IOS

IOS

CAMERA SENSOR & ISO EXPLAINED

SAFE SETTING - 100  /  ONE4LLOYDS = Half it  

ISO – This is how reactive you want to make the cameras sensor plate to the light it receives.  

OK great, I hear you ask, but what does that actually mean? Here’s a brief history to understanding it better - ISO stands for - International Standards Organisation and is a method for rating film sensitivity since 1974. Todays modern digital cameras obviously don’t use film. In 2006 the ISO standard for rating digital sensors were broadened to include 5 methods. Effectively every camera manufacturer can choose which ISO rating system they want to adhere to in their cameras. And so the confusion continues. In a nut shell, most digital cameras use one of the ISO rating systems within ISO Standard 12232:2006[15]. All you really need to take from that is, different camera ISO settings, differ slightly to each other. So ISO 800 on a Canon will look very different to ISO 800 on a Kodak (with other variables in Aperture and Shutter Speed being equal). And that’s fine. What we really care about is knowing the difference on your own camera.
What is the difference between ISO 100 and ISO 1600. And what do we mean be sensitivity?

 

The diagram below explains the difference between light sensitivity on a sensor. The greater the sensitivity to light, the greater the grainy effect or noise on the picture.

 

 

 

Lets start with ISO 100, this generates the best result of an image in good light conditions. Here the grey block is uniform, without noise or dot variations. The same would be true if the image was in colour. It would be sharpe, uniform coverage without noise. Now in a perfect world, you might wonder why we don't always just stick to ISO 100. Good question, well the answer lies in the "compromise" fundamentals of photography. When you change one element - Depth of field, shutter speed or ISO value, you have to compromise with the other two elements.

 

So for example. You are outside and the sky is blue and the sun is shining, you see a beautiful vista beyond and you want to capture the true colour of what you see. What do you do? Well first you decide what's important.

Depth of field - f22 would give you comprehensive focus throughout the shot

Shutter Speed - 1/500 Nice quick shutter speed that still lets in plenty of light but easy to handle without a tripod

ISO - Ideally I'd like to select 100 but given the aperture f22, and the fast shutter speed I need to compromise and let in a little more light to make sure my image is nice and bright, so perhaps a tweak to ISO 200 might be enough to acquire more light into the shot but without creating too much grain or noise, leaving me with a wonderfully crisp clean shot.

And that is the compromise I'm talking about.  

 

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