HOW TO OPERATION A CAMERA – PART 1: IOS

Using the camera for the first time and feeling confused about how to adjust the parameters? This article will help you recognize and understand how to adjust the basic parameters on your camera to take nice, sharp, and well-lit photos.

There are three pillar parameters that will affect image quality including ISO, shutter speed and aperture.

In this first part, I will introduce ISO for beginners and explain how to use it effectively for the best possible results in different lighting condition. In these post series, I used the FUJIFILM X Series X-T30 camera however, these setting will be the same on every cameras.

What is ISO?

ISO - refers the sensitivity of the film in the camera to light or in other words it controls the amount of light your camera receives.

As you increase the ISO, your photos will gradually lighten. The higher you set, the brighter your pictures are. It is highly recommended you to the camera's ISO at 100 - 200 when shooting outside to avoid the photo being overexposed.

High and Low ISO

Adjusting the ISO can help you to capture images in darker environment; however brightening a photo via ISO is a trade-off. According to Revell, J. (2011) when you raise the ISO level on your camera, you decrease the amount of light necessary to make a good exposure; however, your image quality might decrease slightly. This is due to the process of amplifying the signal from your sensor. It is this amplification that decreases the signal-to-noise ratio.

Quite simply, the higher you set the number, the more grain (Can also be known as noise) you will get in your image.

Low vs High ISO Noise Visibility

(ISO : 320)

(ISO: 25600)

You can clearly see that the brighter photo has more noise than the darker photo.

To solve this problem, I will change other parameters on the camera including shutter speed and aperture.

Finding out more about shutter speed and aperture in my next blog here!

Reference:

1. Chen, I., Klise, S. and Boyd, D., n.d. What is ISO in photography and how to use it. [online] Adobe. Available at: <https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography/discover/iso.html> [Accessed 8 July 2022].

2. Revell, J. (2011) Exposure : from snapshots to great shots. 1st edition. Place of publication not identified: Peachpit Press.