ISO setting annoyances (Maybe I am missing something)

I've recently got a 70D and been reading up some more on shooting style. It seems many photogs use aperture priority or manual and manually control the ISO to the situation to increase or decrease shutter speed. This makes sense in a lot of ways. However I find the button layout on my 70D frustrating to use this way. My brother has a cheap Nikon D3100 and it has a function button he can assign to ISO apparently so whilst holding it down he can scroll through the ISO.

On the 70D (and I presume earlier models) you have to use your finger that you would normally use for the shutter to do it. You have to 'find' the button with your finger. Press it. Then scroll up and down. Then go back to the shutter button. I find it fiddly to do and gives my finger a good old workout!

Also when you are setting the ISO the viewfinder only shows the ISO number and nothing else. No metering to see if you are in the right ballpark. No shutter speed. Nada.

I thought maybe I could assign the aperture preview button to ISO instead but from looking at the custom settings for each button it's not an option?

Anyhow I am just having a bit of a rant at something that would seem so obvious and easy to implement on an 'enthusiast' camera. I can't understand Canon's way of thinking sometimes.

Actually, the inclusion of an ISO button is in fact a relatively recent addition, and a huge step forward..

Just a few models back, one had to delve deep into menus via several button pushes to adjust ISO!!!
Some of the Old Film days habits are hard for the camera companies to break.

Anyway, for me having "Gone Digital" on some of the much older models, the current ISO button near the shutter is a god send, and a breeze to use!
But I can certainly understand your perspective.

Consider how we "old-timers" dealt with the same issue in days past when we had fully manual cameras and FILM. We had to choose the ASA (same numbers as today's ISO) of the film that we put into the camera (by selecting the film type to put into the camera) and could not change the ASA value until we replaced an exposed roll of film with a new roll.

I still use the same sort of thinking today with my digital cameras. For a given event or sequence of images, I choose an appropriate ISO value to use to give an acceptable range of shutter speed and aperture settings for the lighting I'll be working with. I generally don't touch the ISO setting until I'm either done with the job or find that I am working in a different lighting situation. This method should work just fine whether you work fully manually as I do or if you choose to use Av or Tv automation.

I've never had a big problem changing ISOs... yea not a quick click with eye to viewfinder on my 10D or 40D, but you can look at a scene and pre-set the value 98% of the time. I have a 70D as well and find the dedicated button with the little "nipple" on it much quicker and easier than my previous cameras. Also, you can bump the Q button and adjust ISO on touch screen in 1.2 seconds now too. Tough getting used to touch screens!

Surely if you find the selection of ISO on the 70D a problem, I wonder why you bought the camera, part of the decision process with gear is getting something whose operation and functions fit your criteria. A bit like buying a 7D and then complaining it doesn't have a swivel screen!

I don't have a 70D, but I would assume the ISO button couldn't be that much different than on the 7D, since it was practically in the same place on my 40D. INHO, it is one of the easiest functions to adjust while your eye is to the eyepiece, and it took me no practice at all to transition from the 40D to the 7D. If you're in live view, it's even easier. Just hit the ISO button, and use the dial or the joystick to navigate to the option you want, as they are all displayed on the screen. Out of all the features modern day cameras have, I think ISO is one of the easiest / most conveniently placed.

I use a 500D.....the ISO button is right behind the shutter and I find it very convenient and easy to change quickly.

It sounds like your is set up the same way. Not sure why you'd be finding it so difficult to use.

artyman wrote in post #16370936
Surely if you find the selection of ISO on the 70D a problem, I wonder why you bought the camera, part of the decision process with gear is getting something whose operation and functions fit your criteria. A bit like buying a 7D and then complaining it doesn't have a swivel screen!

To be honest my shooting style has always been the same. But my brother just got a D3100 and his own research bought this up and I thought I would look into my previous shooting style and see if changing it would improve my keeper count.

I use the set button to change ISO(I'm not sure if the 70D can use it) and I can see all those things change in the view finder while turning the main dial you can't when using the ISO button. I also find the set button easy to find and more convenient than the ISO button, however on my 1DIV I lose this function if I have live view or video enabled(luckily I don't normally use either of these on this body).

On the 7D, you can reassign the buttons to whatever you want. Can you do this on the 70D?

I usually adjust iso via the viewfinder with the button on top of the camera. Not showing the meter isn't an issue, half press the shutter button to start the metering, if the meter shows I'm underexposing and I can't drop my shutter speed or open the aperture then I up the iso. I've seen the meter so I know where to set it.

I guess I've never seen the "lack" of a visible exposure meter while adjusting iso as a hindrance so I have a hard time relating.

^^ I was wondering if one could just assign a custom button.

I was looking back through some of my prints, and I regularly used film speeds of 100-3200, and compared to the amount of grain/noise I encounter today, I have no complaints

Dick Emery wrote in post #16370818
It seems many photogs use aperture priority or manual and manually control the ISO to the situation to increase or decrease shutter speed. This makes sense in a lot of ways.

You might try shooting Tv, aka "shutter priority" and fix the ISO at some value like 400 (outdoors) or 800 (indoors). That mode always seem most logical to me since I first view my subject from the standpoint of judging motion. I recognize that style may not suit your style; it just seems most natural to me having started this "hobby" in the late 1950's.

lovemyram4x4 wrote in post #16370963
I use the set button to change ISO(I'm not sure if the 70D can use it) and I can see all those things change in the view finder while turning the main dial you can't when using the ISO button. I also find the set button easy to find and more convenient than the ISO button, however on my 1DIV I lose this function if I have live view or video enabled(luckily I don't normally use either of these on this body).

Big thanks for pointing that out to me. It works great! I just wish I could have assigned it to the DOF preview button instead leaving the set button for live view. It's certainly better than the previous ISO button method though!

See p. 384-385 of the user manual -- it lists what buttons can be customized to which functions -- for ISO the SET button is probably it, but you have other options for the other functions. With Live View having it's own dedicated button above the main wheel, sounds like you found a great alternative to set ISO -- I've set up my 70D similarly. Enjoy!