[peteh]

Which iso setting do you have it on, on the cp4500?
I think mine is on auto (which I assumed ment it uses iso100)
but today I was taking a picture in the house on each iso setting to see the difference, and noticed the iso100 came out brighter than the auto setting.

Also does anyone take pictures on iso200 if it gets cloudy or overcast? Or does it mess the picture up too much.

Thanks
Pete.

[creavey]

Hi Pete

I find taking shots on iso 200 very useful if the light is anything other than full sunshine. You basically get to double the shutter speed. If the light is really naff then you can go up to 400 - the shutter speed will double again - but the picture quality will not be great. Who cares though - if you are trying for a record of an interesting bird? You may only get that one chance. If you are going for quality pictures though - then 100 is the best - but I reckon that that means you need sunshine.... In my (limited) experience, the shutter speed has to be at least 125 - preferably 250. Any compromise you have to make to obtain that shutter speed is worth it - even underexposure (you can brighten in Photoshop) - in other words it is better to shoot at iso 400 at 250 than at iso 100 at 60 - but you may in that instance find that iso200 at 125 is the answer....

Another big thing seems to be - get the aperture to 5 or below - preferably well below - even if you have to back off the camera zoom to do so. Shoot in A mode to do this. Again - this helps get the shutter speed up....

Cheers
Carl

[peteh]

Hi,

Thanks for that.
Ive only been digiscoping for 3 days but have already figured out
my shutter speed has to be around the 250 mark for me to get a decent picture ( im only handholding at the moment though)
So now I know I can use the isos to help get to that is brilliant !!
Thanks very much. :)

[IanF]

I'd stick with 100 ISO too if you at all can. As Carl says it's worth going higher for a record shot but quality does suffer.
Using an adapter and cable release I've gone down to 1/15th second for some shots (Bittern) but at least 1/125th defintiely seems most preferable for anyhting truely decent.

[Andy Bright]

Yes, I'd recommend staying at iso100 if your into quality prints... I can just about get away with iso200 for prints, but that's with some rather expensive Photoshop plug-in noise reduction filters. But it is better to get something rather than nothing of a rare subject, so even iso800 can have it's day.

Shutter-speeds to get a decent shot vary greatly with the subject... If you have ever seen the 'master' digiscoper Ooi Beng Yean's shots you'll totally rethink what shutter-speeds are needed.... his are often 1/8th and to me his shots are the best around.
If I can get 1/60 @ iso100, I'm usually happy. If you drop down into 1/4 you can take advantage of the noise reduction on the camera (cp995/4500)... you get noisy pics if the shutter is open for a reasonable length of time due to the heat build-up in the ccd.
Andy

[Chuck A Wulla]

I agree with everything said so far. Occasionally though I'm stuck with a really long range shot, towards sunset, with a stiff breeze. 400 does noticeably degrade but at 80X, 1/1000 of a sec improves. It's a "Hobson's Choice" basically.

[peteh]

Hello,

Does anyone know what iso setting Auto is?
I looked again today and when I set the Iso to 100 the shutter speed doubled.
I thought auto would be 100 anyway?
Does this mean setting the iso to 100 would give more noise than auto iso?
im getting confused :)
Thanks

[digi-birder]

If I can get 1/60 @ iso100, I'm usually happy

Well, Andy, you already know all about my problems, but I'm far from happy at this shutter speed - even at some higher ones, which it's not always possible to get in this country. How anyone can get anything decent at 1/8th is beyond me, but I have seen some of his photos.

To answer Pete's question - in the 995 manual, it says that when the camera is set on Auto shooting mode, the ISO is also by default on Auto. On this setting, the ISO is automatically adjusted according to the ambient lighting conditions. Only when you switch to Manual shooting mode do you have any control over the ISO. That's how I understand it, anyway.

[Andy Bright]

As Diane says, Auto just selects the appropriate iso setting for the light conditions.... in this mode, use the camera in very dark conditions and it will change to iso200+.
I have the iso manually set on iso100, it's very easy to change when the situation demands.... I just like to be in full control of the camera, rather than getting unexpected surprises.
Andy

[peteh]

Thanks. :)