What's The Best ISO For Astrophotography (ISO Invariance)

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  • čas přidán 25. 02. 2021
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Komentáře • 364

  • @AlynWallace
    @AlynWallace  Před 3 lety +18

    Follow the link and use code "alyn" for your free month and surprise gift with a 2-year subscription to NordVPN - nordvpn.com/alyn

    • @tracyraines5572
      @tracyraines5572 Před 3 lety

      )W

    • @adgaydou
      @adgaydou Před 2 lety

      BTW, the A7iii has a bright monitoring option so you can compose images in low light without changing your settings.

  • @NebulaPhotos
    @NebulaPhotos Před 3 lety +124

    Well done Alyn! I'm glad you did this video so I didn't have to 😜 You did a very nice job of explaining the major concepts in plain language and how they relate to astrophotography. I think your lead-up explanation of exposure stops and then the visual difference between ISO100 pushed 5 stops vs. ISO3200 at 04:51 is especially effective, and will hopefully get more people thinking about this in the correct way, and not just insisting to me that it's as simple as: higher ISO = higher noise. Also, that's an epic filming location for your talking head stuff!

    • @Metaldetectiontubeworldwide
      @Metaldetectiontubeworldwide Před 3 lety +3

      hey Nico great seeying you here ^_^ !
      grtz Johny Geerts

    • @AlynWallace
      @AlynWallace  Před 3 lety +16

      Thanks Nico! Glad you approve. Yup, understanding exposure stops is not only important but very useful!

    • @TheflickerofMotion
      @TheflickerofMotion Před 3 lety +5

      I do remeber Tony Northup had a video about this a while back, but he didn't give the astro take on it which is what most of us want. Nico your last video on the ISO was very helpful also.

    • @JustinMcNeil
      @JustinMcNeil Před 3 lety +4

      Hey man, it was one of your videos where I first learned about this. I think it was a video about andromeda galaxy. You put up a link to a website which had a drop down menu list for pretty much every camera model and it showed on a graph all the jumps of the iso and where it levelled off. It was a great resource for anyone who wants to find out their best iso for low light without doing all the work. Great video all round too

    • @charanpreetflora
      @charanpreetflora Před 3 lety +2

      @@JustinMcNeil Exactly I was going to mention the same. I moved to the Comments and Nico was already there lol

  • @marinaamgad5781
    @marinaamgad5781 Před 3 lety +28

    I realized that my whole photography life was a lie after watching that video...yeah that makes sense Alyn. Great presentation! :)

  • @michalkubecek
    @michalkubecek Před 9 měsíci +4

    Good video, I just have two comments on it:
    1. You mention that higher ISO means lower dynamic range. While true, it's important to realize that simulating higher ISO by underexposing and correcting in postproces does exactly the same. When you underexpose by e.g. 3 EV, it means that you only use 1/8 of the available range, i.e. lose 3 bits (or 3 EV) of dynamic range. And when you check the graphs of dynamic range by ISO, in the intervals of ISO invariance you can see exactly 1 bit (or 1 EV) of loss for each ISO step. Which is not really a surprise, considering that in these intervals you essentially just choose if it's camera processing chips or your software in PC who does the multiplication or division, the values produced by the sensor are the same. In other words, dynamic range is not really an argument for underexposing and correcting in postprocess, the only reason to do that is to prevent clipping.
    2. People often tend to think that an ISO invariant camera automatically means it's better. This is not always true, all it means is that the sensor has only one actual gain value and every other ISO setting is simulated by multiplying or dividing the values from the sensor by a constant - i.e. exactly what the exposure correction in postprocess does. While more convenient, it does not always mean a multi-gain sensor could not achieve better results (in the sense of less noisy image) for a particular combination of exposure settings. Often the reason for using a multi-gain sensor is to get better results in some parts of the range, it would be easier and cheaper to use just one gain and simulate everything else by recalculating in firmware.

  • @DaveMcKeegan
    @DaveMcKeegan Před 3 lety +4

    Fantastic video as always Alyn and thank you so much for recommending my video :)

  • @lucas.rabelo
    @lucas.rabelo Před 3 lety +8

    17:40 - Sony a7iii has a function called "Bright Monitoring" that enables you to see in the dark before the shooting without changing the ISO. Just assign a custon button. Thank you for the video!

    • @AlynWallace
      @AlynWallace  Před 3 lety +6

      Yes bright monitoring is great, I've mentioned it in a few vids! But at that moment I was talking more about the impracticality of being able to preview your RAW files. Yes you can compose with Bright Monitoring and you can take your images at 640 but what happens when you get home, boost the exposure and then there's all sorts of rubbish and things in the composition you didn't notice

  • @Stillfilm1
    @Stillfilm1 Před 3 lety +16

    This was so useful Alyn. I've struggled with articles about ISO invariance but you make it so very clear and understandable. Thank you so much.

