Auto ISO Behavior

Rod McD wrote:

To Martin, Erik and Longo0,

Thx. It's true that I learned to use manual ISO before auto-ISO became available and therefore that I'm used to it, but I suspect that many people who do use auto ISO also learned photography in the same era. After many years, I simply internalize the thinking about the exposure triangle and know what my camera is set to - these days it's even displayed in the EVF for you.

There are some reasons. I never have to turn auto-ISO off for situations when it's not the ideal setting. Another reason is probably coming from an XT1 where higher ISO IQ fell away fairly quickly compared to later sensors, so containing auto ISO to a relatively narrow band seemed a bit pointless. I've yet to experiment with the high ISO IQ of my new XT4. One's personal approach to photography probably also matters.... I'm a contemplative shooter and thinking about ISO has never limited the attention I can give to composition. Perhaps if I was shooting in some fast and furious situation I'd find auto-ISO a great benefit.

As always, it simply comes down in the end to what you like. I guess it's like cars. Some people like automatic transmissions, some prefer manual.

Cheers, Rod

I appreciate your position. If your shooting methodology works for you then great, who's to say you're doing anything wrong, but I would point out that I never really have to “turn auto-ISO off” for situations when it's not the ideal setting either. Just like you, I simply turn the same knobs to manually adjust a particular parameter.

While the X-T1's sensor is no longer state of the art, It is still very, very good. I would argue that the higher ISO IQ does not fall away fairly quickly at all. It is certainly usable to ISO 6400 (hardly a narrow band) where it can still manage very usable results if you're careful with processing. Your X-T4 is good for a stop more. Setting a high auto-ISO limit does not mean you are going to always shoot that high, but it will give you a shot at a good image that would be likely be lost to motion blur otherwise.

There are always going to be people who prefer manual ISO, but I honestly don't see any downsides to auto-ISO instead (other than sorting out the best way to use it), but there are lots of upsides.

...and as I generally do prefer doing things manually, I do still drive stick.

X-T1 in crap light at ISO 6400