Should We Ignore ISO? Street Photography With High ISO (ft Fujifilm X-T5 & X-100V)

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Should We Ignore ISO? Street Photography With High ISO (ft Fujifilm X-T5 & X-100V)

Рет қаралды 17,768

Gareth Danks

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 82

@tonycook1532 Жыл бұрын

My favourite comment in recent years: Topaz the crap out of it! Love it

@eortizfoto Жыл бұрын

lol! thought the same!

@jacobh5817 Жыл бұрын

We host workshops on fashion/beauty photography and it strikes me how many, even seasoned, amateur photographers don’t really understand ISO. For one, it is not a sensor feature, but a raw processor feature, that can be applied afterwards just as easily. It simply doesn’t affect the raw data. Just the live view, preview and jpeg. Fuji uses sensors that are calibrated, for most models, to ISO200 or ISO160. That is the native ISO and raw data is captured by a result of this native ISO, combined with the shutter speed and aperture. The set ISO on the camera will simply amplify that data to the required level for a correct display (either in live view, jpeg or the preview jpeg that is encapsulated in the raw data. The DR feature is basically boosting the ISO for live view and jpeg and then underexposes by 1 (DR200) or 2 (DR400) stops. That is why you can’t set a lower ISO than 320 or 640 (on a native ISO160 model). In raw processing in-camera the underexposed image is then boosted by 1 or 2 stops. The trick is that Fuji doesn’t do this linear, but they leave the highlights as is and use a luminosity curve on the mid tones and shadows. So, to achieve the exact same result in post, you can’t just use the exposure or shadows slider, but you have to use the curves tool. If you do so, you’ll understand that you can do this trick with every modern camera. Also the ones that don’t have a DR-like feature. For Fuji shooters, I can highly recommend Rico Phirstinger’s book ‘Fuji X Secrets’. Tip 61 to 70 explain all you need to know how to handle ISO on Fuji X cameras, or any other digital camera for that matter.

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for this detailed comment Jacob!

@dirkpehrke9909 Жыл бұрын

It is wrong that it can be as well done in post. This is true for very high ISO values, but not in general. ISO is added prior to the raw. It is like using a higher gain setting on a mic preamp before recording. This can’t be done in post. So part of what you teach your seasoned amateurs is wrong. Iso invariance is more complex and the values differ between different sensors, but it is not true that you can shoot all pictures at base iso and whatever a higher iso setting does can as well and with equal results be done in post.

@jacobh5817 Жыл бұрын

@@dirkpehrke9909 I think you will find Rico’s book really revealing. Let’s take your analogy. The base ISO is the mic setting that is applied to the sensor by the manufactorer. Some sensors have two base ISOs, dual ISO, so two levels of mic amplification. This is baked into the embedded software, so you can’t change that. Two brands that use the same (Sony) sensor, can each have a different base ISO, depending how they tweak it. This base ISO is also the ‘gain’ that is applied to all exposures at recording. Regardless of the ISO you set on the camera. The only two variables that determine the amount of light at recording are aperture and shutterspeed. The ISO you set on the camera is the amplifier gain. It makes the music louder, but it doesn’t affect the recording. Just the playback. Let’s put this into practice. When you fix your aperture and shutterspeed and take the same image with different ISOs, you will have one ‘correct’ exposure and some over- and others underexposed. E.g., when the correct exposure would be at ISO200, the ISO100 image is one stop overexposed and the ISO800 image two stops underexposed. That can be easily corrected in post, with virtually the same result as the ‘ISO200 image’. That is what I (and Gareth) meant by ‘corrected in post’. Two stops on the exposure slider in LR acts as if you bring ISO800 up to ISO200. All that time the original image (the recording) remains at base-(or native) ISO and the set aperture/shutterspeed. You can’t change that in post. Modern sensors are usually able to record with 3-3.5 stops underexposure, but generally only 1-1.5 stops overexposure. That is roughly the same for all ISO-levels. Not just the high ones. So, for street photography, if you stay within that range, you can easily correct without adding too much noise. In your analogy, when you record too soft (underexpose) you can crank up the volume in playback, aka post. However, go to far and you will start hearing (or: seeing) noise. When you record too loud (overexpose) you dial-back the volume. However, its harder to correct an oversteered recording in playback (if at all). All that time the original raw image (the recording) remains unaffected. Recorded at the fixed base-ISO and the aperture/shutterspeed you decided on. PS. In my business (fashion and beauty for some exclusive brands) you can’t get away with a lot of exposure correction in post. I use base-ISO (usually 64 or 100) and adjust the amount of light.

@matchesder Жыл бұрын

Before the signal from the sensor is digitized, it is amplified by an analog amp. For example the X-T4 has multiple analog amplification values and therefore „dual native“ ISO. Because this is done before digitizing, there is a difference in the raw files. You can see the effect in read noise on the reed noise curves on photons to photos website. I found with DR400 I can recover more details from highlights.

