How to use Auto ISO

ddtan · Mar 5, 2023

I am trying to figure out a sensible way to set up the 3 auto ISO positions. One would be Max ISO, and high shutter speed. Another could be a noise worry free ISO, and shutter speed to minimize unavoidable movement. And another for lowest possible light available, such as Max ISO and slowest possible shutter speed. Do these settings make sense, or what other permutation do you find more useful. Does a setting of base ISO and fast shutter make sense. And how many use auto ISO, along with a selected aperture. I think that the camera’s algorithm for using lowest ISO and widest aperture for the shutter priority possibly makes some set ups duplications. What is your thinking?

gsz · Mar 5, 2023

I’m not over-thinking it - I always shoot raw and almost exclusively use one single auto-iso setting (max 3200, auto speed). (Not using auto iso for flash and long shutter shots.)

(Note: I mostly use aperture priority, if needed I “override” the shutter speed setting.)

Erik Baumgartner · Mar 5, 2023

I highly recommend setting all three presets for base ISO to ISO 12800 ISO limits and a different min. shutter speed for each one. The camera will override your minimum SS settings if a too low max ISO limit is hit, better a little noisy than blurry. I would also caution against using the Auto-min SS setting as it routinely chooses shutter speeds too low for consistently sharp results. I will fiddle with my 3 different minimum SS values depending on the situation/lenses being used, usually 1/80”, 1/160”, 1/320” for my X100V with 1/160” being my usual go-to. If I’m going to use a tripod and want a fixed ISO, I just rotate the ISO dial to override.

I use Auto-ISO most of the time and it works just fine, but Fuji really ought to do some rethinking here.

biza43 · Mar 6, 2023

gsz said:
I’m not over-thinking it - I always shoot raw and almost exclusively use one single auto-iso setting (max 3200, auto speed). (Not using auto iso for flash and long shutter shots.)

(Note: I mostly use aperture priority, if needed I “override” the shutter speed setting.)

Same here. But when the light gets low, I revert to ISO 160 and tripod.

Jeff Biscuits · Mar 6, 2023

Personally I find 3 options a bit redundant. I only use one; I’ve set the max ISO to 6400 and the shutter speed to somewhere between 1/125 and 1/250, I forget exactly what. Basically enough to mean I don’t get motion blur or camera shake with any subjects and focal lengths I might use.

That said, I’m normally fully manual and only tend to use auto ISO on my X-E1 as it’s the only body I have with no ISO dial.

YaYoureAlright · Mar 6, 2023

Erik Baumgartner said:
I highly recommend setting all three presets for base ISO to ISO 12800 ISO limits and a different min. shutter speed for each one. The camera will override your minimum SS settings if a too low max ISO limit is hit, better a little noisy than blurry. I would also caution against using the Auto-min SS setting as it routinely chooses shutter speeds too low for consistently sharp results. I will fiddle with my 3 different minimum SS values depending on the situation/lenses being used, usually 1/80”, 1/160”, 1/320” for my X100V with 1/160” being my usual go-to. If I’m going to use a tripod and want a fixed ISO, I just rotate the ISO dial to override.

I use Auto-ISO most of the time and it works just fine, but Fuji really ought to do some rethinking here.

This is what I do. I'm mainly doing street, so my auto-ISO is always the full ISO range to make sure I never miss the shot and my settings are purely about shutter speeds.

Auto ISO 1 - 1/500 sec - For when both I and my subject are moving

Auto ISO 2 - 1/125 - For when I'm still, but my subject is moving

Auto ISO 3 - 1/30 - For when I'm shooting something still (My X-T5 has IBIS, on my XT30 this is usually 1/60)

When I'm not doing street, those same settings still work great but are more about available light. 1 for daylight, 2 for lower light, 3 for night.

DarnGoodPhotos · Mar 6, 2023

What I have noticed is that I prefer to manually set the shutter speed when it is 1/60 or slower, so my suggestion is you have a regular light setting (~1/160) and bright light (~1/500 or 1/1000) setting.

