you change is the way the raw file is converted into an image (JPEG) file. In some, raising the ISO results in less electronic noise being added to the image. The noise you see in images taken in low light is not caused by the ISO setting, it is caused by the small number of photons making up the picture.
Bob.
Bob, thank you for your feedback! When I wrote the above article, I knew one day someone knowledgeable would point out the mistake of how I defined ISO. I just did not think it would take almost two years :)
The above is an over-simplified explanation of ISO, to make it easy for beginners to understand the exposure triangle. Please note that the above article is tagged for “beginners” and I make note of simplifying ISO several times. It is easier to explain ISO in “sensitivity” terms, because many photographers worked with film before and they get it right away. I don’t think REI, SOS and ISO standards would really stick with those who just picked up a digital camera…
This is exactly the same reason why manufacturers decided to stay with the term ISO in first place. Otherwise, it is not relevant to digital cameras today at all :)
Thanks for dropping by.
Cheers from Orlando!
Peace be with you Nasim
Its very easy to understant about three pillars of photography by reading your article. I have been learning it from long time, but after reading your article its made me to take more intrest in photography. I just brought my Nikon 70-300 afs vr lens.
Going to London next week, and try to get some more beautiful picture.
I thankyou for a such a beautiful and encourge article, and because of it, it gives me a kind of push and confidance that I can do and learn more about photography.
Have peaceful and wonderful time ahead.
Thanks you so much for your article, as I am a beginner it help me a lot :)
Nice and very informative…but the lowest ISO setting on the nikon D5100 is ISO 100….so shouldnt that value be the base ISO….I own a nikon D5100!!
Iam a photographer.I could knew about photography more from here.Your instruction is very usefull for beginners.because Your instruction is very simple and powerfull.i congratulate.”god bless you” for long life.
Hi Nasim,
I am Pretty New to photography and Have been trying to get some good results out of my D90. While shooting outdoors i am getting gr8 results but recently i took some pics of a Party which was held indoors but the Pics that were captured were very Pale and yellowish. It looks like iv taken the pics in yellow light while the same situation pics taken by point and shoot camera are coming out very bright and nice. Kindly suggest what could be the problem and what needs to be done to improve the same.
P.S My wife is continually nagging me for investing wrongly in a DSLR due to this outcome :-)
hi there!
im such a novice and while i gained some understanding from your article, i still am a little fuzzy…literally :-) i took a portrait and it has been chosen to be the cover of a magazine (8.5×11). the problem is that when they try to blow it up, it is blurry. im outdoors so im not low on light. i have a canon rebel xt1, along with the kit lens and a 50mm. how can i get a sharper image that remains sharp when blown up?
AW, you can get sharp images with your camera. You just need more light so that your camera can focus better. Shoot the same thing by a large window and make sure that your shutter speed is fast enough not to cause camera shake.
Nice site, good explanation and clear.. it helps me alot, I am using a nikon d5100 and I’m still new. Can I ask? why in P,A,S,M mode the ISO cannot be set to auto? Is it i have to set the ISO manually everytime i use PASM mode?
Keith, that’s not true – you can Auto ISO in any custom mode. Just navigate to your camera menu and set it from there.
Ok, thanks! I found it. anyway I still have a question. In night photography (without flash) I know setting the ISO value higher can make the shuttle speed faster, in the situation that I did’t set up tripod. How about aperture? Does Aperture needed to be large or small? Does it affect the depth of field in night photography?
I take pictures for a small town football team and I love what I do and I get great action shots. I had just recently went to a night game. The lights on the field were just not enough light to get great shots. I might be picky but I like my crisp clear action shots. Is there anything more I can do, I use a D3000 with a 55-200mm lens and all night long I was playing with my settings to try and get decent shots. Any Ideas for me to try or help me out?
Hi Nasim,
I am reasonably new into DSLR and have purchased a Nikon D5000 to explore what photography has to offer as a hobby.
I find your website amzingly helpful for amateurs like me and must say you have a great way of explaining complicated stuff to beginners like me. I have recently tried to successfully implement some of your tips into photography and is doing wonders to my confidence.
My question is, On my Nikon there is a button indicated with the letter i. when I go into the menu it lets me select a wide range of things like Iso, AE-L etc.. There is an option called Exposure which ranges from -5 to +5 which dramatically changes image quality. Can you elaborate on this for me? What is this used for? What scenarios should this be altered?
Thanks
very valuble information….. Hoping to see more tips n techniques…
Cheers!
thank you for suck valuable information again……..it really helps by putting sample pictures……for understanding the topic……
1 think great abt your website is “NASIM MANSUROV” which is you of course tries to reply every comment on his article thats really awesome that u take so much time just for replying…….
thank you replying to our queries…….!!!
kautilya
india..
*such spelling mistake…..apology…
Hi Nasim!
I enjoy reading your articles because they are simple and to the point … with examples thrown in.
I am not a beginner but I do enjoy the way you explain things. Patience is a virture … more so when explaining to beginners. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with all of us.
Melvyn Thum, Singapore
Hi there – love your work and your articles!
I’m a brand new user of DSLR camera’s and I’ve got a Nikon 5100. I’m struggling with taking sharp pictures in low lights situations. Since I dont know much about photography I have been experimenting in the Manual mode – mostly by increasing ISO and increasing shutter speed. I only have the built in flash and I still have not been able to find the right balance of ISO and shutter speed that would still make the colors look right and outlines look sharp. I would really appreciate some advice.
