Low ISOs Are RUINING Your Photos! Here's Why!
The title says it all! Take a look & level up your photography game. Too often we adopt a low iso mind set that can actually cost us the photo of a lifetime!
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Don't Risk it!
0:32 ISO & Image Quality
0:51 The Best Images Out There
1:23 Crucial Settings
3:33 My Biggest Mistakes
4:53 Lesson To Remember
6:12 One More Big Mistake
7:55 Nailed it!
10:56 Why Don't You Do Both?
11:20 High ISO Editing Workflow
13:47 Top Tip When using High ISOs
The low ISO advice comes from the landscape photographers. Normally very low ISOs are used along very closed diaphragms to obtain the maximum quality possible. I think the problem is many of us started as landscape photographers due to it being easier and "cheaper", thus using basic cameras and lenses, which in turn need low ISO and stopping down to get decent images. Now that we allowed ourselves to buy that better camera and that expensive telephoto, we still carry some landscape/cheap mindset, but thankfully people like Jan help us out.
I agree, a noisy image is better than a blurry one or missing the shot completely.
You think? It depends on the camera.
@@mozzman9030 I mean, having the shot is better than not having it, I think that doesnt depend on the camera, but yeah, old cameras benefit more from low iso I think
Having 2 legs is better than having 1 only… 🥱
@@hellolau I dont think so. It is more weight to carry
Lol, beginning?
ISO is important when it is important, but should be kept as low as possible for every situation.
Always a pleasure to listen you Jan!
Very helpful video. Thanks!
Great advice. Thank you Jan!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for sharing Jan, whole new perspective and good advice.
Glad it was helpful!
Love your videos...thanks for sharing 👍
Very true! Manual mode with auto iso is the way to go!
Needed to hear this Jan, thanks!!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks Jan for always sharing the best content in KZhead, keep up with the great work 👍👌
My pleasure!
this is some of the best advice that you will ever find on this kind of photography. just have a look at this guy's pictures, they say it all.
This was awesome! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Many thanks, Jan. Excellent video.
Excellent video Jan, really brought clear some of the concepts I have struggled with!😊
Glad it was helpful!
Great video Jan. Good easy to understand technical stuff that is a bit counter to what you often hear. 👍🏻
Glad you enjoyed it
This actually works! Thanks!!
Great and informative video Jan. 👏👏👏 Thanks for sharing!
You are so welcome!
Great vid Jan. I'm a total believer. DXO cures any noise issues too. BHK photography seminars did a great one a few years ago with a guy named Roman. Changing Paradigms of bird photography. On just this subject. I'm glad you enjoyed our riflebirds!
Another good one Jan. Learned the manual settings over aperture priority as you did, with moving subjects with changing backgrounds. Your saving others some grief here.
Let's hope so, it can be a painful learning experience !
Thank you very helpful 👍
stunning shots Dude nice work
Thanks a lot!
Great stuff, thank you for sharing. ✌️👍👍
Thanks for watching!
Good tips. And I like those bird clips. Nice looking creations. Thanks
Great video mate, thaks a lot for all the tips
Any time!
Enjoyed that video, some great tips, thank you :)
Glad you enjoyed it!
Very valuable information. Thanks 🙏🏻
Glad it was helpful!
Great point Jan. I've been applying this philosophy for birds. One exception where I do like handholding slow shutters 1/100 or even below is when I photograph Bobcats. If they move all bets are off, but in very dark conditions when they sit still, I lay down, use my bag for support and fire away many shots.
very interesting & useful, thank you!
A gem of a video Jan, I love these type of informative tutorial style overviews. Thumbs up! 👍🏻
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent Advice! Thanks for posting this video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
What a great video with excellent points. I can't express how helpful this video was!
Glad you enjoyed it!
An extremely helpful video for me. Thank you for sharing some of your non-keepers that illustrated your points so well. I’ve definitely lost shots while changing settings. Can’t wait to use your trips in the field
Glad it was helpful!
Meri beaucoup Jan pour les tips.
Excellent advice! ❤
Glad you think so!
Super solid video, Jan. Practical advice and I found the “why” (or “why not”) explanations particularly helpful. thanks for sharing your knowledge, experience and work flow.
Glad it was helpful!
great video and a nice reminder! i recently shot tiger cubs in low light at at low shutter speed and the blurry images are killing me! while just 30 mins prior, i got an amazing sequence of tiger on a chase with high ISO high shutter speed. so, 100% agree to whatever u said in this video.
Excellent video and confirms my own thinking
Glad you think so!
Great advice, thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Really helpful, and I absolutely love the enthusiasm :)
Glad to hear it!
