Shooting with Auto ISO

From the Best of Mark Toal

I always love it when something that I’ve scorned for years becomes part or my everyday life. It shows me that there is always something new for me to learn. In this case it’s about using the Auto ISO setting on my mirrorless cameras. I originally started making photos before there was auto anything and I’ve always prided myself on knowing the right ISO, aperture and shutter speed for any given situation. After all isn’t that what separates me from other photographers?

A few years ago I started shooting more photograph using the camera’s Program mode, letting the camera decide the shutter speed and aperture for me. I never wanted the camera choosing the ISO because of the noise that occurs at higher ISO settings. Well now that the newer mirrorless cameras can shoot relatively noise-free images up to ISO1600 or even 3200 this has become less of a concern for me. I’ll still like to choose the ISO myself if I need an image for an HDR shot or if I plan to make a large print, otherwise as you can see from these images Auto ISO works just fine for me.

A Note from Joe: While Mark and I agree on many things, even on the subjects that we like to photograph, how we do that is quite different and in a post on my post I’ll explain “Why I l Don’t Like Shooting Auto ISO.”

Note from Joe: Barry Staver and I wrote a book called, Better Available Light Digital Photography that addresses the issue of noise, high ISO settings and other technical aspects of low light photography, And while it’s currently out of print, you can buy used copies at really affordable prices on Amazon.com.