Thanks
your tone of writing is very beginner friendly! good job!
i am now a little confident with getting myself a dslr.
i used to get intimidated with the “dslr” term because it seems it is only for professionals
and then i became bitter about it after it became a fad around town, people bring intimidating gears but still producing so-so pictures… so i thought this was just overrated.
your articles has really made me change my mind!
Hi Nasim,
I have a Nikon D3100 and started photographing a lot lately. I did some potrait photography of my son outdoor suring noon time and partly shady.
I used the A priority mode and set it in Auto like suggested and the Max ISO= 800, Min Shutter speed = 1/500.
The photos cmae out good, but i found a lot of noise which i had to remove in Lightroom following your “removing noise in lightroom” article.
1) Would there be lot of post proessing involved if we shoot in higer ISO? or does it depend on the Camera model and sensor?
2) Your above images seem to be exceptionally sharp considering being shot @ ISO 800. Was the post processing involved?
3) Is it a bad idea to keep the ISO @ 100 0r ISO 200 for getting low noise and good images.
JP,
1) It depends on how comfortable you are with noise. If it bothers you, then yes, there would be plenty of work involved.
2) When you resize images for the web, they tend to show much less noise. If I showed you images at 100%, you will definitely see more noise. In addition, the image you are referring to was shot on a full-frame camera, which handles noise much better than a DX camera.
3) No, that’s actually what you want to do – try to keep ISO low all the time, to get the best images. However, in some low-light situations you have to increase ISO or your images will be blurry.
Me and my wife arey trying night street photography, but kept on getting too much of graininess in all the shots. All we knew before reading your article was if we are shooting in low light situations, we should increase ISO. We always used Tripod. I am excited to try out some new settings today… will keep ISO at around 400, and 10 secs exposure. Hopefully wont see grains. Thanks a lot for putting up this article
I also wanted to know more about video shooting on DSLR. What would be ISO Settings your would recommend when capturing video at Night. I would like to do following things when capturing the video. I am using D90 with default 18-105mm lens that comes with the kit.
1. Motion blur moving objects, like streaks of light in video, and keeping stationary objects well in focus and no grains in the video. What settings would you recommend?
2. Getting Bokeh effect without grains and with good light!
We were able to get bokeh effect, but it was too grainy and moment we reduced ISO the video gets too dark to see anything.
This is getting little tricky for ametures like us. Probably you could help us!!
Thanks
Dilpreet
Dilpreet, set your ISO to 200 when shooting on a tripod. As for video, you cannot do streaks of light in video as you can do in pictures, since video means 30 frames per second. You will need a slow motion camera to be able to do that.
Hello Nissan, thanks for posting all the tips for best quality phots, my question is, I am opening a massagem service at home, and i would like to have some picture taken so i can post in my new massage web site, i want to take an indoor picture in a room with a lot of candles with low natural light, (i do not want use flash ), and 2 friends of mine wil be my models, they will be pretending to have massage (they willl be stand still when i take the picture), i got a camera ISO up to 6400, please tell me what you think, should i use 6400 ISO or less..? Thank you for your advice
P.S. I hava a Nikon L120 :-)
Hi Nasim…
Your articles are awesome……
Great job man… Keep on with the good work for beginners like me…
Outstanding Article.
Hi Nasim,
I know this is out of the topic but I need to haveyour comment on this, Im planning to buy a micro lens, do I need to buy a close up lens to compliment the micro les
Hi Nasim,
What I mean is close up filter lens.
Thanks
Hi Nasim,
After reading your post, I was playing with my D90′s auto ISO feature. I have a concern, though.
Let’s say, I turn auto ISO ‘ON’ and select maximum ISO 800 and minimum shutter speed 1/60. Then I come across a situation where I want to use higher or lower ISO only for that one shot. Is there any way to change ISO manually? I found out when I set auto ISO to 800, I am not able to change ISO anymore. If I manually change it to 3200, auto ISO still kicks in and camera still takes shot at 800. I tried A, P and M mode.
Thanks in advance :)
thank you. God bless
i have learned a lot
This article is very helpful for me……I am very happy to read this…coz I always made the problem on ISO settings…Now I understood about ISO….Once again …thank you very much……
You have a great site for beginners, Mr. Mansurov. The fact that u read and respond to comments is much appreciated.
A couple of doubts:
a) In the picture “Oh No! It’s a GHOST ATTACK!” you have stated that the lowest ISO (presumably 100) resulted in a long exposure of 5 seconds. Why is the exposure so long?? What were the lighting conditions like? From the picture, it appears that there was some light source present. Aperture? No flash, I assume.
b) Is the ‘ghost’ a result of motion blur?
c) Would it be possible for you include some more pictures with brief description such as ISO, Aperture. SS, lighting condition? That would provide beginners invaluable insight
Hi!
Can High ISO damage my CMOS Image sensor?
because I read that high ISO makes your sensor more sensitive to light…
will that damage or shorten the life span of my camera sensor? or am I just paranoid?
Love your work Nassim, the way you explain everything is so simple and concise!! Thanks!!!
Simply excellent. Thank you for having this website and sharing your valuable knowledge and keeping it simple.
Hi, this is an amazing explanation. I am a beginner in photography and after your explanation I understand it the best. :-) Thanks
Nasim, I have a question about exposure settings and usage of flash.
If for any reason, I find that my live picture is a little dark then does it make sense to simply use a flash to brighten it or should I use my exposure settings (EV) to increase the brightness? Which setting makes it more practical to use? I am not able to figure out.
Also it would be great if you could throw some light on ‘Analysis of histograms’ by means of an article later on.
Thanks