@andydragonfisher6900 Жыл бұрын

I paused this video half way through, went and brought your zine and have just finished my first read through - loved it ❤ - some great shots but your candour in assessing each image and explaining your thought process as an evolving artist is what was most inspiring. Great stuff 🙌

@keithsandercock1412 Жыл бұрын

Good advice. For cameras 10 years old or older, high ISOs were an issue. For cameras produced in recent years, high ISOs are of little consequence, and as you have noted, can mostly be ignored.

@JaapKroon 2 ай бұрын

I love street photography and I am also a concert photographer. Lately I am using auto iso in the M setting. As long as the exposure and shutter speed are set correctly, it hardly matters anymore how high your ISO is. I also often get away with photos of ISO 12,500. I shoot Sony for my concert photography and use Fuji for my travel and street photography.

@riddles1137 Жыл бұрын

Just checked out your new website - the Landscapes - been to most and haven't got a single photo that's anywhere near your level, I've been watching you for some time now and not only one of my favourite KZfaq subscriptions but most definitely the most inspirational - you deserve a lot of success my friend, love your work, keep doing it!

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

Ah dude. Thanks so much. I actually needed that comment right now! So kind. 😁👍🏻

@gainde1137 Жыл бұрын

If you need to capture movement the shutter speed is the most important factor.

@davidellinsworth3299 Жыл бұрын

I just simply don't worry about ISO on the Z6. Obviously for landscapes or any type of photography with a static subject I'll do things properly and shoot at a lower ISO. For street photography I just wouldn't worry. I think the majority problems come when people start raising shadows that are meant to be dark/black anyway (night time). You're obviously going to get problems then because there was f all light to begin with.

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

Exactly mate. People do seem to push shadows way to much in street photography. Thanks for watching Dave. Catch up soon mate

@thegroove2000 Жыл бұрын

EXACTLY.

@thegroove2000 Жыл бұрын

Shadows are shadows blacks are blacks. Why bother to try and reveal something thats not seen anyway confuses the f outta me.

@kevinbatts2804 Жыл бұрын

The high iso shots on my XT3 are magical and a different element in my street photos. I love shooting at f4 thru f9 and I sacrifice everything else for it. With a small caveat if it's a print or client work.

@mikejay1130 Жыл бұрын

Why do you love that range? Very curious!

@T-Prime848 Жыл бұрын

Well for me as a street photographer I do not care about ISO Sometimes I shoot using 800 Or 1600 during day light Grain gives the photo a certain character The most important thing to get the right shot that gives me comfort

@carlmcneill1139 Жыл бұрын

To add to what Jacob said, ISO invariant cameras can shoot at a low ISO and allow you to bring the exposure up in post without any effects. If you take pictures of the milky way at ISO 100 and then at ISO 3200, the noise should look the same in Lightroom when you raise the exposure of the ISO 100 picture 5 stops. There's 5 stops between ISO 100 and 3200. If you try to do this with a non ISO invariant camera (Canon) you will get a lot of color artifacts and your picture starts to break down. But you nailed it about aperture and shutter speed being the most important. ISO is added to the file after the picture is taken not during. Just like the film days, aperture and shutter speed are the main exposures in a picture. Back then the ISO was in the film and you were stuck with what film you had in the camera until they roll was finished. I have taken pictures with my z6 II of my daughter's school play at 12,600 with little issues. I have taken photos at night football games at ISO 10,000. Editing software keeps getting better and so do cameras. I don't do a whole lot of street photography but I don't let ISO bother me. I shoot in manual and I will use auto ISO if the light is changing a lot. I haven't used Fugi cameras but they seem to be amazing in low light to be a crop sensor camera.

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

thanks carl, great comment.. partly true about the iso lifting.. i think most invariant sensors are still 2 part.. eg 100-400 then 640-6400. I don't think you can lift from 100 to 6400 on any sensor yet.. maybe I'm wrong tho (since having my sony a7iii it may have changed)

@carlmcneill1139 Жыл бұрын

@@GarethDanks I think my z6 II is 100 and 640 ISO.

@larshultberg6972 Жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot. It’s a sunny day to day here in Malmö, Sweden and I will try out your suggestions

@SivertAlmvik Жыл бұрын

I have my auto-ISO presets set to 1/125, 1/250 and 1/500 on my X-T2, and all three are set to max ISO at 12800. I want to freeze the motion and shoot at at least f/8 (or higher). My thinking is, if someone points out "OMG! You shot this at 6400 ISO, didn't you!?" then it is not a good image (or the person is a weird gear head and not interested in photography as art). I've printed high ISO images up to A3 without anything noticable. Sure, if you press your nose right into the ink, you can see grain or high ISO artifacts, but who looks at images that close? (Don't do it. The ink will stain you nose and you'll ruin my photo!)

