How is Auto ISO these days?

The title says it all. Just wondering how far auto ISO has come in recent bodies?

I've only ever owned a 40D and a 5Dc so I was curious if this feature actually works on newer bodies.

Use it quite a bit on my 7D for video

Yes, starting with the 1D4 and 5D3 (maybe the 7D as well, but I dunno for sure) Canon has almost given us the desired Aperture and Shutter Priority Mode via M mode with auto ISO.

It still has two failings:

1) No expsure compensation, which is stupid. Since Canon gave us a workable auto ISO buried in M mode instead of labeling it as its own new mode (which is what it is), there is no exposure compensation. Canon must be thinking "It's M mode dummy" to which I respond "It isn't M mode anymore when the camera is picking the ISO, so where the hell is my exposure compensation?"

2) It doesn't work if you turn on a flash. Suddenly auto ISO just locks to ISO 400 and ignores the meter completely if you turn on a flash. I have absolutely no clue what the hell Canon was thinking here at all, but that is what it does. If 400 blows out the picture, you get a blown picture. If 400 results in massive underexposure then all you get is the flash. That's how it works, and it makes no sense.

But for ambient light shots with no fill flash and where you can live with no EC, auto ISO works pretty good. It would be the only auto-metered mode I ever use but for the flash issue.

It is funny in my t3i. It selects even finer ISO multiples with auto ISO. But it displays only fixed ISO's in view finder. I have to review the image to check for actual ISO number after the exposure.
Changing shutter speed to next 1/3 increment doesn't change other exposure values in M mode. Probably it is changing ISO numbers to finer numbers internally without telling the user.

Thanks for the responses!

JeffreyG wrote in post #15644600
Canon has almost given us the desired Aperture and Shutter Priority Mode via M mode with auto ISO.

What do you mean by this? Surely you can use auto ISO in all three modes right? Or does it have silly limitations like you described with the flash in certain modes?

JeffreyG wrote in post #15644600
If 400 blows out the picture, you get a blown picture. If 400 results in massive underexposure then all you get is the flash. That's how it works, and it makes no sense.

Auto ISO might as well have been Auto 400 on my 40D as well

JeffreyG wrote in post #15644600
But for ambient light shots with no fill flash and where you can live with no EC, auto ISO works pretty good. It would be the only auto-metered mode I ever use but for the flash issue.

Works pretty good as in you select the aperture and/or shutter speed and the camera chooses any ISO from the entire range so as to ensure a proper exposure?

Sorry for all of the questions, just really curious about how far this tech has come on the newer bodies.

Anyone have any experience with auto ISO on the 6D?

On my 60D auto ISO is very handy for ambient scenes when using av/tv modes and it does allow EC. But as mentioned already, manual mode has no EC and using a flash with auto iso is asking for trouble.

tjbrock42 wrote in post #15644776
Thanks for the responses!

What do you mean by this? Surely you can use auto ISO in all three modes right? Or does it have silly limitations like you described with the flash in certain modes?

I don't know, I guess you could enable auto ISO in Av or Tv, but then the camera has two variables it can change. IMO that means it will become unpredictable, and I only use automation that works in a way that I can predict. I do not want the camera to vary both the shutter speed and the ISO unless I also get to control its decision making between the two, which would make the menu system even more cumbersome.

My problem with Canon and their film-centric thinking for camera controls is that they have refused to act as if ISO is a variable that can be set on the fly. Most of the camera controls still act as if ISO is tied to the roll of film I've installed. Let me explain further:

Av mode on a digital camera is really aperture and ISO priority mode. Those are the two variables that the user has selected.

So obviously, Tv is shutter speed and ISO priority mode.

With the noise characteristics of most cameras these days, ISO is actually the least important variable most of the time. If I need to work in a mode where the camera meter is selecting the exposure, then ISO is the variable that I want the camera to pick. I want aperture and shutter speed priority mode.

So finally with the 1D4 and 5D3 Canon has given us this mode, except they stupidly buried it within M mode. So we don't get EC and it acts dumb with a flash turned on. Otherwise perfect!

One last note....if you want the absolute lowest ISO you can get away with for any particular auto-metered shot, then aperture and shutter speed priority mode is the way to get it. I can elaborate further if you are interested, but this is one aspect of the controls that some folks have a hard time grasping.

Another random thought/idea I had the other day when I was walking through the Indy Children's museum where the lighting changes significantly between each room... Of course my two kids aren't content sitting in one of the many rooms for very long so it just makes taking pictures that much more challenging. But, I think it would be nice to have a dedicated dial for changing ISO.

