Weekly Poll: Auto ISO or Manual?

[clockdoc]

When I am shooting routine "record" shots indoors using the D80 and SB800 flash, I rely on the Auto mode and TTL metering. It is rare that I second guess the camera's metering system in such cases. I also tend to use high ISO's (1600 frequently) because of the size of the rooms I am shooting in with bounced, diffused light. I find the D80 handles the 1600 ISO well and I have not had a problem with sharpness or the need to use a program such as Neat Image.

When shooting indoors in a "theater" lighting situation, I'll use Auto to get in the ballpark, check the highlights to see if they are OK and then sometimes switch to Shutter priority for 1/60 or 1/80 handheld. Occasionally I'll use full manual depending on the set and lighting. Again, I often use ISO 1600 for such settings to gain the faster shutter speed for hand-held shots.

[Kpclark1959]

I use manual, now I just have to figure how how to use it right! Seriously, for me, the only way I can learn is by using manual and learning how to set things up correctly.

[pegasus]

I'm in a major learning curve yet so, that said, if it's a shot that I've just GOT to have and can't take a chance on, I use auto. Otherwise, I learn by adjusting manually.

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by clockdoc

I find the D80 handles the 1600 ISO well and I have not had a problem with sharpness or the need to use a program such as Neat Image.

Could you perhaps post a shot taken at ISO 1600 to demonstrate how your camera handles it? I think that shots at various ISOs from different cameras could be quite enlightening in this discussion

[Taallyn]

At the moment I usually set it manually. I think the camera came set to Auto ISO by default, I had some problems with it initially. I turned it off so that I could get a better feel for how aperature and shutter speed were affecting each other. Now that I have a better grip on that, I've been thinking of turning Auto ISO back on to see how well it works. One of my biggest issues is forgetting to check the ISO when I take the camera out of my bag. It is invariably set from the previous shoot and it takes me several shot to realize that. I wish the D80 had a constant ISO display. I think that would be quite useful to me. As it is, I have to press a button to see it in either the viewfinder or the top LCD.

[Saralonde]

I always do it manually.

[ike]

I shoot in manual mode on my camera, so i make all the choices including ISO, but i only have a P&S so it doesn't choose anything for me unless i use a preset mode, which i dont,

ike,

[yodha]

I used to shoot at fixed ISO 200. But switched to Auto ISO after Ken Rockwell suggested it in his D40 Users Guide. His reasons for letting go of ISO control were convincing to me. I allow it to go to a maximum of 800.

[wulf]

Manual all the way. ISO makes such a big difference on the final result that I don't want to leave it up to the camera to decide. Mind you, I normally shoot in manual mode, often with an old, non-metering lens, so my habit has partly been decided by my decisions about gear. However, even back with the kit lens, fully auto-compliant, I still find myself using manual settings most of the time; once you know how, it is pretty easy and lets you use ISO, aperture and shutter speed to capture the look of the image as well as the exposure.

Wulf

[gheatza]

I mostly use the Auto ISO feature, but I only allow it to increase until ISO 400, I don't like noise that much, and within this range the noise is pretty much nonexistant. For indoors action, in dim lights and so on I turn off AI and use 800/1600 ISO settings, especially when I can't use a flash. When I go manual (night photography, testing other stuff - like candle lights and so forth), I only use the minimum ISO my cam allows, which is 100 ... so as I can see its pretty much situational.