@dude157 Жыл бұрын

the thing about iso invariant sensors is that it doesn't matter if the gain is applied in camera before it's written to a raw file or if you apply it in post in lightroom. You will get the same result, that's the definition of iso invariant. What this means is you are better off under exposing an image with a lower iso to preserve the highlights, then recovering the shadows in post, than you are to boost everything in camera in the exposure with a higher iso. Like you say the real trade off of increasing iso is losing dynamic range. Increasing iso doesn't necessarily increase noise, as shown in your flash example. Noise comes from a low signal to noise ratio, which comes from under exposing the sensor. Iso is effectively a control that tells your camera to under expose because it will trade off some dynamic range for brightness. Which also brings out the noise in the shadows.

@madalin934 Жыл бұрын

Glad you're back on YT, been watching your older vizios over and over to get my Gareth fix :)) Will check out the zines in a second, need to jump on the website now and hunt for spelling mistakes :))))

@ashiqurrahman1469 Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much, this has been such a helpful video

@rutlegs Жыл бұрын

OMG this soooo applies to me! I think I pay so much attention to ISO because I learned photography on film... I've started using Auto ISO on my XT4 and it's slowly starting to sink into my thick skull.

@d.h.5281 8 ай бұрын

That was very helpfull, thanks a lot!

@Dplaysitcool Жыл бұрын

I made my bread and butter shooting in big night clubs. And was set on using 'natrual' light. Which needed high ISO. This was back when I used a Canon 60d! I would sometimes go beyond 8000... Once cameras moved on and high ISO still produced clean images. I literally don't care what the ISO goes up to now(within reason) ... There used to be a fear with photographers that you simply should NOT go beyond 100iso. Haha

@TryingtoLearntheuke Жыл бұрын

Came to your channel because of your street photography. Glad to hear you are venturing into wildlife photography. I do a lot of that as well. I shoot the Z9 with the 500mm PF. Fun stuff. Fyi, don't see the link to your website.

@realniteart Жыл бұрын

Even with correct exposure and enough light, dynamic range of sensor is worse at higher ISO. It works with many but far from all scenes. I don't worry much about ISO, but I still set it manually to minimum required to get a shot the way I like it.

@Whatisright Жыл бұрын

Can get clean files on the XT3 at ISO 10,000. I prefer shooting higher ISOs because when the light changes I simply drop the SS and not get camera shake or a blurry moving subject. As much as we should care about image quality, the logistics of shooting is also important (to me). What's easier to manipulate without much fuss. Changing the shutter speed has less variables than changing either of the other settings. ISO is the set it and forget it setting, the others are what are used to be creative. On my XT3 the ISO and SS settings are changed by the front and rear dials not the top. I don't have to change my grip or move my camera to adjust anything. Literally just count how many clicks I go in one direction and adjust the other accordingly to maintain the same exposure if need be. If I don't have good light, sensor saturation will wipe out most noise so having that room to work with really helps. A proper light meter also does away with any guess work for my starting point.

@GlenDomulevicz Жыл бұрын

This is an excellent episode, well presented and thoughtful. I have come to a similar conclusion about ISO but without the rigor, experience and knowledge you have. My testing has been limited but with similar results. I should be more diligent. I have come to trust your insights on many photography issues. I recall when you first started your channel, being impressed with you compositions when I saw no reasonable compositions on the coast somewhere. Your street photography is inspiring, to me, although I have done little to explore that genre. Thanks for sharing. I appreciate your thoughts and insights.

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much Glen, thats very kind of you mate!

@kne321video Жыл бұрын

No concerned with going up to ISO 3200 on the X-T2 in the night. And not concerned about shooting wide open also. Speed is more important for the effect that I want in the picture. But you have to learn what speed you can handle while walking and standing still. Good light / daytime shooting even easier.

@FiZ Жыл бұрын

I admit, as an event-photographer (concerts/nightclubs/etc), it took way too long to realize that you're talking about shooting in already good light 😅 Try shooting in very low-light at 12,800 and you'll learn exactly how much ISO noise can matter! 🤣 The cameras have updated to make those higher ISOs look way better than they used to, though.

@rodan57 Жыл бұрын

Just found you on KZfaq! ❤❤❤❤ your content!

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much Rob 😁

@craigianmenzies Жыл бұрын

Really good video, was wondering what to do this weekend, looks like I am experimenting with Auto ISO again and download a magazine or two.

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

Haha. Thanks mate. Yeah do. Take note of how much it influences your shutter too. Makes a huge difference. Thanks so much if you do buy the zine. Hope you like it.

