Question about low ISO settings on Nikon D90

12 years 2 weeks ago #219964 by iTravel
Are there any down sides to using an ISO setting of "L1.0" or lower? Why does Nikon switch from ISO 200 to "L"? What was the purpose other than to confuse people? :rofl:


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12 years 2 weeks ago #220028 by Vespista
No, I can’t see any downside to using ISO settings of ‘L1.0’ or even lower. In fact an ISO setting of 20 would let me shoot long shutter speed images in broad daylight without having to use ND filters and the image quality would be fantastic! But for most situations modern sensors are comfortable between 200 and 6,400. I think Nikon labels settings outside the sensor’s ‘comfort range’ (L1.0 & H1) to just remind the user that below this we are into camera shake, tripod, and filter territory, and above it things get noisy. Of course I could be wrong, in which case I’m sure someone will tell me.


Photo Comments
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12 years 2 weeks ago #220034 by Joves
I never use the ISOs outside of the native ones. So the Lo settings are not native and the image quality degrades just as it does when using the Hi Boosts. So I would stay in the 200 through whatever it is for yours. Even with ISO 200 being the slowest you can use you can change either shutter speed settings and the aperture to get what you want. Then there is filtration for special effects if that is what you are seeking.


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12 years 2 weeks ago #220107 by cod
Here is a good technical explanation of ISO which includes the effects of using Lo settings.

The only reason I can think of for using Lo settings is if I wish to use a specific aperture and shutter speed combination (perhaps to achieve a specific depth of field or motion blur) but the available light is still too bright to allow that combo. Reducing the ISO can compensate for this, although I would prefer to still work in native ISO and use a neutral density filter instead.

Chris O'Donoghue
Winnipeg, Canada
codonoghue.prosite.com

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