Comments on: Moving Toward Manual Settings: Understanding ISO (a beginner’s guide)

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:49:30 +0000

Very handy! I’m off to the beach shortly to take some long exposure shots. Tried the other nite but the results weren’t all that great, now that I know more I’m sure it should be more of a success.. thanx for the post! :)

By: Holly

Holly — Mon, 11 May 2009 16:36:05 +0000

Thank you Natalie!! I have watched and read soo many tutorials and what not and seriously…I get it now all because of your post thank you!!! greatly appreciated :)

By: Hirani

Hirani — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 21:55:10 +0000

Natalie,
BRILLIANT lesson, love your pics by the way..8-)

By: Bruce

Bruce — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:41:47 +0000

@ Yo Bobby

Shoot RAW, this will allow you to significantly more control over the white balance at post processing. If you are shooting JPEG you pretty much need to nail the white balance at the time you take the shot.

By: Yo Bobby

Yo Bobby — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:56:07 +0000

Great series! Looking forward to the other key manual setting… white balance!! It seems to be the one I frequently forget to set and image quality is greatly effected.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:42:05 +0000

@ Deanna

As per Toby’s comment, I am pretty sure that the lower the ISO, the less sensitive it is too light. That is why increasing ISO is recommended for fast moving subjects, low light conditions and minimising camera shake.

Use a tripod for low ISO pictures.

By: Toby

Toby — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:33:28 +0000

@Deanna

Wait, I thought lower ISO meant LESS sensitivity?

By: Mark Hiatt

Mark Hiatt — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:26:49 +0000

I bought the new Canon XSi several months ago and have been experimenting with it since. I have taken several shots using ISO 1600 and it is amazing how little noise there is at that setting. Good article and feedback.

By: Chet Dailey

Chet Dailey — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:54:20 +0000

It is amazing how things have changed. ISO was the same for film, just a different medium being tweaked. There was a time when we dreamed of supper fast lenses that could see as well as the human eye in the dark. How great is it that we donâ€™t need to buy a lot of expensive glass now to get great light sensitivity? Hear Hear for the advances of modern technology.

By: Bob Bevan Smith

Bob Bevan Smith — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:44:56 +0000

I think of ISO this way: a correctly exposed image is likened to a glass of water. The glass should be full (to avoid underexposure), but not overflowing (overexposed). So you turn the tap on for a short time (shutter speed) and open it part way (aperture). If the tap is wide open (f2) the glass fills quickly (1/500th sec shutter speed), but if only dribbling (f16) then it takes longer (1/8th sec).
Now suppose you can change the pressure of the water coming to the tap. If the water pressure is low (100 ISO) the glass fills steadily with no splashes (low noise) but increase the pressure (400 ISO) and the water will come out faster, so shorter exposure time(1/8th sec becomes 1/30th sec), but more splashes (noisier).