Awesome video and information 👌
Glad you liked it
Thanks Jan. Great advice. I've been cranking up my iso over the last couple of years and my shots have been getting sharper :)
Great to hear!
Awesome... really great photography tips for beginners and for better pictures 😁
Glad you enjoyed it!
A great watch Jan... I could not agree more... Ive been on a similar journey... speed is they key when working with birds ! 🙂
It really is!
Thanks a lot. I will definitively try your ideas. Your pictures of birds are amazing.
Thank you so much 😀
Awesome video Jan! Since getting my R5, I have moved to full manual for shutter and aperture but auto-iso and it’s been a game changer. Like you said, the mirror less cameras and modern noise reduction SW really opens up a whole new world.
Great to hear!
Informative video as always. This is great strategy now because of software advances. Years ago, the noise could be atrocious. Having said that, a noisy image is still preferable to a blurry soft image.
Super Helpful. Great tutorial 🙂. Excellent clear and precise presentation with great examples. Thank you 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks a lot! Litt you have the best video content on KZhead for bird photographers! 🤗
Glad you think so!
Very informative, in particular the use of a light background where possible, enjoy your videos like this one which explains your photography experiences in an understanding way.
Glad it was helpful!
I'm right there with you Jan. I rarely shoot birds at less than 1600 ISO these days. I save F4 for single subject, close-ups in low light.
Great help, thanks
You're welcome!
Thanks for sharing your tips and beautiful photos. Liked and subscribed. Greetings from England!
Awesome, thank you!
Definitely one of the most useful videos Jan.
Great to hear :)
That was a great video. I'm going to try those tips with my MFT. Beautiful bird photography. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Very well explained 👍
Thank you 🙂
Hello Jan, i'm in sport photography and i appreciate very much your advices which suit very well also for sports shoots !
Great to hear! Yes, most of these things apply to many different areas of photography
Agree. I use my star button when I need speed. You can set fixed value's for F stop, shutter speed and metering. Shutter speed is 2000, ISO on AUTO. At the moment I use spot for metering, to get a better exposure on the object. There is no time for exposure compensation. Use this now for a few weeks and it works for me.
Very enjoyable video, thanks for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it
On my A1, I use my main setting in manual exposure, and have a separate action button with a high shutter speed and auto exposure for surprise action.
Thank you brother, I’m gonna take this one to heart.
Great to hear
I'm just learning and, yes, certainly got a lot of ridiculously dark photos because of my worry about going too high on ISO. I like to shoot manually but I finally surrendered to having the ISO be automatic. Much higher rate of usable photos. But regarding the KZhead footage: this is the first time I have seen footage of gang-gangs in the wild and I am so envious! What a wonderful thing to share - thank you.
Best advice I have received in years. Photography is a pleasure again.
Great to hear!
Great and exceptionally clear and wisely presented material and sharing knowledge and examples. I'm not a professional, and I've never shied away from using higher ISOs for the reasons the author has outlined. I think that in some categories of photography, the appropriate non-aggressive grain mode does not bother, how much more important is what we want to convey than the quality itself.
Totally agree, Jan. I started to trust higher ISO images and with DxO Pure Raw I’m shocked with the images I can develop. Thanks again for another great video!
Yes, it's a game changer
Thank you for sharing this information. I (probably) won't be shooting natural birds, but I'm going to a Pylon Racing Seminar prior to the Reno Air Races. Those "birds" are moving at speeds up to 600 MPH. A higher ISO and Shutter speed will be a big help, as will stopping down a bit to get better DOF. Awesome training! Again, thank you, so much!
This was an interesting and thought-provoking video, Jan! Artistically, I prefer a darker background and I've often wondered why your backgrounds are usually bright. Now I understand why you have chosen bright backgrounds as part of your style.
I do prefer the look of them as well, but they also help me to get better quality images
Another great video from Jan
Glad you enjoyed it
Very good information.
Glad you think so!
Great tips! I agree, a noisy image is better than a blurry one or missing the shot completely. I practice this with a few differences. I like to underexpose a little so as not to blow the whites, use highlight weighted spot metering, auto iso and then rely on the ISO invariance theory, dxo pure raw and topaz denoise to save and smooth the noise. I love highlight weighted spot metering! It gives me a good exposure on the subject and protects the whites to a degree, along with a little minus setting on the exposure comp, depending on the subject. Then the processing through DXO, ACR, Ps and topaz for a nice end product, imo. Loving the prosets, btw.
Sounds like a good way that works :)
thanks so much.
I do use Aperture Priority for my butterfly shots (mostly F8) and then define a minimal shutter speed (at least 1/500) in combination with Auto ISO. My camera allows to use Auto ISO with a maximum set, this means: use Auto ISO but don't go higher than 1600. this works very well. Manual mode slows me down too much.