@jbairdexp Жыл бұрын

When I shoot concerts I'll crank the ISO up as high as it needs to be. Better a sharp, noisy image, than a blurry, clean one.

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

I shoot iso auto for concerts mate. The light changes so much you’d go from iso 800 to 6400 in a split second. Thanks for watching dude.

@JET-Photo Жыл бұрын

You definitely need some light. I shoot basketball at a college that has better than most lighting. I regularly shoot at 3200-5000 ISO and the noise isn't that bad. I also shoot my jpegs with high ISO NR on +2 or +3 and the jpegs come out clean and noise free. That's with an XH2s and XH2

@NickBarang Жыл бұрын

Lol. I am happy to let ISO float up to 3,200 with no real reservations. In fact, my Fuji XT-4 and XT-3 are both set up to allow auto-ISO up to 3200. I'm happy to control the aperture and shutter speed instead of ISO because there's so much flex with ISO now.

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

You need to try it higher in daylight mate. 👍🏻

@ourhouseuk Жыл бұрын

You know why it won’t let you shoot below 650? Cuz it’s just lifting the shadows. Overall this is a great video, but let’s see those tests you did on dr400 vs lifted shadows. The only thing I can possibly see happening is it’s got a different algorithm for shadow lifting than Lightroom does.

@grayfozzie Жыл бұрын

Another great video 👍 perhaps summarised into one of your phrases "Topaz the crap out of it!" 🤣🤣🤣

@kne321video Жыл бұрын

By the way (forgot in last comment). Good video to share the knowledge about the iso 👍🤩

@JohnHPettigrewFujishooter67 Жыл бұрын

Great advice as always, never knew about the DR400 and ISO on the Fuji camera's will have to experiment. I often shoot at high ISO and have had no issues. I currently use the XT30, wondering how you are enjoying the XT5.

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

Yes mate give it a go. Dr400 is very handy. Tho it’ll often select it if you set it to auto.

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

The xt5 is amazing mate. Still not quite there with af but definitely much better

@alejandrootero2541 9 ай бұрын

Can someone explain the purpose of focusing at infinity and focusing up close? What does that do?

@stevepurvis8079 Жыл бұрын

Great video, I'm out to shoot what you have just spoken about

@atroche1978 Жыл бұрын

For street photography I like to use my Fuji X-E3. I keeps that sucka at f16 1/500 and set the iso to auto. Allllllllllllllllll set!

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

Which lens do you use mate?

@par__m3 Жыл бұрын

I had a Canon 60D before my XT5 so it's taken me a while to warm up to higher ISOs.

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

Great camera tho. My mate still loves his.

@20807shane Жыл бұрын

I’ve set mine at 1600 max and leave it on auto. I haven’t taken but a couple photos to see how it’s doing yet though.

@teslaliveus860 Жыл бұрын

ISO is gain not sensor sensitivity.

@joshjohnson9097 Жыл бұрын

I learned something! Thanks

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

Appreciate the comment mate.

@DaSurrealiouslyDa Жыл бұрын

if higher ISO decreases the DR, why does fuji's DR400 require a higher ISO?

@gpm2564 Жыл бұрын

Are there any street photography group meetups? I'm just a beginner and it would be great to go along with some experienced people.

@Chitownbrez Жыл бұрын

One thing I don’t get is with technology these days why is grain even an issue? I get why it was there with film but I feel nowadays it’s should be an option if you want it in your photo.

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

Sony are working on an iso-less camera. Your always gonna get grain as you push the file further away from its base iso tho.. I would think

@johnstarkey4959 Жыл бұрын

Since I’ve been doing street ( especially low light ) high iso does not bother me at all , interesting thoughts though Ga , wildlife , bird photography, you’ll be doing butterfly macro next 😉

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

Haha. Never say never.

@angelaatkins9057 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for a very informative video. You mentioned your new website is it the one called if My memory serves me correctly Gareth Danks Wedding Photographer.

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

no its just garethdanks.co.uk thanks angela

@ThePurpleHarpoon Жыл бұрын

Just wondering why you used an ND filter when photographing the guy with the cigarette between his teeth.

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

no probs.. flash sync speed mate.. keeps the shutter at 1/200 or below 🙂

@ThePurpleHarpoon Жыл бұрын

Couldn't you just use a narrow aperture rather than using a ND?

@ThepPixel Жыл бұрын

I use an XT5 and I would consider anything over 10,000 to be high.

@GarethDanks Жыл бұрын

How often do you go over that mate?

@ThepPixel Жыл бұрын

@@GarethDanks very rarely because I mostly shoot in the day and if i do night photography I try to shoot wide open and go as low as I can with my shutter speed, im not as happy going to low shutter speeds as others ive seen so I tend to crank up the iso.