Hi,
I'm just wondering if someone can give me information on digital cameras. I'm looking at purchasing a new one, possibly a Canon SD 600, 630, or 800, and they have all of these 'ISO' listings? What does this mean? Also any type of general info would be great as well! Thanks so much! ISO refers to the equivalent of film speed in a 35mm camera. The higher the number the lower the light conditions required or the faster for stop action in fast sports. ok, remember on film it always sed 100, 200, 400, or 800? well those are iso's too. they indicate how fast the film is. 200 does well in bright sunlight. 800 is best for night scenes and parties. the higher the number, the faster it is.
for digital, its much the same way. faster iso's (400, 800, 1600) are for average to low light and indoor stuff. slower iso's can be used for art reasons or really bright outdoor light. the only catch is noise. noise are little dots of color that don't match what the surrounding area is. like dots of pink in black. this happens most in low light scenes and higher iso's. read camera reviews and see what they say about noise levels for the iso's in the models of cameras you're looking at. it may not be enough to bother you. ISO in digital is the same ISO in film.
In digital, the bigger ISO, the faster, so you can take pictures at low light condition. But the quality of the image is low because of noise, grainy.
The smallest ISO, the better quality image. And it requites longer shutter speed. It is good for place with bright light. If you set small ISO and take pictures in low light condition, you need to use a tripod. If you hold the camera, the images might be blurry because your hand is shaking. ISO 800 is better.
A camera's ISO function sets the light sensitivity of the camera's image sensor (this is similar to the speed rating of FILM). ISO settings are often rated at 100, 200, or 400 but go as high as 800, 1600, and even 3200 on some advanced models. A lower ISO setting is used when capturing overly bright scenes, since it reduces the light sensitivy of the image sensor. This is ideal when shooting at the beach, on a ski slope, or under the midday sun. A higher ISO settings is often used when shooting under dimmer conditions (cloudy days, indoors, etc.) since it increases the light sensitivity of the image sensor. As brightness in a scene is decreased the camera tries to compensate by slowing the shutter speed which in turn lets in more light but increases the risk of motion blur. To prevent this, you can increase the ISO or sensitivity of the camera, which allows the camera to select a higher shutter speed, thus reducing motion blur. Apparently you were never into 35mm photography because you would know what the ISO is equivilent to. In 35mm I always used a #25 or 64 for the highest quality photos. I shot slide film.BUT for action shots 25 & 64 would never do. Even on a very cloudy day it was just not sensitive enough to use without having a lot more light. So I bought #s 400 and 500.
So in general for your highest quality shots, ones you would consider enlarging 8X10 or larger use your lowest setting say 80 or 100 ISO. For cloudy days or in low light where you don't want to use flash go for setting of 400 ISO. I would not consider shooting anything at ISO 1600, for you will get more grain in the photo than anything else. Some cameras even ISO 800 doesn't come out well. here's a link on ebay where you can read reviews of them by ebay members |