Hearing about having to lift the color in post on low exposure photographs and resulting in increasing noise was helpful.
Excellent advice. Cat pics yesterday were all slightly blurry in AV mode and this video explained why very well. Thanks!
Glad it helped!
Some great tips.. Im going to try these
Have fun!
Hi Jan, thank you for the great presentation - most of you have probably already tried exactly your method. In the end, a satisfactory image quality failed because of the possibility and a successful image processing - that's how it was mostly with me, but I like to learn more... I'm curious how it will continue - Thank you very much, I will keep trying to improve the image processing become better. 😉
A most informative video Jan. I use Affinity Photo so your advice of what you use in Photoshop was most helpful, lucky me. I have missed some great shots lately due to low shutter speed, so thanks for the reminder for getting that up higher. I think this will a rewatched video for sure to reinforce your great tips. Many thanks indeed.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for sharing. I have already been using auto iso and shoot on manual so that I have better control of shutter speed. I agree it has helped me get some shots that in the past I have missed. I've had people ask why my iso on some shots is so high but I'm happy I didn't let that deter me as I was more and more happy with the results. Thanks for sharing, I will also take advantage of some of the other tips you provided.
Great to hear
This is a lesson that deserves repetition. Like many novices, I absorbed the common advice about the inherent superiority of "native ISO". For birding, I use an APSC sensor (Canon R7) with the RF 100-500 (F 7.1 at full zoom), so low light is always going to be an issue. But my default ISO is 1600, which I fine tune further if the birds cooperate and time permits. With this approach, I'm able to get noise-free images and large-format prints. And because I don't like monthly subscription software, I'm using DXO PL5 for both noise reduction and image editing, which I find to be a powerful combination with very a natural work-flow. Truth be told, I rarely have to go full out to achieve noise-free images, as in practice, the Deep Prime setting is generally reserved for shots at ISO 6400 or 12800.
The noise myth from higher iso setting, has been put to rest finally! Enjoyed every bit of your totourial.Thank you so much 🙏😊
Fantastic video mate, packed full of really useful info. I think correct exposure, light backgrounds and minimal cropping all heavily impact the visible noise in an image. Cheers, Duade
Thanks mate, yes, those few are key. I guess I should've mentioned cropping
Great video as always. I would add that as you move up with the ISO and enter the high ISO (danger 🤣) zone it is crucial to have your framing done right. High ISO images can be edited and cleaned nicely as long as cropping is minimal. The higher the ISO the better the framing and fieldcraft have to be. Which in some regions / with some animals is easier and with some very hard.
Good point
I love this kind of real advice, when you're bombarded with "truisms" like, "ONLY shoot low ISO!!!", "ONLY shoot wide open!!!", "ONLY shoot..." whatever or "DON'T over-edit" or any of the myriad of other absolutes you hear so often repeated that are detrimental to actually getting the shot or having any fun in the field. Great video, I look forward to more of your content.
Thank you!
very useful tips I've heard for 1st time in detail.
Glad it was helpful!
A very good summary on exposure settings and general workflow for bird photography. I own the Canon R7 known for high noise, but have found doing some research that 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 ISO seems to be best ISO settings regarding noise. My workflow is now Topaz Photo AI, Lightroom basic edit using camera linear profile, photoshop using TK8 plugin to isolate with luminosity masks and colour masks.
Yes, Have also heard the native ISO like those are best to use
Buddy, your VIDEO quality is STUNNING!
Glad you think so!
I use 2 custom modes with slightly different settings for capturing still birds and flying birds I mainly use auto ISO, set F8 usually, then set EV comp as needed and adjust shutter based on bird size and semi auto focus
It's a welcome coincidence that both you and Simon d'Entremont posted videos on the dangers of low ISO in the space of a couple of days -- these are two of my favorite channels, and your explanations are mutually complementary. When it comes to the problems of Aperture Priority for shooting with shifting backgrounds, I've found that switching to Manual with Auto ISO improves things only if you have a separate dial for exposure compensation. My camera doesn't have one (I shoot on an A6600, and the only wheel is set to control shutter speed). When I'm shooting a bird against the sky, I add roughly one stop of light through exposure compensation to prevent the birds from looking too dark; but when the bird flies down against dark foliage, I must quickly bring the exposure compensation back, and there's no way of doing it fast enough for that particular context. Instead, I must choose in advance whether I want the bird against the sky or against the foliage, and give up on the alternative.
Steve Perry has said the same although suggests get the shot and then if time permits drop the shutter speed incrementally and see how low you can go. Dwayne Paton has said the same as I recall all excellent wild life photographers 😊
Your amazing as your pictures,, THANK YOU Sir,,,
So nice of you
Amazing shot of the Red Wattlebird and the Mulga Parrot - Proves your point perfectly! Really useful.
