High ISO issues

[Jed]

Sorry for misreading 1-2 steps as stops.

But I only took issue with that very late on. The premise of the original statement stands.

If you can shoot 1-2 steps overexposed then you can shoot at an ISO 1-2 steps lower (unless the A200 can only alter ISOs in full stops).

To revisit the example:

Overexposed two steps:

ISO 1600 @ 1/125 @ f2.8

Correctly exposed:

ISO 1000 @ 1/125 @ f2.8

You don't jeopardise shutter speeds at all.

 

[Jed]

1 to 2 stops is just what he suggested
u do not have to read into it too much, for A700,A850,A900 this 3 three model had quite a good headroom for highlight recovery in raw.

I'll grant you that I misread 1 to 2 steps as stops (personally I've never seen the term used except to describe camera operation before). And it looks like eow misread the same way cause he didn't pick me up on it either.

My statement was that overexposing 2 stops would be impossible and 1 stop you would maybe be able to recover 95% if you were shooting RAW. Your response that the the A700, A850 and A900 have quite a good headroom for highlight recovery in RAW implies that I'm wrong about not shooting 2 stops overexpsed and that 1 stop would also suffer very slight loss.

I've just checked the DPReview data which basically suggests almost the same for the A200 and the A700. (I didn't check the other two cameras.) Don't shoot more than 1 stop overexposed.

 

[Jed]

A correct exposure may not be necessary a good exposure in certain circumstances

Firstly, there was never a "certain circumstances" proviso in MontoyaSG's original comment.

So what you're saying is that:

ISO 1600 @ 1/125 @ f2.8

produces better images than

ISO 1000 @ 1/125 @ f2.8

Ignoring the "certain circumstances" comment for the moment, then you're suggesting that Alpha users are better off setting the camera to permanently +0.7 compensation. You're also implying that the Sony engineers had no clue about how to process the data for their sensors and have misaligned the data.

 

[Jed]

this what happen when u had 2 different people with different system with different shooting style.
theory versus hand-on experience

First, let me be clear. MontoyaSG did NOT at any point in his post specify his comments as unique to the Alpha system. It was a sweeping comment not restricted to the Alpha system and not restricted to "certain circumstances" that in order to reduce noise, you should overexpose by 1 to 2 steps.

That statement is simply not true in the majoirty of situations. In the majority of situations you are best served by exposing correctly.

And please don't suggest that it is my theory against his or your experience.

I might have no direct experience with Alpha DSLRs but I have a reasonable amount of knowledge about the Canon system and a tonne of information about the Nikon system. I have for the last nine years pushed camera systems to the limit of their ISO performance routinely both indoors and out and I have seen first hand the evolution of sensor technology each step from the D1 through to the D3 and everything in between, as well as the 1D series. My work means that I need the best possible performance from a sensor at high ISOs. The D3 and 1D series are designed for photographers that work in my industry, and their raison d'etre is to deliver the best high ISO performance possible.

Maybe what I have been doing wrong for the last seven years is that I should have been overexposing by 0.7 stops.

And I know the theory as well - if you overexpose enough then for example your shadows become midtones, reducing the noise in that area of the image. The problem is frequently you *can't* overexpose by 0.7 stops. The whole reason most users hit that high an ISO that noise becomes a problem in the first place is because they have insufficient available light. And as I've pointed out, if you have that much available light in the first place, then you should *probably* be using a lower ISO in the first place.

Probably is highlighted because yes, in certain circumstances and with some DSLRs you might achieve a better result if not better overall quality.

 

[MontoyaSG]

Firstly, there was never a "certain circumstances" proviso in MontoyaSG's original comment.

So what you're saying is that:

ISO 1600 @ 1/125 @ f2.8

produces better images than

ISO 1000 @ 1/125 @ f2.8

Ignoring the "certain circumstances" comment for the moment, then you're suggesting that Alpha users are better off setting the camera to permanently +0.7 compensation. You're also implying that the Sony engineers had no clue about how to process the data for their sensors and have misaligned the data.

Well... rather than having a debate that is not going to end in any way why not do some shots to compare

 

[kingfishers]

Yes, I think that is the best way to see what will really happen rather than a merry go round.

 

[MontoyaSG]

Here's one of my take. Should be taken with 0.3EV overexposure @ ISO1600 in a barely lit club. No NR applied & direct convert from RAW.

 

[eow]

ok so the mystery solve..is everyone happy?

 

[dormy]

sorry, when you guys mean overexpose by 1 stop, is via adjusting the aperture/shutterspeed/iso and looking at the light meter, not ev compensation right?

 

[lenrek]

I remember someone once said, knowledge may seemingly makes one feel invincible. However, it is the very knowledge that he hold as the truth, set his limit.

 

[Rashkae]

sorry, when you guys mean overexpose by 1 stop, is via adjusting the aperture/shutterspeed/iso and looking at the light meter, not ev compensation right?

Whichever method works for you.

 

[alphaboy]

more question about ISO ...

as i understood my alpha A300 auto ISO capped 100-400 at A,P,S mode.. which i find it quite troublesome when i wanan shoot above 400 and have to do setting again .. take more time miss more shots

is it still the same for 5xx series and above ?

 

[android17]

more question about ISO ...

as i understood my alpha A300 auto ISO capped 100-400 at A,P,S mode.. which i find it quite troublesome when i wanan shoot above 400 and have to do setting again .. take more time miss more shots

is it still the same for 5xx series and above ?

u use auto iso?

Why dont set ISO manually?

 

[Rashkae]

more question about ISO ...

as i understood my alpha A300 auto ISO capped 100-400 at A,P,S mode.. which i find it quite troublesome when i wanan shoot above 400 and have to do setting again .. take more time miss more shots

is it still the same for 5xx series and above ?

You can adjust this auto-cap in the menu.

 

[hoppie]

You can adjust this auto-cap in the menu.

does this apply to A5xx or A3xx also?

 

[Ouverture]

more question about ISO ...

as i understood my alpha A300 auto ISO capped 100-400 at A,P,S mode.. which i find it quite troublesome when i wanan shoot above 400 and have to do setting again .. take more time miss more shots

is it still the same for 5xx series and above ?

A5xx is capped at ISO200-1600 when ISO is set to auto.

 

[Ouverture]

does this apply to A5xx or A3xx also?

No, the max cap ISO is not selectable in A5xx menu. It's ISO1600 fixed.

Only for A700/850/900, there is selectable lower and upper cap for Auto ISO.

 

[Ouverture]

u use auto iso?

Why dont set ISO manually?

ISO auto is good when you dun have time to adjust manually, like taking candid shots of kids/pets etc...or when your wife uses your camera....

Since ISO1600 is very useable in A5xx, ISO Auto does no harm, better to have sufficient shutter speed than to have tons of blurred images taken by wife....:bsmilie:

 

[Rashkae]

No, the max cap ISO is not selectable in A5xx menu. It's ISO1600 fixed.

Only for A700/850/900, there is selectable lower and upper cap for Auto ISO.

Oh? Cool, thanks for the info.