High ISO Settings
Capturing dimly lit scenes without a flash
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High ISO Settings Page last updated: 8 October 2011 Content: Introduction | How to adjust the ISO Setting | Adjusting the exposure | Summary IntroductionIn dimly lit situations, a flash unit is often used to light up a scene. But with the newer digital SLRs and their ultra-sensitive image sensors, you can often take pictures by setting the ISO to higher values, and get good results without the use of a flash. The result is usually a more natural looking photograph, capturing the scene as your eyes saw it. ISO stands for International Standards Organization. What it really means is the sensitivity setting of the image sensor. The higher the number, the higher the sensitivity (ISO 200 is twice as sensitive as ISO 100, ISO 400 is twice as sensitive as ISO 200, and so on), and the lower the lighting conditions the camera can capture. Current digital SLRs typically have ISO settings that range from 200 to 6400 (or higher). The default ISO setting for outdoor photography on a sunny day is ISO 200. You can set the ISO setting up to the maximum value supported by your digital SLR to capture the most dimly lit scenes. However, at high ISO settings, your pictures will have more noise and lose some color accuracy. For certain conditions, that's more than a reasonable compromise. More often than not, it opens up new photographic opportunities as it allows you to capture shots that may not be possible with flash photography. |
High ISO shot of a high school band concert.
Taken with Nikon D5000 and Nikon 18-55mm kit lens. Handheld. No
flash. Cropped.
Settings: ISO 3200, 1/60 sec @ f/4.5, 28mm focal length, Manual mode
See more pictures of the
Timber Creek
Regiment
How to Adjust the ISO SettingHere's how to adjust the ISO setting on a Nikon digital SLR camera. This example shows pictures of the Nikon D5000 user interface, which should be similar to that of the Nikon D3000, D3100, D5100, and D7000 cameras.
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| Step 1. Activate the monitor by pressing on the [info] button, or the shutter release button halfway. |
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| Step 2. Go into the menu mode by pressing the [i] button so that the screen goes into the Menu mode. |
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| Step 3. Navigate to the ISO settings as circled in red in the diagram to the right. |
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Step 4. Using the cursor up/down control, navigate to the ISO settings menu selection to change the ISO setting (the current value is highlighted with the red circle). |
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| Step 5. Once you navigated to the ISO setting, press [OK] button to edit the ISO setting. |
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Step 6. Use the cursor up/down control to increase or decrease the ISO setting. Normal daylight setting is ISO 100 (if available) or 200. Dimmer conditions will require higher ISO values, but with the trade-off of noise in the image. Use up to the maximum ISO setting for your camera.
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Step 7. To select the new ISO value, press the [OK] button.
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Adjusting the ExposureNext, you may need to adjust the exposure, particularly if the background causes the in-camera exposure meter to be biased one way or the other. For example, the band concert pictures that you see on this page has a dark rear curtain which causes the exposure meter to read too low and over-compensate by over exposing the picture. Use the exposure compensation function to adjust for this. Take some practice shots, review the exposure of your subject (especially the faces), adjust accordingly, and repeat until you have a good exposure. It's a good idea to take some practice shots before the real event. In this case, practice shots should be done before the concert gets underway. However, that assumes that the house lights have been dimmed to the level set for the performance. To make these shots, I decided to go with the Manual mode, setting shutter speed and aperture myself after some trial and error to attain the proper exposure. I also turned off the auto-focus once focus was achieved to avoid the lens from "hunting", which would have caused me to miss some shots. |
Another high ISO shot of a high school band concert.
Taken with Nikon D5000 and Nikon 18-55mm kit lens. Handheld. No
flash. Cropped.
Settings: ISO 3200, 1/60 sec @ f/5.6, 28mm focal length, Manual mode
SummaryIn dimly lit situations, a flash unit is often used to light up a scene. But with the newer digital SLRs and their low noise, ultra-sensitive image sensors, you can often take pictures by simply setting the ISO to higher values, and get good results without the use of a flash. Albeit subjective, I think the result of a higher ISO shot is usually a more natural looking photograph, capturing the scene as your eyes saw it. The use of flashes are limited to short range due to the fall off of light with distance. Also, the flash picture tends to be harsher and lacks the warmth of a higher ISO exposure using existing lighting. As a note: when you are done taking pictures in low light, remember to return the ISO setting back to your normal value of ISO 200. Otherwise, your picture quality suffer unnecessarily as higher ISO settings introduce more noise. Where to Buy? Support This SiteIf you find the contents of this web site useful and decide to buy equipment (or anything for that matter) online, please consider using my links to the merchants below. I get a small commission to support my efforts of producing this content. Thank you for your support!
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