Today i thought i will tell you a little bit about that mystical word ISO! What does ISO mean and how can it help you to take better pictures?

First let’s get the term ISO figured out.. ISO stands for International Standarts Organisation. That is the standart by which light sensitivity is getting measured.

So that means that the ISO number is telling you how sensitive your film or camera sensor is to light. The lower the ISO number (for example ISO 50 or 100) the slower is the film or the less sensitive is the sensor and the longer it takes to expose the image right. And the higher the number (for example ISO 400, 1600) the faster and more sensitive is the film and the less light and time it takes to expose an image right.

So as you probably figured already, the less light you got the higher do you have to set your ISO. So where you before maybe had a hard time taking a good exposed or sharp picture, and instead got a very blurred mess or a picture almost black, do you now just go ahead and bump up your ISO setting to 200 or 400 or even 800 and you will be able to capture the scene with more success.

But be aware that there is, how it is with almost everything, a downside to that fantastic invention called ISO.. that is that as higher you bump up your ISO, as more grain or noise and loss in color saturation you will get. But this also depends on the camera you are using.. you will most likely get more grain with a general point-and-shoot than you will get with a Canon Rebel or even a 5D. This you will have to figure out by yourself and than also.. sometimes grain can add an interesting touch to a picture.. specially in black and white.

If you got some more questions just post em here or check me out at facebook.. Have a great sunday!!