What is NATIVE ISO??? (and WHY you NEED to know!)

What is NATIVE ISO??? (and WHY you NEED to know!)

#nativeISO #extendedISO #bestISO

In this video, I answer the question, what is native ISO. I also talk about extended ISO, what makes a camera have good low light performance, and what is the best ISO for digital cameras. We compare and contrast native vs extended ISO, give strategies to attain low ISO noise, and I’ll tell you if/when to use extended ISO. So, to learn ISO and the best ISO for your camera, watch this ISO tutorial!

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This Video:

[JamesLavish]

So, what's your preferred ISO limit on the camera you use? And is anyone else dying for Sony to announce an a7siii???

[terrygorry]

Great video, packed with information. New subscriber.

[DreSignificant]

I absolutely love your teaching style. Great video Mr. James

[elmono]

If native ISO is so important - then it should be printed in BOLD letters on each camera

[helpmenaomi]

This is great information. Thank you so much for this explanation.

[mattcero]

Awesome! Short and sweet. I'm trying to find the native ISO(s) for my ZV-E10 but can't. Any ideas sir? Thank you.

[VickiPetterssonAuthor]

Okay, so apropos of nothing, the intro made me say, "Pew ... pew, pew, pew, pew!" ;) Beyond that, you have SUCH a gift for explaining complex things in a simple and straightforward way. Really great work.

[liftingdermatologist]

useful, thanks!
Greetings from Belgium!

[ВікторКузьмінський-яъ]

It's really usefull information and interesting video. Thanks!

[VeronicaDiPolo]

Very interesting James! Thanks fro sharing

[TeddyCavachon]

The sensor sites are, in effect, like buckets with finite capacity for being filled to the brim with photons. There are more photons reflecting and collected from highlight areas and since in most cases highlight detail is more critical than shadow detail we cut off the light to the sensor with shutter at the point the brightest highlight “bucket” is just below the point of being filled completely.

Shadow noise occurs in images photographed is high contrast lighting because the shutter closes before the darkest areas of the scene reflect enough light into the sensor. The ideal situation would be when the contrast of the reflected lighting measured in f/stops in highlights and shadows with a 1° spot meter EXACTLY matches the range of the sensor, with enough photons reflecting from the deepest detailed shadows to reveal detail collected by the sensor by the time the shutter closes.

In the 1970s and 1980s I did Zone System B&W which worked similarly. With B&W the limiting factor was the range of the print paper. It was possible to use different contrast grade papers to match the range of different lighting (e.g., sunny, cloudy, overcast) which is what photo labs did with your grandma’s photos taken with a fixed aperture / single-shutter speed “Instamatic” camera. But Ansel Adams preferred the dynamic range and tonality of #2 print paper and devised a way to predictably alter negative development so any scene from 8 to 12 stops could be printing with the same full range of tone.

But with digital sensors of the contrast of the lighting exceeds the DR of the sensor the best the photographer can do to emulate the zone system approach is to bracket exposures so both highlight and shadow detail is captured then blend them together in post processing.

Ever since I started using digital cameras with histograms I’ve used a gray card, plus white and black wash rags draped over the card to evaluate scene range vs. sensor and exposure. The white and black rags represent detailed highlights and draping them creates a 3D shape the direction of the light models. They create very distinct spikes on the histogram.

OPTIMAL use of the camera’s DR occurs when the spike from the white towel barely touches the right side of the histogram and the black towel spike does the same on the left. Evaluating whether or not scene range will fit the sensor’s is done first by adjusting exposure with aperture/shutter until the highlights are exposed correctly both per the histogram and visual inspection of the white towel image to ensure the texture of the towel has not been blown out. It is only after “exposing to the right” with the spike from the white towel the position of the spike created by the black one will reveal whether or not it has reflected enough photons to record detail above the noise floor of the sensor.

If after exposing to the right for correct highlights the shadows are running off the left side the scene range exceeds sensor. On overcast days the shadow side of the graph will not reach the left edge reflecting how the overcast lighting has made the shadows appear lighter.

With studio lighting or dual hot shoe flash is trivial to exactly match foreground to sensor is this way: after setting aperture for DOF and shutting stare with just a fill flash centered over the camera raising its power until seeing detail without excessive noise in the black towel target. Then turn on the key light off axis (which will overlap fill in the highlights it creates) and adjust power until the white towel is exposed with detail with only specular highlights reading 255. If you have a reflection spot meter taking readings off the black and white will reveal the “practical” range of your sensor. By performing this test at different ISO settings on the camera you can determine in the same empirical way how different ISOs will affect camera DR and image noise. But in the studio setting, the fact you set fill strength visually based on image detail seen in the black towel will insure that regardless of ISO the shadows are exposed above the base noise level of the sensor. As ISO increases you will just need less and less fill intensity to reach that threshold.

With the histogram the gray card isn’t as useful for exposure. In the days before spot meters taking a meter reading off an 18% gray card was a way to expose for the middle in a way that would ensure detail was recorded in the shadows on negative film. The photo lab would then measure the density in the highlights based on the range select the paper grade needed (1-4) to fit the negative range to print. As mentioned Adams, using sheet film or removable film backs on Hasselblad would instead adjust negative development time, altering the highlight density via development to fit #2 grade paper.

18% was chosen as the value for gray cards because if looking at black, white and gray cards most would say 18% is halfway in between. But in the 1970s that standard was changed to 12% reflectance. As a result if you expose a digital image based on highlight detail using a physical 3D object like the white towel the spike on the histogram an 18% gray card will create will not be in the center of the graph as many expect it should be. If “correct” exposure is based on centering the spike from an 18% gray card in the histogram the result will be blown highlights because the histogram is calibrated to the newer ANSI 12% reflectance = perceptual middle gray standard.

The reason for carrying a gray card isn’t for exposure but rather having a target which reflects R, G, B equally for white balance. Why is a gray rather than white card used for WB? If white is used and it is exposed to appear white (as some might do) there is a chance that one or more of the RGB channels might actually be clipped, skewing the WB reading.

[jobin_thomas]

That was informative. Keep up the good work!

[Jakecook]

I'm a bit late to the comments here, but curious what your thoughts are on many people saying to avoid ISO 100 due to the decreased dynamic range, which depending on the camera, can be significant. Thanks!

[jamiequinlan]

So I’m on a run and gun shoot and base ISO 800 is a little dark. Do I stick with it and increase exposure in post? Because this way I’m not technically exposing correctly in camera am I?

[blueckaym]

Extended ISO range is ever worth considering only below 100 (or whatever is your camera low native ISO limit), and even there it rarely have an effect - I've only seen barely noticeable difference in some Nikon cameras, and as James said you might mislead yourself and blowout your highlights.
And for the higher ISOs (native or otherwise) camera manufacturers should focus on actual noise control (without side-effects like blurring or star-eating) rather than give us high ISO values that can't even produce nice picture even for personal use.

[Lpittfit]

I may have to invest in a good camera after seeing this. Thanks!

[MiamiRealEstateProductions]

Whats the native iso for SLOG3 video? What is the native iso for regular photography? Please help! sony a7r iv

[BozoGeniusX]

Good video. I would have liked to see the ISO visual comparisons on an actual locked off video clip rather than a still photo...

[desertbornproductions]

Great description. Thanks for this!! So what's the deal with iso 640? I've read somewhere that on the a7iii it's better to shoot at 640 than 400 for example. I just always thought you start at 100 and then double the number and don't use anything in between.

[OpticalProducciones]

What is the native iso of a Sony Alpha 6400? Greetings.