In short, ISO is the sensitivity of the film or digital sensor.
To give you the best example of what changes in ISO does to a photo, I made a chart below. Using a ribbon origami rose that I made, these photos are taken with a Canon 40D, so different cameras will have different results. The large picture at the top is taken at the lowest ISO of 100 to show what the entire picture is. Below that I have images of each ISO setting at 1/3rd increments. These are 100% of the pixel size right out of the camera. For each ISO change I had to also change the shutter speed. The aperture was the same in each at f/5.6.
At the beginning I have the two extremes of the highest and the lowest next to each other to show the dramatic difference. Then at the very bottom that full photo is taken with 1600 ISO. The reason I did this is to show, depending on the use (here being the web), a high ISO will still be a suitable option. At this small size on a website, the noise is barely noticeable. But blow it up to a 16×20 print and the difference between them will be quite intense. I very rarely would use 3200 ISO, and isn’t really native to this camera (thus the H). But it is nice to have available in a pinch.
So what is it all about then?
ISO is a standardization that was Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: aperture, camera, digital, DSLR, exposure, ISO, light, photo, photography, settings, SLR
Posted in Camera parts, photography | No Comments »
Here is part three of the digital camera buying guide. Look for part four next week. Hit the links below to go to either part 1 or individual categories. You should definitely subscribe (hit the button in the left hand sidebar) so that you won’t miss next weeks post.
Point-and-shoot or DSLR? (the basics)
Budget
Response Time and Speed
Zoom
Resolution
The Sensor & Processor
Macro
Screen
Manual Options
Part 3 (this post) covers:
ISO
Durability
Battery
Size, Shape and Weight
Flash
Memory Cards
Other Options
Video
ISO
ISO is what determines the sensitivity to light. A high number for ISO allows the camera to shoot in much dimmer light. The problem with this is that a camera will often list that it Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: battery, buying guide, camera, digital, durability, ergonomics, ISO, photography, whitepaper
Posted in Camera parts, photography | 1 Comment »
Here is part two of my camera buying guide, in time for the holidays. Look for part three and four in the next couple weeks. Hit the links below to go to either part 1 or individual categories. You should definitely subscribe (hit the button in the left hand sidebar) so that you won’t miss any of the installments.
Point-and-shoot or DSLR? (the basics)
Budget
Response Time and Speed
Zoom
Part 2 (this post) covers:
Resolution
The Sensor & Processor
Macro
Screen
Manual Options
ISO
Durability
Battery
Size, Shape and Weight
Flash
Memory Cards
Other Options
Video
Resolution
Resolution is typically the biggest selling point for cameras in any category. Just because a camera has a higher resolution, doesn’t mean the camera is better, though. One thing to take into account is what you plan on doing with your pictures after you take them.
A higher resolution can print to a larger size, Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: buying guide, camera, digital, DSLR, macro, manual, PAS, point-and-shoot, processor, resolution, screen, sensor
Posted in Camera parts, photography | 2 Comments »
In time for the holidays when people will be considering buying a new digital camera, I thought to write a white paper detailing some of the things to look for or think about. It is fairly long, so I have broken it up into four parts to be posted every Tuesday for the next four weeks. You should definitely subscribe (hit the button in the left hand sidebar) so that you won’t miss any of the installments.
Part 1 (this post) covers:
Point-and-shoot or DSLR? (the basics)
Budget
Response Time and Speed
Zoom
Resolution
The Sensor & Processor
Macro
Screen
Manual Options
ISO
Durability
Battery
Size, Shape and Weight
Flash
Memory Cards
Other Options
Video
If you have any further questions after reading this, feel free to ask in the comments below. When the entire thing has been posted, I will make a dedicated web page where the the white paper has been compiled into one downloadable file.
Point-and-shoot or DSLR?
When picking out a digital camera, you must eventually decide between a point-and-shoot or a so-called ‘professional’ DSLR camera. Both have a wide range of options and in this paper I intend to help you find what is best for you.
A point-and-shoot (PAS) camera is one where Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: budget, buffer rate, buying, camera, digital, DSLR, fps, frame per second, guide, optical, PAS, point-and-shoot, response, speed, time, zoom
Posted in Camera parts, photography | 3 Comments »
I have learned through both college and work experience that one of the best ways to learn anything is through critiques of your work and other’s work. That is why, in the spirit of teaching through this blog, I am happy to critique the work of submissions from readers. If you would like a professional critique from me and learn how to better your artwork, be it photo, design, painting, et al, just read these submission guidelines and submit an image through my critique contact form. You can also email your submission to photocrit [at] chrislanephoto.com.
It’s been a little while since I’ve had a critique on the blog, so it’s about time I got back to it. This time I have a photo submissions from Elizabeth M.
I’ll be critiquing this photo of an orangutan in a zoo. First, the metadata. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: artifacting, bokeh, camera, Critique, depth-of-field, digital, GIMP, JPEG, noise, Paint.Net, photo, Photoshop, point-and-shoot, post processing, posterization, retouching
Posted in Critique, photography, Retouched | 2 Comments »