  • @CraigLively
    @CraigLively Před rokem +1

    Finally!.. This is the first video/article I've found which explains it to my satisfaction, as a photographer (and as a Sony shooter). Seems like most people seem to get bogged down in more of the technical aspects of it all, causing me to involuntarily tune out. You spoke to us as a photographer, rather than an engineer, and I followed you from beginning to end. Thank you.

  • @chichochicc
    @chichochicc Před 3 lety +6

    This video is PURE GOLD!!! Thanks Alyn, much appreciated

  • @Coolpado
    @Coolpado Před 3 lety +5

    Finally, a clear and complete explanation about ISO invariance. I’ve got a Sony a7III and I’m gonna do it from now on.
    Thank you very much, Alyn!😊😉

  • @CharlieWoodwardMedia
    @CharlieWoodwardMedia Před 3 lety +16

    I feel like i should pay you for this lesson haha. Top stuff mate!

  • @tjayay
    @tjayay Před 3 lety +5

    Thank you so much Alyn! Your repetition is perfect for teaching new concepts. I learned so much from this video - even what a full stop is pertaining to ISO.

  • @willjmarston
    @willjmarston Před 3 lety +4

    This is turning my head upside down on my go-to astro camera settings, incredibly useful info! Looking forward to trying this out.

  • @derekthomas4471
    @derekthomas4471 Před 3 lety +4

    Thanks for another really informative & useful video. “Protect the highlights & increase the dynamic range will be my new mantra”!

  • @jackdeangelis6585
    @jackdeangelis6585 Před 3 lety +8

    Good explanation, in fact the best I've seen. As I use a Fuji XT-2 I've come to set the ISO at 1600 for everything and adjust in post with the exposure module (Darktable). Works great. I'm pretty sure that Sony developed this technology and Fuji uses the Sony sensors (although they don't like to admit it). One additional point - while the noise stays the same the dynamic range does not. As you increase exposure (in post) the dynamic range decreases. (You covered this later in the video!).

  • @gipfelfux
    @gipfelfux Před 3 lety +2

    Thanks Alyn for this detailed Video, this gives me a better understanding of my A7 III while out in the field for NightSky photography. Great content as usual !!

  • @puck528co
    @puck528co Před 3 lety +3

    Thank you very much. I think this was one of the most important videos I watched the last years. A7iii.

  • @scotty4418
    @scotty4418 Před 3 lety +3

    very informative Alyn, never looked at my camera performance in this way so will definitely try it out

  • @linkedwinters
    @linkedwinters Před 3 lety +3

    Wow, that's super useful. I'm buying my first dslr in march and these tip videos will most likely be very useful for me. Keep up the good work Alyn

  • @avestaabdolhosseinpour3912

    Your awesome alyn
    I have learned more from you than i have from 3 years of my own experience
    I'm happy there are people like you that would like to share their information instead of hiding it
    Thank you alyn
    Thank you

  • @SimonGodfrey
    @SimonGodfrey Před 3 lety +16

    I'm gonna have to watch this again with a strong coffee. Amazed that high ISO does not equal higher noise!

    • @Tankwiper
      @Tankwiper Před 3 lety +4

      It's not the high ISO that causes noise, but the lack of light.

    • @sternenhimmelfotografierende
      @sternenhimmelfotografierende Před 3 lety +1

      They never ever did. Higher ISO always lead to dropping read-noise. After the point, were higher ISO stop the decreasing of read-noise is called "ISO-invariant". This was (not only) described in 2010 within the canon-cosmos.

    • @anitarussum4590
      @anitarussum4590 Před 3 lety +1

      i know i watched this once but wow tonight i understand about
      5% more. there is hope for me. i enjoy every minute 🤩

  • @christophermills7558
    @christophermills7558 Před 3 lety +13

    Well shit, I have some homework to do this weekend. I knew about this issue but I tend to go to iso 100 every time and now it seems that may not be ideal. Thanks for this Alyn!

  • @maxlongman9590
    @maxlongman9590 Před 3 lety +2

    Wow this was so eye opening and informative thank you so much Alyn !

  • @GeorgeBewsher
    @GeorgeBewsher Před 2 lety

    Excellent video Alyn, and the best one I've seen in the topic.

  • @vincentvdb3151
    @vincentvdb3151 Před 3 lety +3

    Close to 80K subscribers Alyn :) An interesting vide once again, thank you.