Thank you!
I completely agree; great points. Using DxO pure RAW has made me fearless to use super high ISOs and I completely agree that it’s best to get the exposure right and avoid blurry images.
Well said!
Keep up with great work Jan!!!! And come to New Zealand, just across the pound, at some point!
Working on it!
@@jan_wegener Keep me posted! Can help you with that
Since using DXO Pure Raw I have changed my settings to manual with auto ISO and I allow it as high as 6400. It's a non issue with these modern software packages but increases keeper rates due to higher shutter speeds.
Very pertinent Jan. I recently missed a great opportunity for this exact reason. A group of us saw a brief altercation between Palm Cockatoos at Lockhart River. Surprisingly, no one had their cameras on the birds at the time, except for me. While I got some ok pics of an amazing moment, my relatively low shutter speed, in order to get a lower iso, compromised capturing something I am unlikely to ever see again - but very pleased to have seen it the once.
Oh no, what a shame, such awesome birds
Great video, I’ve been doing this but am unsure what a proper ISO is so I’ve been using ISO in auto. Loved the post processing tips, just got your prosets and am about to get your master class. 👀👀
Awesome! If you learn to read the histogram, it's very easy to find the perfect ISO :)
This video is really helpful. I used to shoot in AV mode and have lost a few good images because of blur as I didn't have control over the shutter speed. But on my recent birding trip I shot in manual with minimum 1/1600 and ISO on auto with Max limit of 6400 I got some fantastic results.
Nice
Everyone should watch this video before heading out on a photography expedition. Sums up all the important aspects to be taken care of. Thanks Jan for a detailed explanation 👍
Glad you found it helpful
Except, I don't agree fully with stopping down, unless like he said, it's a cheaper zoom. I own and have owned a few zooms, but none of them were cheap, in fact some were $7,000+ so some lenses are designed to be shot wide open. Of course I understand what he meant, but he should always preface facts or advice with both ends or sides of the story. I shoot wide open about 80% of the time on my 500mm f/4E VR FL, which granted was about an $11,000 lens. Most super-tele primes and some zooms at the higher-end are designed to be shot wide open, and the only reason to stop down is depth of field. I often shoot around water and use my drop-in CP filter in my 500mm, and or with my 1.4x TC, so I'm usually wide open, but if it's multiple targets or a large bird/plane/vehicle than of course stop down. Overall great video, but I'm not personally a fan of really high ISO images after editing. Jan is an expert at editing and uses photoshop and some techniques I personally DON"T agree with. I'm a photojournalist, so I live in the world of the ethics surrounding such editing techniques. I've never once combined multiple images, never added or subtracted anything, I don't even remove sensor dust spots, I just keep my gear in excellent/clean conditions. To each their own, especially since this is artwork, but I personally am not a fan of major edits. It's like cheat code mode, and most of his best examples are heavily edited in PS.
@@patricksmith2553 I’ve also wondered if “over-editing” is how I want to approach what for me is a hobby. I want to clean up photos but not create things that aren’t there.
@@patricksmith2553 with equipment like that I would love to see your results. Got IG, Flickr, or any other online gallery?
Super Erinnerung daran, wie man es machen sollte, wenn es gut werden soll. Danke.
Gerne!
Absolutely brilliant video Jan! I'm working with my new Canon R7 and am unsure about using those high ISO's. This is exactly the information I needed. Thank you so much for investing your time and efforts on this channel. Cheers from Canada :)
I used mine today and didn’t mind going to at least 3200 when it was getting darker
In sports I even go much higher with the R7 and clean up the RAW file with DxO.
@@jan_wegener I've never used such high ISO's so was wondering if you have to do much editing to remove noise. All of your photos look amazing ❤️ With my old Canon Rebel SL1, using an ISO of 400 introduced a bit too much noise for my liking.
@@clairehachey2189 the more you know about editing the easier it gets with the high isos images and images in general
In addition to wildlife, I have done a great deal of sports photography. I live by the rule of "use the highest shutter speed that is practical in any given situation." A noise free picture of a blurred subject is of no use to anyone. :)
Exactly!
As a wildlife photographer of over thirty years experience I agree with everything you’ve said in this film. You’ve highlighted all the key points perfectly😀 The only thing I would disagree with is in the use of Topaz De-Noise as I find their noise reduction kills noise at the expense of fine detail, this is something I don’t like in bird images because of the fine detail in birds feathers! Great advice and film Jan 👏👍😀
That's why I only use it at the end if I need to and on its own layer, so I can apply it where needed
TRY DXO best Noise Reduction software currently!
Agree, i prefer a noisier image with details in the feathers, than a photo that resembles a painting.