where is ISO 50


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ballwackers

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Apr 19, 2007
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Something that has puzzled me... :think: my cheap (by good) Ixus 400 had an ISO setting of 50. My 350D will only go to ISO 100. I beleive the 30D also goes only to 100.

Why would a pocket camera have a feature that a DSLR wouldn't?
 

My 5d has ISO 50, but it's marked as L and you sacrifice dynamic range. For the 30d I'm not sure about 50 as I don't have one but I know for sure that it has ISO 3200 marked as H. My old 1dII also had ISO settings L and H, but my old 350d and 300d did not. 

Generally, ISO 50 is present on compacts as the noise control for higher ISOs is not as good as DSLRs, which makes using ISO 50 a necessity for clean images on some compacts, especially older ones. I guess Canon just felt that there was no need for ISO 50 since ISO 100 produces uber clean images on their DSLRs. Some Nikon DSLRs only go as low as 200.

Of course there are reasons to use ISO 50 other than to achieve low noise, but often, this is not the reason why ISO 50 is used on compacts. Anyway, with the decrease in DR, it is preferable, at least for me, to use an ND filter if I need to cut the amount of light in a scene rather than use ISO 50. I do appreciate it being there when I need it though.
 

very seldom camera has ISO 50....
 

Some compacts have max shutter speeds of about 1/1000 or 1/2000 at best. DSLRs have max shutter speeds of at least 1/2000 and for the 30D series, 1/4000.
Dun feel there's a need for ISO 50 unless you're shooting at the sun.
 

Getting a ND2 and shooting on ISO100 will essentially give you the same exposure settings as if you were on ISO50. I wouldn't worry too much about noise, as Canon's CMOS + DIGIC II technology handles noise very well, even up to ISO800.
 

The noise level at ISO 100 with Canon's DSLRs is so low there is NO need for ISO 50. ISO 50 exists in the prosumer and compact models as noise is quite noticealbe at ISO 100. ISO 200 with my 300D has less noise than ISO 50 on my G2.

BTW, Nikon's DSLRs start at ISO 200, I believe.
 

Some compacts have max shutter speeds of about 1/1000 or 1/2000 at best. DSLRs have max shutter speeds of at least 1/2000 and for the 30D series, 1/4000.
Dun feel there's a need for ISO 50 unless you're shooting at the sun.

And most of the compacts do not have small apertures (e.g. F2.0 - F8.0 is the range for the G1/2 series) like F16 or F22 and fast shutter speeds, so ISO 50 is very useful.

I took my G2 on a biz trip a few months back and with the noon sun, I had to shoot at ISO 50, 1/1000 and F8 (which is the limit for the camera). With a DSLR, I could be on ISO 200 and shoot at 1/2000 and F11... but not possible on the G2.
 

actually, ISO 50 function is useful when you want razor thin DOF with really fast apertures; like f/1.4 or f/1.2 in bright day light.

personally, with 1.4, i could hit the upper limit of my camera (1/8000) at ISO 100, f/1.4.. =)
 

actually, ISO 50 function is useful when you want razor thin DOF with really fast apertures; like f/1.4 or f/1.2 in bright day light.

personally, with 1.4, i could hit the upper limit of my camera (1/8000) at ISO 100, f/1.4.. =)

Without having ISO 50, the only practical ways are either doing what you did, or getting a set of NDs (which would just be so troublesome during events).
 

Pro1 has ISO 50 as well. I guess it's becoz the sensor is too small, yet the pixel everyone wants is too high. ISO 50 becomes the solution to get acceptable good image quality. :think:
 

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