  • @jcwangphotography
    @jcwangphotography Před 3 lety

    Excellent work and thorough description on the ISO-invariance topic. Excellent info.

  • @raphaelcoelho1557
    @raphaelcoelho1557 Před 3 lety +1

    I couldn't agree more. It is exactly how I choose my iso. I just add that I reduce the iso if I am doing a single shot or stack images. If it is a panorama I reduce too but keep an iso where I still can see the composition in each shot.

  • @-757-
    @-757- Před rokem

    Thanks for all the work you put into making the videos

  • @Paulus449
    @Paulus449 Před 3 lety +1

    I've been trying to get my head around ISO invariance for months but couldn't grasp it. That was until I just saw this video which explains it perfectly. Thank you. i also own an A7iii (bought after watching many of your videos). It's nice to know I have the tools, if not yet the skills, to attempt astro photos like yours.

  • @carlreid4161
    @carlreid4161 Před 3 lety +2

    A great explanation Alyn now I’ll just have to test my Fujifilm. Thanks for a very educational vlog dude. 👍🙏

  • @DylanODonnell
    @DylanODonnell Před 3 lety +2

    Great video Al!

  • @yauki1312
    @yauki1312 Před 2 lety

    First time I've heard of this. You explained it very well and easy to digest. Thanks for sharing.

  • @Phil_f8andbethere
    @Phil_f8andbethere Před 2 lety +2

    Many thanks for this Alyn - I've learnt something new today! And the best news for me - my camera is an XT-1 😁. So I never need to worry about ISO ever again - Auto ISO for me from now on 🥳🎉

  • @TheflickerofMotion
    @TheflickerofMotion Před 3 lety +1

    Great video Alyn, this will give me something to work on in the next few evenings..

  • @bradperry4902
    @bradperry4902 Před 2 lety +6

    Wow! This is incredibly useful information. I've gone all this time assuming ISO100 was always best when possible. I am eager to do this test with my camera and learn at what point it truly performs best.

  • @rodrigomb
    @rodrigomb Před rokem

    Alyn this video is pure gold 🤯 💪

  • @hillwalker66
    @hillwalker66 Před 3 lety +1

    Excellent video Alex. Had the Fuji XT1 which I used for a few Milky Way shots. Was always impressed with its noise performance, especially when boosting exposure in post.

  • @cmichaelhaugh8517
    @cmichaelhaugh8517 Před 3 lety

    Very well done on a complex subject. Loving my D750!

  • @RobFall
    @RobFall Před 3 lety +1

    thank you so much, this is perfect timing as I just changed camera

  • @jhankritahuja4483
    @jhankritahuja4483 Před 3 lety

    This is very good. I knew very well before watching the video what ISO invariance is, but I still believe this might just be the best explanation of the topic.🙏🏼 Thank you.

  • @alisonfairley5444
    @alisonfairley5444 Před 3 lety +2

    Nora by Space Light! that explains a lot and even simple enough for Noggin here to understand! Thanks so much Alyn - certainly wasn't aware of this and very much appreciated!

  • @vickyed4162
    @vickyed4162 Před 3 lety

    SO so so helpful! Explains some issues I was having. Made notes! Thanks! 😁

  • @timscanlanphotography
    @timscanlanphotography Před 3 lety +2

    Brilliantly explained Alyn ! Looks like my old D750 is coming out of retirement for my astro shoots !! Diolch !

  • @joelwolski
    @joelwolski Před 3 lety +1

    That was a fun little experiment! I was not expecting the drastic color cast at the lower ISOs though. Proved very helpful in understanding the capabilities of my camera better. Thanks.

  • @BillyVerden
    @BillyVerden Před 3 lety +2

    Great Video as Always! Very informative! In your video you mentioned you could raise your iso to it's highest setting to compose then lower it back down to the minimum invariant iso.. what I do on all my Sony cameras is turn off the live view setting effect.. to compose.. then turn it back on for the shot.. I have setting effect on/off as a toggle on one of the programmable buttons. If you know your manual settings are correct and you are going to shoot all low light.. you can leave live view setting effect off the whole time. Works for me.. your mileage may vary.. lol.

  • @OwenEDell
    @OwenEDell Před 2 lety

    Brilliant! A real eye opener. I'm subscribing. Thanks!

  • @tstfhayden
    @tstfhayden Před 3 lety

    If that hadn't been so well explained, it could have been a very difficult topic to grasp. Amazing job dude.

  • @bobtaylor5235
    @bobtaylor5235 Před 3 lety +1

    Cheers Alyn, as an A7iii user that was great for me, very well explained.

