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| Canon EOS-5D full frame DSLR camera |
The consumer digital photography age grew exponentially after the introduction of the Canon D30 on May 17, 2000. It was a revolutionary digital camera with a 3.1 megapixel, APS-C sensor, ISO speed of 100 - 1600 and a burst rate of 3 fps. Canon went on to wow the photography world with the introduction of the world's first, full frame digital camera - the EOS-5D in August of 2005.
Both cameras were stunning achievements and started the mass consumer digital revolution as we know it today. I bought both cameras when they first came out and they were Very expensive. One of the biggest advantages of digital over film camera is the ability to change ISO on the fly. I have been a Travel and Wildlife photographer using Canon equipment for 25 years. You can visit my website to see my works.
The following is an excerpt from the Canon Infobank :
One of the world's first photographs required an exposure time of around eight hours. It was taken in Paris by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in the mid-1820s. The image was captured on a pewter plate coated with bitumen of Judea (a type of asphalt). This material was not very sensitive, even to bright daylight.
However, once the technique had been proven, experiments were made with other materials and exposure times quickly dropped to a few minutes. In the early 1840s, William Henry Fox Talbot sensitized paper to light by soaking it in a solution of silver iodide. This led to the use of other silver salts (known as silver halides), which are still the basis of modern film emulsions. Today, exposure times of 1/125 second, 1/500 second, or even 1/8000 second are achievable.
The sensitivity of film emulsion to light is called its 'speed' and is given an ISO number. Low numbers, such as ISO 50 or ISO 100 indicate a relatively low sensitivity to light. Film with these speeds are called 'slow'. High numbers, such as ISO 800 or ISO 1600 indicate a high sensitivity to light. Films with these speeds are called 'fast', or 'high-speed'.
With the introduction of digital photography, it makes sense to continue with the same ISO speed system so that the sensitivities of a digital sensor can be compared to those of film emulsions.
Film contains silver (in the form of halides – iodide, chloride or, most commonly, bromide). The Latin for silver is argentum. In recent years, photography with film or film cameras is often called argentic to distinguish it from digital photography.
ISO and all that
In the early days of photography, film manufacturers used their own methods to measure and designate the speeds of their films. This was not very convenient – it was difficult to compare films from different manufacturers.
Very soon, a number of independent film speed systems were introduced and manufacturers started to use them on their packaging. The less popular fell by the wayside until only two systems were left – ASA (America Standards Association) and DIN (Deutsche Industrie Norm – the German standards organisation).
The DIN system was based on a logarithmic scale, where an increase in 3 on the film speed scale indicated a doubling of the film sensitivity. So 24° DIN film was twice as fast as 21° DIN film. The ASA system was an arithmetic scale. Here, the ASA number doubled with the film sensitivity – a 200 ASA film was twice as fast as a 100 ASA film. Simplicity won the day and the ASA system became the most popular.
Then, in 1987, the International Organisation for Standardisation devised a standard for defining film speed. This followed the ASA standard, so ASA was changed to ISO without any change in the numbers. ISO 200 is exactly the same as 200 ASA.
ISO is often reported as being an abbreviation of the 'International Standards Organisation'. Not so. The International Organisation for Standardisation (IOS) is known as the Organisation internationale de normalisation (OIN) in France. To avoid confusion, the founders of the organisation looked to Greek. ISO is derived from the word 'isos', which means 'equal'.
Photographic standards
The ISO group is very busy. If you visit its website (www.iso.org) and search for 'photography', you'll find there are 138 results for standards within the photographic sector. These range from density measurements, to processing chemicals, to graphic technologies and even tripod connectors, as well as a multitude of other areas.
The advantage of a digital camera over film is that the ISO speed can be changed between exposures. You can shoot one picture at ISO 100, the next at ISO 800, and the next at ISO 400, if you wish. This ease of change means that the ISO value can become an integral part of exposure adjustment.
For example, if the exposure settings are 1/60 second at f8, and you want to shoot at 1/250 second, you would normally have to adjust the aperture to f4 to maintain the same exposure. However, with a digital camera, you can keep the same aperture if you need to control depth-of-field. For example, instead of shooting at 1/60 second at f8 with ISO 100, you could shoot at 1/250 second at f8 with ISO 400.
ISO ranges of popular Canon EOS camera models
EOS-60D
The standard ISO range is from 100-6400
With C.Fn 1-3 this can be expanded to 12,800 (H)
EOS-7D
The standard ISO range runs from ISO 100-6400
With ISO 12,800 (H) available once ISO expansion is set in CFn I-3
EOS-5D Mark III
The standard ISO range is from 100-25,600
In the second red shooting menu, the ISO speed can be expanded to 50 (L) and up to 51,200 (H1) or 102,400 (H2)
EOS-1Ds Mark III
The standard ISO runs from 100-1600
If 'ISO expansion' is set to on (C.Fn 1-03) you can also set ISO 50 (L) or ISO 3200 (H)
EOS-1D Mark IV
The standard ISO range is from ISO 100-12,800
If CFn I-3 is enabled, the settings – 50 (L), 25,600 (H1), 51,200 (H2) and 104,200 (H3) - will be accessible
EOS-1D X
The standard ISO range is from 100-51,200
In the second red shooting menu, the ISO speed can be expanded to 50 (L) and up to 102,400 (H1) or 204,800 (H2).
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