Oregon Dawg · Mar 6, 2023

YaYoureAlright said:
This is what I do. I'm mainly doing street, so my auto-ISO is always the full ISO range to make sure I never miss the shot and my settings are purely about shutter speeds.

Auto ISO 1 - 1/500 sec - For when both I and my subject are moving

Auto ISO 2 - 1/125 - For when I'm still, but my subject is moving

Auto ISO 3 - 1/30 - For when I'm shooting something still (My X-T5 has IBIS, on my XT30 this is usually 1/60)

I am the same for the first two settings, but I have Auto ISO 3 set up for Auto Shutter speed for use with Zoom lenses. The camera adjusts the shutter speed automatically based on the focal length of the zoom.

perrrob · Mar 6, 2023

In my opinion, there is no right or wrong answer for this.
Everyone has their own preferences depending on what they shoot, here are the settings I normally use on my X100V.

Default Sensitivity: 160 (as low as it will go on your camera).

Maximum Sensitivity: 12800 (as high as it will go), I used to overthink this but now I just want to make sure to capture an unblurry image. Modern cameras are much better with noise than they used to be and it can usually be removed/minimized in post if need be.

The only setting that changes between my Auto ISO settings is the minimum shutter speed.

Auto ISO 1 - 1/250 sec ... for daylight shooting, I find it fast enough to freeze most street movement. Occasionally, I also vary the aperture (ie. f/11, f/8, f/5.6) when I need to maintain this shutter speed.

Auto ISO 2 - 1/125 sec ... for dusk or lower light situations (ie. when it's very cloudy during a storm).

Auto ISO 3 - 1/60 sec ... for night/low light situations, it's about the slowest shutter speed I feel comfortable hand holding without introducing hand shake.

For faster subjects, I set the speed manually (ie.1/500s or faster) depending on the need.

Rightsaidfred · Mar 6, 2023

ddtan said:
I am trying to figure out a sensible way to set up the 3 auto ISO positions. ....What is your thinking?

I have two auto ISO settings

1/250 s for all normal shots - my standard setting (ISO up to 6400)
1/500 s for fast moving subjects, such as walking people (ISO up to 6400)

For low/lowest noise, I select ISO or ss manually.

I'd say (gut feeling),

I use 60 % of the time the 1/250 s auto ISO setting,
in 30 % of my shots, I go for manual setting, mostly with the purpose of lowest noise,
and in 10 % of all cases, I use the 1/500 s auto ISO setting.

X-T4, X-T20.

Regards,

Martin

YaYoureAlright · Mar 6, 2023

DarnGoodPhotos said:
What I have noticed is that I prefer to manually set the shutter speed when it is 1/60 or slower, so my suggestion is you have a regular light setting (~1/160) and bright light (~1/500 or 1/1000) setting.

That's really smart. I think I'll try your approach. I just got the X-T5 last week and it's my first ever camera with IBIS. It's making me really rethink what I need in a slowest hand held shutter speed.

Before, 1/60 was the consistent slowest handheld with the lenses I use and worked equal for no movement or people. But now I can go as low as 1/4 on a no movement shot but could never consider going under 1/30 on a person no matter how still they were. So a more flexible approach makes sense

Erik Baumgartner · Mar 6, 2023

YaYoureAlright said:
DarnGoodPhotos said:

What I have noticed is that I prefer to manually set the shutter speed when it is 1/60 or slower, so my suggestion is you have a regular light setting (~1/160) and bright light (~1/500 or 1/1000) setting.

Click to expand...

That's really smart. I think I'll try your approach. I just got the X-T5 last week and it's my first ever camera with IBIS. It's making me really rethink what I need in a slowest hand held shutter speed.

