ISO setting

[peterc]

I have a Lumix DMC-G10 camera and quite overwhelmed by what I can do! I have been so impressed with images of butterflies posted on the website here so I have some catching up to do . I don't want to use the automatic feature although it works quite well but I have not been able to get really sharp images. Does anyone here have any thoughts about whether the ISO should be set or should it be left to the camera (for just butterfly shots of course)?

Thanks

Peter

[dilettante]

I don't know about that camera, but ISO is one thing I like to keep control of. I use Sony cameras, which aren't highly regarded for their noise performance, but I think the same applies to Panasonic. So I like to keep my ISO set to 200 wherever possible. Of course in low light and high magnification you may have to accept noise noise (higher ISO) to keep shutter speed up and avoid motion blur.

[MikeOxon]

I agree with dilettante that it is wise to control ISO yourself. This is because it has a strong impact on image noise (i.e. image quality). Image noise is also strongly dependent on the size of the image sensor, which means that the smaller the sensor, the lower your ISO setting should be for similar noise performance. Your G10 has a "micro four thirds" sensor, which is a lot bigger than the tiny sensors in bridge cameras but only about half the area of the sensor in most DSLRs (APS-size).

The performance of image sensors has improved a lot in the last few years so, although my older Nikon D300s starts to get visibly noisy above ISO400, you may find that your G10 is satisfactory up to this setting. Certainly, the review at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmcg10 suggests that ISO400 is fully usable with your camera.

You do not mention which lens you are using with your G10. One of the main causes of unsharp images is 'shake', due to selecting too low a shutter speed. In the case of the G10, you should never let the shutter speed drop below 1/(2 X focal length of your lens) when hand-held and, preferably, faster. Alternatively, use some sort of support for the camera, such as a monopod or tripod.

[peterc]

Thank you for your useful comments, dilenttante and Mike.

I have a 14-42mm lens attached and I usually zoom it to maximum for butterfly photos (i.e. 42mm) so i assume that shutter speed should not be set to about less 1/100th? A lot of trial and error at the moment and what I am currently playing with is using shutter priority around the 250 mark. If I don't set the ISO the camera seems always set it to 100 or 125. Maybe aperture priority is more relevant to control depth of field?

Peter

[dilettante]

what I am currently playing with is using shutter priority around the 250 mark. If I don't set the ISO the camera seems always set it to 100 or 125. Maybe aperture priority is more relevant to control depth of field?

I use Aperture Priority almost always, and just keep an eye on shutter speed to make sure it's within the sensible range that Mike mentioned. If you clamp the shutter to 1/250, it will never go faster than that even if the conditions allow - bright sunshine, say. Sometimes it may even refuse to take the shot if it can't make the aperture small enough to maintain that shutter speed, presumably.

As to what aperture to use, it depends on the magnification and your required depth of field. The old quote 'f/8 and be there' (originally applied to photojournalism) is not a bad place to start.

[MikeOxon]

Again, I agree with dilettante - I usually use aperture priority mode and then check that the shutter speed is reasonable - faster than 1/100s.

Reviews of your lens suggest that it is none too sharp, wide open,and that f/8 is the optimum aperture. See http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/PanasonicDMCG2/13

Mike

[Jack Harrison]

I am very odd (no follow up comments needed ) in that a great deal of the pleasure I get out of photography is playing with settings: ISO, Aperture, shutter speed, etc. I started taking photographs over 60 years ago and had to understand all those things (nothing automated in the 1950s).

The modern generation can get away with knowing nothing about any of those basics. However I would say to peterc: you could well get a lot of unexpected enjoyment with some old-fashioned experimentation.

Jack

[dilettante]

I am very odd (no follow up comments needed ) in that a great deal of the pleasure I get out of photography is playing with settings: ISO, Aperture, shutter speed, etc. I started taking photographs over 60 years ago and had to understand all those things (nothing automated in the 1950s).

I take my hat off to you, Jack. I found in the film days I learned nothing! Unless you kept very detailed notes about what settings you used it was impossible to correlate changing a setting with the results you got back some weeks later.

[Jack Harrison]

The old quote 'f/8 and be there' (originally applied to photojournalism) is not a bad place to start.

Good advice for SLRs and DSLRs but not applicable to cameras with small sensors, eg bridge (Panasonic Lumix 150, etc) or compacts. These are usually limited to f/8 as smaller apertures (bigger numbers such as f/11) would give significant and undesirable diffraction. For small sensor camera, f/4 is the "starting" equivalent to the f/8 recommended for a larger sensor camera.

PS. I grew up using Scheiner for film speed. I bet not many of you have heard of that!

PPS. We used a book of exposure tables to get things right: assess the light - cloudy dull, cloudy bright, dark subject, light subject.

And as for focussing - well you had to guess. Hyperfocal distances were learnt by heart for different apertures. Lost you?

Good old days!

Jack

[peterc]

I am very odd (no follow up comments needed ) in that a great deal of the pleasure I get out of photography is playing with settings: ISO, Aperture, shutter speed, etc. I started taking photographs over 60 years ago and had to understand all those things (nothing automated in the 1950s).

The modern generation can get away with knowing nothing about any of those basics. However I would say to peterc: you could well get a lot of unexpected enjoyment with some old-fashioned experimentation.

Jack

Absolutely - I was finding it boring using Intelligent Auto Mode hence the experimentation.

Peter

[peterc]

Again, I agree with dilettante - I usually use aperture priority mode and then check that the shutter speed is reasonable - faster than 1/100s.

Reviews of your lens suggest that it is none too sharp, wide open,and that f/8 is the optimum aperture. See http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/PanasonicDMCG2/13

Mike

Thank you very much, Mike. Review of the lens is very helpful especially in regard to sharpness.

Peter

[Jack Harrison]

Not butterflies but examples of pictures I took as a teenager in the early 1950s when learning photography the hard way.

http://www.weatherjackwx.co.uk/Gt.Yarmo ... th-01.html

and other pages as linked (including some early attempts at colour). Bigger pictures by clicking.

This page: http://www.weatherjackwx.co.uk/Gt.Yarmo ... th-02.html

shows the lax attitude to Health & Safety. I was allowed unrestricted access to places like timber yards.

Jack

[peterc]

Ah, I remember those black and white days, Jack but nice photos anyway.

Does anyone use free photo-editing software to 'fix' their images? I use PIXLR Express which seems good but I wonder if there are better free ones available. Please forgive me if these sort of questions have been raised already.

Peter

[MikeOxon]

The GIMP is one of the most comprehensive free image editing programs. Download from http://www.gimp.org/downloads/

The user interface is fairly similar to Photoshop and it can be combined with UFRAW if you want to work with RAW images.

Mike

[peterc]

Thank you Mike. I have just installed the GIMP software. Now the learning bit

Peter