ISO settings, etc.

[gsxunv04]

Hello, In the past I have used a point and shoot, but wanted to step up my picture game so I got this entry level camera and lens combo.
I recently got a Sony A200 DSLR with two lenses; 18-70, and 75-300mm.
I was wondering which lens to use for macro and which ISO setting should I set the camera to, whilst mounted on a tripod horizontally aimed at my tank.
Should I set it on auto or a lower setting in the hundreds, or higher such as 3200?
I know not to use a flash and have it on the macro mode(flower symbol), but was wondering what else should be dialed in for great macro shots.

[BlueCorn]

ISO is, roughly speaking, the sensitivity or "gain" of your sensor. It was referred as "film speed" on film cameras. You should set it at the lowest possible setting necessary to get the shot. The higher the number, the noisier your image will be. That camera does do well much past 400.

The best thing that you can do is to learn about exposure so you can make choices for yourself.

Cheers

[gsxunv04]

I can set the ISO to 100 if that would be ideal.

[Recty]

For pictures with the least amount of noise, you want as low of an ISO as possible. Set it to 100 if you can.

There are lots of factors that go into how low your ISO can be, such as your shutter speed and aperture plus how much light is coming in through the lens, so there is no exact ISO that you'll always use for every shot.

[gsxunv04]

gotcha, I was using on auto ISO and it seemed to remain relatively low (100-400) throughout most of my shots. I will keep playing around with it. theres so much more to handle than a standard point and shoot. but man does it take some sharp pictures. What shutter speed do you all usually use?

[ludnix]

There is no right shutter speed, it varies from shot to shot and what sort of effect the photographer wants. However when taking pictures of the tank a shorter shutter speed will be better at capturing something with motion at the cost of less light making into the sensor.

Using a tripod can help you shoot at higher shutter speeds as it will eliminate the camera shake, however anything that is moving where you take pictures will potentially be blurry if the shutter is too slow.

By setting the aperture of the lens you can determine how much light will enter the camera when the shutter is open, this will obviously affect how long the shutter needs to be open depending on if you need more or less light at that particular aperture.

The aperture of the lens will also determine the point of focus for your lens, a smaller aperture will focus farther away, while a larger aperture will focus closer.

I'm an amateur photographer but my usual workflow would be frame the shot -> focus lens -> set aperture -> set shutter speed -> take picture. If the shutter or aperture are not right then I'd adjust and try again, luckily with the delete button on our DSLRs no one has to know about the bad shots. ;)

[BlueCorn]

Auto-ISO is evil. Turn it off. ;)

[TitusvileSurfer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14817342#post14817342 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ludnix

The aperture of the lens will also determine the point of focus for your lens, a smaller aperture will focus farther away, while a larger aperture will focus closer.

Actually the focus point determines the point of focus, the aperture, paired with the focal length, sensor size, and distance from subject, effects how wide of an area is actually in focus (Dept Of Field or DOF).

I think that is what you meant but not what you said.

[gsxunv04]

Ok cool, thanks for all the tips, im starting to take some great shots, ill be sure to post soon.
Do you all manual focus?

[TitusvileSurfer]

99% of the time I use the focus point to determine the point of focus. ;)

[TitusvileSurfer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14817673#post14817673 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beerguy
Auto-ISO is evil. Turn it off. ;)
I agree, I don't know why anyone would use auto ISO unless they just don't understand how photography works...which hopefully means nobody with a DSLR. 90% of DSLR owners have NO CLUE how photography works though. They all own 18-55's exclusively as well.

[gsxunv04]

check out this picture of my psychadelic mandarin dragonet:
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/gsxunv04/DSC00185.jpg
here are some others:
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/gsxunv04/DSC00201.jpg
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/gsxunv04/DSC00206.jpg
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/gsxunv04/DSC00226.jpg

[supercharger]

interesting

[gsxunv04]

I am going to make a top down phot box to get some good shots from that view. IIt should be fun!