What is ISO — Camera ISO and the Exposure Triangle Explained [Ep 2]

00:00 The Exposure Triangle
00:51 What is ISO?
01:31 ISO Meaning and Examples
02:36 Shooting in the Dark
04:21 Noise & Grain (High ISO)
05:05 Dynamic Range & Native ISO
06:04 Adding Texture with Grain
06:38 Film Grain vs Digital Noise
08:15 Final Takeaways

What is ISO? Camera ISO is just one of three camera settings that make up the exposure triangle. In photography and cinematography, the exposure triangle is how image makers can adjust to any lighting scenario. In this episode of our aperture, shutter speed and ISO tutorial series, we look at camera ISO and its essential role in exposure. This is ISO explained.

ISO (pronounced “eye-so”) is the name adopted by the International Organization for Standardization. This group, which has been around for decades, is a global organization dedicated to creating international standards for everything from medical devices to country codes. One of their first ISO standards was for the “light sensitivity” of black and white celluloid film. Since then, the term ISO in photography and cinematography has stuck and refers to how sensitive unexposed film (or a camera’s sensor) is to incoming light.

In this ISO guide, we’ll explain the various “ISO speeds” or camera ISO settings with a practical photography tutorial on when these choices should be made. Which ISO to use in low light settings or overly bright scenarios? It all depends on the other camera settings like aperture and shutter speed — and what your ultimate goal for the shot is.

A high ISO setting pushes the camera sensor to be more sensitive to light, while a low ISO setting desensitizes it. Naturally, when you’re shooting a bright exterior scene, you would need your camera ISO to be less sensitive. Vice versa, in a low light scenario, you might be tempted to raise your ISO speed. But be careful — a high ISO setting can also introduce film grain or digital noise into your image.

Another consideration when choosing your camera ISO speed is dynamic range. Dynamic range dictates how bright and dark an image can be while still retaining visual information. For example, if you’re shooting a bright sky above a dark forest, you might not be able to capture complete detail in both areas. These days, digital cameras have what’s called a native ISO setting where the optimal dynamic range is found.

With these ISO settings, your photography or cinematography can be versatile and nuanced. Remember, ISO is just one of the camera basics included in the exposure triangle. Make sure to watch the other photography tutorial videos in this series to get the complete picture.

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00:00 The Exposure Triangle
00:51 What is ISO?
01:31 ISO Meaning and Examples
02:36 Shooting in the Dark
04:21 Noise & Grain (High ISO)
05:05 Dynamic Range & Native ISO
06:04 Adding Texture with Grain
06:38 Film Grain vs Digital Noise
08:15 Final Takeaways

[shreyangaurab]

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[freddysamjacob]

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[HankFlaktoid]

I’m going to be that guy. ISO in digital cameras doesn’t change anything about the sensor’s sensitivity. In actuality, it changes the gain applied to the signal gathered by the sensor through the lens, and doesn’t change the physical amount of light recorded by the camera. ISO (or ASA) in film does actually represent a difference in how film stocks react to different amounts of light. Digital sensors have a fixed sensitivity, and changing ISO only changes the gain of the output.

This is really important for cinematographers to really understand. If you step outside and want to film in broad, afternoon daylight, you may think that turning your ISO down will let you record your subject on the ground and the blue sky and clouds above without clipping (losing detail in the highlights), when in actuality, you’re hamstringing yourself and clipping faster. To properly acquire extreme highlights in camera, you actually have to boost your ISO and reduce the physical exposure by stopping down your aperture or adding neutral density filters to your lens. Camera manufacturers will usually specify dynamic range values at different ISO’s, and you’ll find that higher ISO = more dynamic range in the highlights. The inverse is true for low ISO, and low ISO = more dynamic range in the shadows.

This has serious implications for how you choose to expose a scene, and misunderstanding digital ISO to be the same thing as film ISO will lead you to make incorrect choices as you try to work.

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Obviously the info out if this video is important and for people interested in photography, not just for cinematography.
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