Maybe I'm too much of a spoiled digital amateur, but wouldn't it be nice to have a dial to turn for ISO just like there is for aperture and shutter speed. It's kind of annoying to toggle back and forth with button pushes. Sure it's doable as is, and I've grown accustomed to the way it is, but...

I know it would be weird, since it would be so foreign (at least I think) but it would be nice.

tjbrock42 wrote in post #15644776
Works pretty good as in you select the aperture and/or shutter speed and the camera chooses any ISO from the entire range so as to ensure a proper exposure?

Yes, that is how it works. Put the camera in M mode and set the ISO to A. Then you set the aperture and shutter speed manually and the camera will pick the ISO to center the meter.

But it will literally center the meter. You cannot set any exposure compensation because (slaps forehead) you are in M mode.

JeffreyG wrote in post #15644821
I don't know, I guess you could enable auto ISO in Av or Tv, but then the camera has two variables it can change. IMO that means it will become unpredictable, and I only use automation that works in a way that I can predict. I do not want the camera to vary both the shutter speed and the ISO unless I also get to control its decision making between the two, which would make the menu system even more cumbersome.

My problem with Canon and their film-centric thinking for camera controls is that they have refused to act as if ISO is a variable that can be set on the fly. Most of the camera controls still act as if ISO is tied to the roll of film I've installed. Let me explain further:

Av mode on a digital camera is really aperture and ISO priority mode. Those are the two variables that the user has selected.

So obviously, Tv is shutter speed and ISO priority mode.

With the noise characteristics of most cameras these days, ISO is actually the least important variable most of the time. If I need to work in a mode where the camera meter is selecting the exposure, then ISO is the variable that I want the camera to pick. I want aperture and shutter speed priority mode.

So finally with the 1D4 and 5D3 Canon has given us this mode, except they stupidly buried it within M mode. So we don't get EC and it acts dumb with a flash turned on. Otherwise perfect!

One last note....if you want the absolute lowest ISO you can get away with for any particular auto-metered shot, then aperture and shutter speed priority mode is the way to get it. I can elaborate further if you are interested, but this is one aspect of the controls that some folks have a hard time grasping.

No I see what you are saying now... And I agree with you. I guess I wasn't think of the camera selecting the two variables like you described. I'm with you, I don't like the camera selecting aperture or shutter speed automatically for me, that was kind of the point in this thread. Ever since i learned to use M mode, I always wished I had a reliable auto ISO. Also at that point I kind of stopped using Av and Tv mode.

JeffreyG wrote in post #15644829
Yes, that is how it works. Put the camera in M mode and set the ISO to A. Then you set the aperture and shutter speed manually and the camera will pick the ISO to center the meter.

But it will literally center the meter. You cannot set any exposure compensation because (slaps forehead) you are in M mode.

Got ya!

Thanks for taking the time to answer all of my questions so quickly everyone!

tjbrock42 wrote in post #15644868
Thanks for taking the time to answer all of my questions so quickly everyone!

No problem. Hopefully some other folks can chime in and tell us if the 7D and 6D work the same way. I think the 7D does, and the 6D should since it is more recent than the 1D4 and 5D3 (which both do work as I described).

I typically shoot M mode fully manually most of the time as I find light levels are so often quite stable (more than many people seem to think).

Nevertheless, there are situations where light levels change from moment to moment as one is shooting. I used to put the camera in Av and pick a high ISO (high enough to ensure the shutter speed would never get too low) for these situations. Now I use M with auto ISO. The beauty is that when things are dark I get that high ISO, but when things are brighter I get a lower ISO instead of a shutter speed that is higher than I need. See how handy that is?

My real **** is that this doesn't work with a flash when I am dragging the shutter, which would be nice. So if I want to drag the shutter in variable light I still use Av these days.

Jeffrey... Any thoughts on my dedicated ISO dial idea? It's okay if you think it's a terrible idea

tjbrock42 wrote in post #15644925
Jeffrey... Any thoughts on my dedicated ISO dial idea? It's okay if you think it's a terrible idea

The camera should have four modes:

M - dials work as they do now.
Av - Main dial for aperture, QCD for ISO. EC requires a button press.
Tv - Main dial for shutter, QCD for ISO. EC requires a button press.
X (aperture + shutter mode) - Main dial for shutter, QCD for aperture, EC requires a button press.