Don't make this common ISO mistake!

Choosing the right ISO is easy if you follow these simple steps.

NIKON GEAR (Main STILLS camera)

FILM GEAR

OTHER PHOTO GEAR

[NigelDanson]

Thanks for watching! ISO 64 (or the base ISO of your camera) was the answer to the question at the start... forgot to say!

[amsivertson]

1:47 “It’s the shot that counts.” Exactly!! I’m a college photography instructor, and previously taught at a private photography school, and on the wall we had a 50” (1.27m) wide print. That print was flawless landscape, photographed by the founder of the school on either a 6MP Canon 10D or 8MP Canon 20D camera (it was in 2004 and he couldn’t recall which camera he had on that trip). It was always our example of, when shot right, and handled right in post, and then printed right… it’s the shot that counts.

[johnbyrne]

Hi Nigel, hope your back gets better soon and you can get back out there and capture some amazing photos.

[paulflatt]

Great discussion. I was afraid of high ISO except for my star photography. After a Photo Conference in March talking to several pro landscape photographers, and now you hitting this topic. I will no longer fear high ISO to "get the shot". Thanks. All the best to you and get your body back in good shape. Health is more important than "the shot".

[andy_simmo]

Ah Sundays 09:00 not a better feeling than watching Nigel with a coffee ❤

[desgardner]

A few months ago I changed to auto ISO and a faster set shutter speeds when hand held, I always use Aperture Priority it was a massive improvement on some of my old settings, however I change these settings when my camera is on a tripod! My camera is quite old now and I have no plans of upgrading just for the sake of the latest tech (its an age thing) I found your advice in this video very interesting and you spoke so that it was easy to understand, I do like that noise reduction setting, thank you so much, I hope you get over your health problems soon. Thank you.

[biggstavros]

The best thing I got out of this was a single sentence. "Take a lot of shots of a subject using different ISO`s to see what you get". That`s the best advice you can give anyone who is worried about ISO and noise. Me personally, I have been doing photography for over 40 years and I don`t care a jot about the ISO as long as my shutter speed and depth of field are where I want them.

[luiskaj]

Worked as a assistant for a great commercial photographer back in the mid-80s to early 90s...you shot with whatever ASA (ISO) film you had in the camera; occasionally you asked the lab to pull or push the film during processing (up to 4 stops!) to extend the range. My film of choice was Kodachrome 25 - talk about limitations! Photographers in this digital era have just so many options, and if the original capture isn't technically perfect, then there's always post-production (no auto-ISO in those film days haha)

[duncanmcinnes]

Take care with your back, recovery is so important as my wife will tell you. She has fractured it twice in the last 15months. Look forward as always to your videos whether or not it is your trips or camper van.

[marvinbeatty]

Loved all the examples; makes the concept easier to understand. I'm sorry to hear about your back, Nigel. I had a spinal fusion in Aug. 2022 and, while I'm mostly pain-free now, I don't think I'll pick up my clubs again. You've helped confirm that a golf swing isn't a good plan for my vertebrae now.

[randyschwager]

So great to see you back producing photography videos! I’ve been missing these learning experiences! Sorry to hear about your back! Take care of yourself! Thanks for taking me along!

[gailmager]

Very helpful, hope you recover easily. Looking forward to next video.

[NigelBaileyPhotography]

Hope. Your back is soon better. Looking forward to seeing more about the van.

[alanm.]

The most important lesson from the entire video: it’s all about the results. Even if you find out, later, that the image was made with a less expensive camera.

[havibs]

Hey Nigel, thanks for confirming what I am doing. I generally put my camera in manual mode to control A & S but with auto ISO. When conditions are right, the ISO is set at 64 and use A priority. Love your videos and the information you share.

[antonmeijerman]

Thank you, Nigel. You explained it very clearly, and I hadn't heard it that way before. I understand it much better now. I think I'll be using automatic ISO much more often and will choose the aperture and shutter speed myself. Thanks again for the excellent explanation.

[ianpinion]

I couldn't agree more, Nigel! I've adhered to that policy for at least the last ten years regarding ISO. I hope your back improves without the need for further surgery, because it if it doesn't you'll be in serious trouble, not least with your surgeon!

[enricozetti]

I shoot with a D610, and, many times, I happen to prefer shooting underexposed with low ISO and then control the "negotiation" between increasing exposure and the emergence of noise in lightroom. I always wondered if it's a bad habit. Thank you for pointing me to ISO invariance. I have checked it out and understood the choice it's a bit nuanced and depends on the specific model..
It seems like there is a small variance in my camera, but i'd say it's almost negligible. At the end, half a stop of noise does not make a photo good or bad.
Shooting with a reflex the control on the perfect exposure is not as straightforward since you cannot check the istogram in real time so i'm fine knowing that even if it's a bit off i can address that in postproduction.. I'm also usually more concerned with burning the highliths than underexposing the shadows.

[domhaughton]

I must say when I watched your adventures on the West coast of Ireland last autumn that auto ISO became one of my favourite takeaways in recent years. So obvious, yet it had never really occured to me as an option - all the more so now that the noise reduction in LR and Camera RAW is so much better.

[nerrelloader]

Great explanation, thank you Nigel. Sorry to hear about your back. Recover quickly.