PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG

Have you even considered changing the ISO sensitivity on your camera? If you don’t know what ISO sensitivity refers to, you may want to consult your camera manual for a base point understanding about that and how it works. In short, changing the ISO setting on your camera changes the sensitivity to light, the lower number that you set the less sensitive to light (and conversely the higher the number the more sensitive it becomes).

Why change ISO?
You may wonder why it is necessary to make change of the ISO sensitivity; in fact, your camera just picked a suitable ISO sensitivity probably the best for your pictures when you are shooting in automatic mode. When you discover the limitation of the automatic mode, you will start to care about what ISO sensitivity should be used when shooting in other modes.

This is useful when you are shooting in different lighting situations - particularly when there is low light and you might not be able to use a flash (you’d bump up your ISO setting in this case), and this is just the beginning why you would want to shoot at higher ISO.

The Inside Story
The only cost of increasing ISO is that as you do it you’ll notice that the “noise” or “grain” in your shots also begins to increase. Thus, the rule is simple - choose the lowest ISO possible for smooth and grain-free shots. The latest generation DSLR cameras today has very nice result at ISO 400 and lower sensitivity, you may consider the output are “noise-free” setup. You have start to concern about anything above ISO 400 … full article.

You may be curious that why I acquired a 24/2.8 prime lens while I already have the 24-105/4 and 16-35 II both cover the 24mm focal length. That is because 24/2.8 is a tiny and good performer at a focal length most important to my style, particularly for quick snap in events.

Here is the story - my wife find herself interested in photography, she has tried the 400D & 17-85 combo (see also Canon EOS 400D Combo for Everyday Snaps) and complained that is just too much for her, she want something lighter and easier, I think she is referring to a point & shoot compact camera. After a second thought, I am not going to acquire a new toy for her, I decided to have a light prime for the 400D, such as 24/2.8, 28/1.8 & 35/2 and 50/1.8 (we have also considered the EF-S 18-55 which is light zoom lens, however, it is still too complex for my wife, we want something fixed and easier, it is also not fast enough for indoor environment).

I finally picked a 24/2.8 for its overall performance across apertures (even wide open at f/2.8), it outperforms my 24-105/4 and 16-35 II at 24mm. 24/2.8 actually held up very well to the much expensive 24/1.4 L in color and sharpness departments …. see full article.

See the latest gallery of Best Photos of the Month - June #1, 2008.