Before, 1/60 was the consistent slowest handheld with the lenses I use and worked equal for no movement or people. But now I can go as low as 1/4 on a no movement shot but could never consider going under 1/30 on a person no matter how still they were. So a more flexible approach makes sense

At very low shutter speeds or in very dynamic low light situations, I will often just flip the SS dial to “T” mode and ride the SS with the rear dial as needed to suit the degree of subject motion at any given moment. A continuously variable minimum SS value option would be ideal here, but I doubt that will be be forthcoming from Fuji anytime soon.

YaYoureAlright · Mar 6, 2023

Erik Baumgartner said:
YaYoureAlright said:

DarnGoodPhotos said:

What I have noticed is that I prefer to manually set the shutter speed when it is 1/60 or slower, so my suggestion is you have a regular light setting (~1/160) and bright light (~1/500 or 1/1000) setting.

Click to expand...

That's really smart. I think I'll try your approach. I just got the X-T5 last week and it's my first ever camera with IBIS. It's making me really rethink what I need in a slowest hand held shutter speed.

Before, 1/60 was the consistent slowest handheld with the lenses I use and worked equal for no movement or people. But now I can go as low as 1/4 on a no movement shot but could never consider going under 1/30 on a person no matter how still they were. So a more flexible approach makes sense

Click to expand...

At very low shutter speeds or in very dynamic low light situations, I will often just flip the SS dial to “T” mode and ride the SS with the rear dial as needed to suit the degree of subject motion at any given moment. A continuously variable minimum SS value option would be ideal here, but I doubt that will be be forthcoming from Fuji anytime soon.

Another smart approach I've never tried that I should.

sir_c · Mar 6, 2023

I have one for 'daily' with longer shutter speeds and a max of 3200 or 6400, depending on my mood. Then i have one for action, min 1/500s and 12800, yet I find this even too slow. Why can't i pick faster speeds? The system can drop the speed anywsy when light levels get too low.

Frankintexas · Mar 8, 2023

It would be nice if Fuji would have a minimum SS option of 1/2f. I believe Canon, maybe others offer this. This would increase my confidence that my SS is adequate when using Auto Iso. A firmware update could probably provide this if Fuji offered it.

Erik Baumgartner · Mar 8, 2023

Frankinidaho said:
It would be nice if Fuji would have a minimum SS option of 1/2f. I believe Canon, maybe others offer this. This would increase my confidence that my SS is adequate when using Auto Iso. A firmware update could probably provide this if Fuji offered it.

It would be nice. As-is, the Auto-min. SS option is pretty much worthless, you will routinely get 1/60” for the 56mm f/1.2 which is just too slow.

silversportsman · Mar 8, 2023

Erik Baumgartner said:
I highly recommend setting all three presets for base ISO to ISO 12800 ISO limits and a different min. shutter speed for each one...

By presets, do you mean one of the custom settings on the dial (C1 -through Cn on the XS10)?

Thanks!

sir_c · Mar 8, 2023

On APSC I'd even like to see triple the focal length for speed for critical scenes in some occasions, but I would already be happy with double. So 100mm with ~1/300s shutter

Oregon Dawg · Mar 8, 2023

sir_c said:
On APSC I'd even like to see triple the focal length for speed for critical scenes in some occasions, but I would already be happy with double. So 100mm with ~1/300s shutter

Coming from Nikon, Fuji's Auto ISO is kind of disappointing. Nikon has an auto minimum shutter speed, which Fuji also does. However with Nikon there is a sliding scale, you can adjust it to be faster in both x2 and x3 increments. And you can also do the same thing slowing it down. Very useful. Also, Nikon allows much faster than 1/500 for the maximum. The Auto ISO feature of Nikon is one thing I miss with Fuji. It's not a huge deal, but I'm kind of surprised Fuji's Auto ISO is so rudimentary.

robert1955 · Mar 8, 2023

silversportsman said:
Erik Baumgartner said:

I highly recommend setting all three presets for base ISO to ISO 12800 ISO limits and a different min. shutter speed for each one...

Click to expand...

By presets, do you mean one of the custom settings on the dial (C1 -through Cn on the XS10)?

Thanks!

No, the settings for auto1-3 in settings menu under iso

How to use Auto ISO

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