  • @tabishrazakhan5082
    @tabishrazakhan5082 Před 3 lety +1

    That's something no one talks about.. thanks man 💫👍

  • @rattlhed1
    @rattlhed1 Před rokem +1

    Alyn, This is an excellent video and introduced me to something I was completely unaware of. I'm just starting out with Milky Way photography (I love it) and was under the impression for shooting foregrounds/dark parts of my image to shoot a longer exposure at lower ISO to try to keep the noise down, but I wasn't having success at all and my low ISO images were very noisy. This completely explains what is going on and that I should not be afraid to shoot much higher ISO to capture information in the shadows. I'm shooting with a Canon R5 and ran this test myself and found that between ISO 800 and 6400 my camera is ISO invariant which is a huge bit of knowledge for me and should greatly improve my images.

  • @mistaskate8715
    @mistaskate8715 Před rokem

    My second rime around with this video. Great explanation! I get it now!

  • @mariomadriz
    @mariomadriz Před 3 lety

    Oh man! I just bought a Fuji X-T1. I've heard of ISO invariance in the past but never thought I'd get to play with one! That's awesome! Great video! Cheers from Costa Rica

  • @julienperret
    @julienperret Před 3 lety +2

    Thank you for explaining that concept very clearly ! Will use the 640 ISO on my A7III for astrophotography, low light scenes and day to night time-lapse from now. Nice to know there's always a way to improve our skills and image quality 😉

  • @SteveZodiac777
    @SteveZodiac777 Před 3 lety +1

    Thanks Alyn - wish I'd watched this a couple of days ago!

  • @InfraredVisuals
    @InfraredVisuals Před 3 lety

    Thanks for the deep dive into this topic.

  • @ws5246
    @ws5246 Před 3 lety

    Brilliant.... Learnt something new and so clear, going to test my Canon 600D now to get the best ISO for my astrophotos. Great tutorial 👍

  • @bencebuzek
    @bencebuzek Před 12 dny

    That was insanely useful. Thank you for the detailed explonation

  • @lesladbrook4508
    @lesladbrook4508 Před rokem

    Great tip Alyn, thank you

  • @abhijeetbhadre2018
    @abhijeetbhadre2018 Před 2 lety

    Very useful video Alyn. Thanks for the efforts 🙏

  • @martinoberstein8431
    @martinoberstein8431 Před 3 lety

    It DID make sense! Very conclusiv explanation - even for the German listener. Thank you very much, Alyn!

  • @pelafotofotografia
    @pelafotofotografia Před 2 lety

    First, a direct greeting from Brazil. Your video is excellent, very well explained and didactic. Congratulations on the beautiful work.

  • @maaikehuijsing
    @maaikehuijsing Před 2 lety

    Yeah that makes sense! You explained so well. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this lesson of gold!!

  • @alanhat26
    @alanhat26 Před 3 lety

    Very helpful man thanks for your time and effort

  • @brianjohnson3277
    @brianjohnson3277 Před 3 lety

    Thanks Alyn. Super explanation and very helpful!

  • @AntonioPena1
    @AntonioPena1 Před 2 lety

    Alyn, thanks for the time explaining, I watched many others, you only one for me that make this clear, I thought was a myth, great job!

  • @stevehayward1854
    @stevehayward1854 Před 7 měsíci

    You made perfect sense but my mind is blown.
    Testing my cameras tomorrow fro Invariance.
    Thanks Alyn

  • @baquezphotography1885
    @baquezphotography1885 Před 3 lety

    Great video Alyn... Well done

  • @MO-ss7qt
    @MO-ss7qt Před rokem

    Total noob here! Thanks, I've never come across this topic regarding ISO before. All I have interpreted prior was the higher the ISO, the more noise introduced. Always keep it as low as possible. Thanks to you, not only do I realize that is not the case, I also know how to figure out what is likely to suit my camera best. Super job of conveying a complex perspective so I could understand. Worthy of a 3rd "Thanks!" for this video.

  • @paulvinova
    @paulvinova Před 3 lety

    I learned something today. Thanks Alyn.

  • @soundinthenight
    @soundinthenight Před 3 lety

    Great educational video, thanks for putting this together

  • @alanp9100
    @alanp9100 Před 3 lety

    EXCELLENT Work Alyn ! . . . Thanks

  • @andrewhayward9428
    @andrewhayward9428 Před 3 měsíci

    Thankyou Mr. Wallace.

  • @andysuzierawlins5462
    @andysuzierawlins5462 Před 2 lety

    Great video, well presented

  • @lesalterman
    @lesalterman Před 3 lety +2

    Mind-blowing video 😁 gonna make some tests, thanks Alyn!)

