ISO versus shutter speed

[abuseddog]

Question. I was reading a thread in which a person suggested raising the ISO in low light conditions. I was not aware of this info tidbit. I would usually just lower my shutter speed to try to let more light in over time, but quite often, blurriness would raise it's head.


I have a a570 whose low light pics are a little challenged at best....they get grainy.

The question asked, which is the preferred method for best pic quality in low light conditions...only raise the ISO....only lower shutter speed.... or a combination of both? Which would degrade picture quality the fastest?

Still trying to figure out where the curves intersect in this madness called photography.

:eek:

[John from PA]

There are advantages and disadvantages to either method of coming up with a picture. I suggest you get yourself into a low light situation, try to keep the lighting and composition consistent and make the changes you ask about and judge the result. Try doing this in the living room of your house perhaps with the flash shut off and lighting behind you.

Nice thing about digital is it only costs time to experiment.

John from PA

[cryforashadow]

Lowering the shutter speed causes blurry pictures, raising the ISO causes grain.
I prefer grain.
Or you can use a tripod.

[watt100]

Lowering the shutter speed causes blurry pictures, raising the ISO causes grain.
I prefer grain.
Or you can use a tripod.

if it's possible I rest the camera on something in low light situations or use a "gorilla pod" tripod (walmart $15)

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Lowering the shutter speed causes blurry pictures, raising the ISO causes grain.
I prefer grain.
Or you can use a tripod.
Same here, also use flash if possible.

[mullhawk]

with the S5 I will raise the ISO to 200 but I won't go beyond that because of the noise. Usually I try a combination of both till I get the desired results, if a tripod just can't happen then I will occasionally go to iso 400 or higher, but usually will just use a flash instead, plus if you go to low on your shutter speed and are shooting a person or animal they will probably move during your exposure and blur anyway.
I guess it comes down to there not really being one best solution, it is situation dependent...

[Big Hands]

This is where the saying "there is no such thing as a free lunch" rings so true. Lowlight performance is one of the primary areas where point and shoot cameras struggle the most.

Perhaps, this will help:

http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/learning-exposure-in-digital-photography/

I'm betting you can improve the images you get from your A570 by experimenting with it and getting to now how all the settings affect it's performance, but at some point, it is what it is and you could find it's limitations.

I would also suggest you could speed up your learning curve by posting some pics, with the EXIF information still intact, that you are particularly perplexed by. Someone is bound to have gone through the same issues.