The TRUTH about shooting at ISO 100 that the PROS know.

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My name is Simon d'Entremont and I'm a professional wildlife and nature photographer from Eastern Canada. In this video I'll share with why shooting at ISO 100 is advice best left unsaid.

I use Topaz Labs software for noise reduction, sharpening and upscaling:

Music in intro: "Nicer", by Houses on the Hill. Find that, and other sound effects at Epidemic Sounds

My equipment:

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[EZ-ljhv]

Dear Simon, just so you know, I changed my ISO to AUTO today after watching your video last night. And I went for a large public event. I have never taken such beautiful pictures. You changed my life! Thank you.

[M.éloDie]

This has to be the most I have learned from a YouTube video this year.

[halir]

How have I never been taught this before! 🤯 I was always told the high ISO created the noise, and that it was better to brighten in post. This is a real game changer.
You are such a gifted teacher, Simon. Thank you 🙏

[chumbeboy]

When I first started shooting, I really messed up because I would use an extremely high iso and ruined my whole trips worth of pics. I learned my lesson and now I’m a professional, it’s been 3 years since then.

[AN-iipk]

Good video. The basic message, which I've believed for years: far more photos are ruined by out-of-focus subjects (resulting from insufficient depth of field) or motion blur than were ever ruined by excessive noise. Most viewers will notice out-of-focus and blur instantly; few will complain about noise. And as Simon pointed out, noise is now pretty easy to fix.

[me]

I primarily work with audio. You stating that the issue is noise to signal ratio was all I needed to hear to make it all click. My hero.

[intergalacticspacepidgey]

Youtube and Instagram videos scared me into always keeping ISO low/controlling ISO manually, which made it so much harder to just go take some photos outside. Auto-ISO is a blessing, thank you.

[LordAus]

Your explanations have the clarity, simplicity, and elegance that only come with true expertise. So glad I found your channel!

[Dreyno]

I moved to auto ISO for most handheld shooting years ago. I was reticent to use auto anything but I realised I was missing potentially great shots all over the place in my quest for low ISO, super detailed images. Now I stick with auto ISO unless it’s a landscape shot on a tripod. A sharp shot with ISO 800 is better than a blur at ISO 100 every single time.

[PauloRibeiro]

I must tell you something: This is the first time I've heard this advice and I really understood perfectly how the signal-to-noise ratio applied to sensors works (since I'm an electronics graduate as well as a photographer). Everything became logical after your explanation. In addition, the new denoise function in Lightroom had already prompted me to increase the ISO in my photos, with amazing results. I, who had even forgotten about the automatic ISO function on my Nikon, went and started using it in conjunction with the manual exposure controls. I really liked the results and I didn't see any photos where denoise was essential.
This post of yours deserves to be printed out and put up on my wall. A big hug and sincere thanks.

[LightningTechNL]

This was something I learned about a few years ago, going on a trip with a friend of mine who is a highly regarded dog photographer and me, being a landscape photographer. She instantly was amazed by the low ISO I was always trying to use. She tought me that having the right shutter speed was all I needed... Let the 'ISO fear' go... Since that moment, I've been so relieved!!! Using high ISO's all the time to get the crisp images I need...

[philipbroderick]

Wanted to comment that I only recently broke my shackles of low ISO. Seeing this video has now given me confidence to continue this sensation of freedom! Thanks! Subscribed

[JaghataiK]

I have found no other photographer on YT who is this well spoken while also being charming, knowledgeable, humble and perhaps most importantly, not boring. An excellent teacher.

[boceskia]

The sensor dynamic range decreases at higher ISO, it's not just the noise and SNR ratio. Having said that, a lot of full frame cameras retain more than satisfactory dynamic range until ISO 2000, even ISO 3200. This is more important for landscapes. In regards to noise, what you say is completely accurate.

[shaneep]

Most helpful thing for me,

"The noise was already there, the ISO just reveled that it was there."

That is exactly what I needed to know. "Noise comes from not enough light, not from high ISO."

Thanks!

[pjrmnri]

I knew this intuitively but the way he demonstrated everything was absolutely masterful. Wow.

[bradnelson]

This video is proof that even the nature of YouTube can't quash all authentic, informative, and interesting content. This is a sample of quality. Thanks for the tips, Simon.

[MythicVoice]

I'm a wedding photographer and I used to shoot at ridiculously low ISO settings because I was so afraid of getting a noisy image but then the images always turned out to be noisy anyway because I was shooting at such low ISOs. The more that I comfortable I got with shooting at higher ISOs, the better my images looked.

[williamfields]

A note; the organization that invented 'ISO' is not the International Standards Organization. It is the International Organization for Standardization and 'ISO' is the Greek word for equal. The idea being that an ISO standard is applied in the same way across an industry. In our case, it is the light sensitivity of the sensor on any camera. Before digital, it was the sensitivity of the film one used. Your SIM card in your phone is an ISO standard, as are the size and layout of your credit cards. The number of ISO standards goes on and on. Just thought you might be interested.

[benkaska]

I wish, from the bottom of my heart, that every teacher, educator, and professor I had learned how to teach from you. You have a gift. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.