  • @flixma9188
    @flixma9188 Před 3 lety

    This explanation is awesome. Thank you a lot!

  • @Chris_2023_
    @Chris_2023_ Před 3 lety

    Awesome video! Clearly explained!

  • @imadreamer9526
    @imadreamer9526 Před 2 lety

    U explain it very well..thanks for uploading

  • @topquarkbln
    @topquarkbln Před 3 lety

    Your videos are always interesting, even if I can't use your explanations for making astrophotography, it is interesting and fun to watch them because it makes me understand the process and the nature of a made photo as opposed to seeing it in real yourself. I have some experience with other photos though. ❤👍🏻

  • @Abdulrahman.Knakriah
    @Abdulrahman.Knakriah Před 2 lety

    A brilliant explanation man thank you very much!

  • @menglandau
    @menglandau Před 2 lety

    Thanks for sharing this. You made it very easy to understand,

  • @olaflubke4389
    @olaflubke4389 Před 3 lety

    Thank you! Perfect explanation 👍🏼

  • @eddiecarrasco878
    @eddiecarrasco878 Před 2 lety +1

    Great explanation. As a software developer who worked with computational photography, iso invariance is a very hard problem to solve. Ideally a short timelapse helps solve the iso issues. Sadly you do get star trailing if done incorrectly.

  • @warrenswales5693
    @warrenswales5693 Před 3 lety

    Excellent vlog! 👌👍💪 Goes well with the one by Tony Northrup where he demonstrated that noise is due to lack of light (wrong aperture/shutter speed) not a high ISO setting.

  • @brucejacups369
    @brucejacups369 Před rokem

    Indeed!..thankyou so much for subjecting yourself to so many non variants of iso invariance and even variations of iso variance.. ;)

  • @iamleek
    @iamleek Před rokem

    Thank you thank you thank you Alyn!! I should have listen and watched you r earlier. Thank you very much.

  • @lepunque
    @lepunque Před 2 lety

    Very, very good , extremely well explained.

  • @georgiberle1227
    @georgiberle1227 Před 3 lety

    Thank you for this excellent explanation!!

  • @aminsharifi5107
    @aminsharifi5107 Před 3 lety

    Well done Alyn!!

  • @whiteskyphotographics3033

    Great Video Alyn, nice and clear thanks. I notice this with my Canon 6D mk1 and Sony A7s mk1. This will definitely help with tweeking settings when out in the field with both cameras in the future. 😉✨🌌

  • @AstroLaVista
    @AstroLaVista Před 3 lety +1

    Thanks Alyn. I've been tempted to switch back to Canon from my Sony A7 and this has given me second thought. Maybe I'll have both for a while and do some experiments :D

  • @skykingimagery899
    @skykingimagery899 Před rokem

    Another excellent discussion. Something no one else discuses. But in the end you still have to make compromises,

  • @theiteam
    @theiteam Před 3 lety

    Great video thanks. I was aware of the ISO invariance of my D850 but this is a great practical example of what that actually means in real life!

  • @stim3on
    @stim3on Před 3 lety +3

    Good job explaining this complicated topic! As a long time user of the Fuji X-T1 I can confirm that the camera is pretty much ISO invariant, so much so that I was taking milky way images at iso200 at one point to not blow out the highlights in a campfire. As it turned out, I unfortunately overestimated the performance of the sensor and the darkest regions of the image resolved nearly no detail compared to a ISO1600 exposure. So even with the X-T1 there seems to be a limit of how strong you can underexpose.
    But in general its still pretty amazing how much freedom you have with the X-T1s raw files.

    • @stim3on
      @stim3on Před 3 lety

      sorry for copying your profile picture idea by the way ;)

  • @rebelion5051
    @rebelion5051 Před 2 lety +1

    Thanks a lot, I just spend the night on Hearth Nebulea, at 3200, but I just figured out that my best ISO is 800 !
    Need to take it again !

  • @wallaceshackleton1889
    @wallaceshackleton1889 Před 3 lety +1

    Looks like I'm going to get busy and shoot some test shots...interesting video, thanks.

  • @dieseldavey
    @dieseldavey Před 3 lety

    Brilliant video. Thank you 👍🏻

  • @7411niels
    @7411niels Před 2 lety

    That was really helpful! Thanx

  • @nigelkey8446
    @nigelkey8446 Před 3 lety

    Top notch as ever bud 👍 no on ever talks about the d7500 and being a newbee really helps witn settings. Appreciated lots thanks.

  • @eb9826
    @eb9826 Před 8 měsíci

    Awesome video, cheers dude.

  • @simonwilliams2109
    @simonwilliams2109 Před 3 lety

    Thanks heaps Alyn.