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ISO and Aperture?

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ohboy
Posts: 1177 - Karma: 2,528
true noob here, try not too hate too much. for photographing skiing, what ISO and aperture should I use? Just an average day on the ski hill. Thanks!
Mar 28 2014 4:13PM
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Bhroscoe
Posts: 145 - Karma: 524
Your probably gonna have to shoot at your lowest ISO and I would stay around f/8 if you want to keep everything in focus.
Mar 28 2014 4:19PM
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Bhroscoe
Posts: 145 - Karma: 524
But those don't always apply. You should always change your settings depending on lighting
Mar 28 2014 4:19PM
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Bhroscoe
Posts: 145 - Karma: 524
Oh fuck. Just realized you meant photography. I was referring to video. I keep making this mistake.
Mar 28 2014 4:21PM
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plorr
Posts: 3131 - Karma: 528
Really depends on the look you're going for. If you're shooting jumps with a long lens you probably want to open up to 2.8 or so to isolate your subject from the background. If you're shooting wider you likely want to stop down to f8 or so to get everything in the frame sharp. There isn't just a do it all setting for every scenario. Just take the time to think about how you want your shot to look when you are setting it up.

As far as ISO, you want to set it as low as possible without having to use a really slow shutter speed or too big of an aperture.
Mar 28 2014 5:02PM
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Lou.
Posts: 1787 - Karma: 3,876
It varies from shot to shot.

As a rule of thumb you want your iso down as low as possible while it is still bright. The higher the iso the more noise (fuzzy dot things) you will get in your image.

Aperture is a bit more of a variable. If you want everything to be in focus than shoot f8 and up If you want there to be bokeh (blurred out of focus background) than use a low aperture. And use your judgement.
Mar 28 2014 5:28PM
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gordie.
Posts: 2014 - Karma: 84
I'd add to others posts that ISO isn't necessarily best just "as low as possible per the environment". Depending on what camera you're using, you should research "native ISO" (google it for your camera). Not all cameras and camera systems should just be dropped to nothing. I can explain it for those interested, but the gist of it is that you should actually leave the camera on it's native setting (or one of its native settings) rather than lower it.

This is NOT true for all camera systems. For example, the new D16 doesn't have a true native ISO. Conversely, shooting on almost all DSLR's there's one or more native ISO's. It's advised to stick to them. Also this can vary with some systems depending on if you're shooting photos or video. Best bet is to google your camera and find out more!
Mar 28 2014 5:42PM
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Lou.
Posts: 1787 - Karma: 3,876
Please explain. Im interested. Is there a native iso for the eos rebel series?
Mar 28 2014 5:48PM
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mvf
Posts: 786 - Karma: 1,581
Whooaaa cooool:

Canon 550D/T2i native ISO prove with Magic Lantern from GMH on Vimeo.




Had never heard of this before
Mar 29 2014 3:35AM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
If you can't visually discern the difference between the 'gained' and native ISO you don't need to worry, native ISO is for pixel peepers who have went from 100% to a 1000% crops.
Mar 29 2014 7:45AM
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Lou.
Posts: 1787 - Karma: 3,876
got it. thank you
Mar 29 2014 8:10AM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
The problem is that you can make it incredibly visually noticeable in ridiculous tests not applying to (almost) any actual real world examples. In most pictures, you would never notice the difference.
Mar 29 2014 8:20AM
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Lou.
Posts: 1787 - Karma: 3,876
interesting. thank you. I'll continue to just set my iso as low as possible.
Mar 29 2014 10:48AM
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gordie.
Posts: 2014 - Karma: 84
you'd be very surprised, shooting at a non native ISO on certain camera systems can be brutal. For example using a RED at non native is a bad idea. In bright sunny conditions, you can just crank it down, but if you shoot low light, do the extra research. It will make a difference
Mar 29 2014 10:46PM
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gordie.
Posts: 2014 - Karma: 84
canon DSLR's are tough. they have a weird system where you're either pushing the iso digitally with the native ISO's, or "pulling" and actually losing 1/3 stop of exposure (counter to what ISO is used for) and some dynamic range. Unfortunately, a bit of a lose lose. This is pretty technical camera stuff though, most users won't need to get into this as much. but it makes a big difference- if you know what you're trying to get, and in low light conditions especially.
Mar 29 2014 10:49PM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
This is NS we are talking about, 90% of the lot uses Canon Rebel's and shouldn't be concerned with in their case trivial differences in quality and I sure hope the one person with his RED knows how to work it.
Mar 30 2014 7:23AM
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Lou.
Posts: 1787 - Karma: 3,876
Sadly, I don't see a RED camera anytime in my near future. How bout the higher end dslrs like the 5d mk3? Does the native iso affect that a ton or is it really just super high end cameras?
Mar 30 2014 9:47AM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,948
Assuming you're using the standard kit lens, film at f8 for the most part. As long as it's sunny, or even if it's cloudy and bright, it will work well keeping your subject in focus as you focus on composure.

ISO? forget all the blah blah we're talking about, and use either 100 or 200 and you'll be totally fine.

Also, shoot in raw so you have some leeway to work with in post.
Mar 30 2014 11:38PM
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gordie.
Posts: 2014 - Karma: 84
Was just using the RED as a system that very much hinges on native ISO. DSLR's are up for debate, like I said before there's a tradeoff with canon DSLR's. But as Dingosean mentioned, you're really not going to have any issues at low ISO on a sunny day. That all being said, I know it's easy to just throw small stuff like this under the bus, but if you (or anyone) want to go further in a subject like photo/cine it's important to know those small things.

Native ISO effects almost all CMOS cameras to an extent. it's a type of thing that is independent to each camera too, so research helps. But chances are, there's other things you can do or should be on the lookout for that will make more of a difference than native ISO, assuming you're shooting very low.

sorry to all for nitpicking about this, I just happen to be particular I guess haha. It's a great habit to be on the lookout for small things like this with every camera you pick up too as it can make more of a difference depending on your setting for sure.
Mar 31 2014 12:26AM
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Superduploman
Posts: 227 - Karma: 505
Lowest possible ISO as long as it doesn't make grains in your shadows. I like to have the aperture as low as I can too, just look out for the focus.
Mar 31 2014 1:28PM
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RileySnyderPhoto
Posts: 688 - Karma: 1,451
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FONN-0uoTHI
Apr 3 2014 5:27AM
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