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How Rapid ISO's are Changing Action and Adventure Sport Photography

Ridemonkey.com

News & Reviews
Jun 26, 2009
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Since fast moving subjects, such as mountain bikers, require a fast shutter speed and an open aperture, the ISO needs to be high to capture as much light as possible...
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Source: Red Bull Illume

Capturing fast moving action sports is a tough challenge. Traditionally popping the subject out from the picture and keeping it sharp, requires one or more strategically placed flashes. But this method usually means much of the background light is lost.

The restricting factor with old film cameras was the ISO speed. ISO measures a film’s sensitivity to light, the higher the ISO, the more light a film captures. Since fast moving subjects, such as mountain bikers require a fast shutter speed and an open aperture, the ISO needs to be high to capture as much light as possible.


Derek Frankowski freezes the action and keeps images crisp with high ISO settings.

In normal conditions, films with even the biggest available ISO range were not able to properly get the shot without flash.

However, as digital camera equipment moves rapidly away from their film-based predecessors, ultra-high ISO capabilities mean that taking high quality sports shots with natural background light is now possible.

The Leica M9, Nikon D3s and Canon Mark IV all boast standard ISOs of between 2500 and 10,800 and expanded ISOs of even beyond 100,000. The colour film with the highest ever ISO value was the Fuji Superia with 1600.

Unfortunately, often the drawback to shooting with a high ISO is increased noise, but due to major efforts in developing better digital hardware, today’s CPUs and sensors are capable of being pushed without losing much quality.


One of the 2007 finalist shots in Red Bull Illume, by Derek Frankowski.

“This changed my way to shoot photos a lot,” says Vancouver, Canada-based sports fashion and mountain bike photographer Yorick Carroux. “I was always a huge friend of available light photography and the new Nikon cameras unchained me from noisy photos and allow me to get good light without the flashes.”

Carroux, a finalist in the Experimental category of the 2007 Image Quest, says that use of flash will not end, but that there are now more possibilities for photographers.

“When you use flash in the right way you can get great photographs, but often you change or even destroy the atmosphere totally,” he says. “Now I can capture the scene the way it is and get more real, intense views of the sport.

“I can capture the light and the atmosphere exactly as it is, especially in the deep woods of British Columbia around Whistler.”


Low natural light and a lack of flashes requires high ISO, Yorrick Carroux photograph.

Carroux mainly uses Nikon D3 and D700 bodies with a standard set of lenses. “I’m not a big fan of zoom lenses. I stick pretty much with a basic kit: 16mm fisheye, 20mm, 35mm, 85mm, 180mm and 300mm. Having said that, a Leica M9 would be a pretty hot tool when you need quality and light.”

The main challenge for photographers using this method is keeping noise to a minimum unless they want to create a certain intended film look. As technology moves forward, this will no doubt improve, but for now deciding when and when not to use flash will be the key.

“I wouldn’t say flashes are dead, it’s more that you can choose now and you have more tools in your hand.”

More information and images from Yorick Carroux can be found at his website!

Red Bull Illume is an action and adventure sport photography contest that is currently in the submission stages. To view the most heralded images from the 2007 edition jump on over to Red Bull Illume.

Think you have anything to contribute to the discussion? Post away!
 

Attachments

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,037
7,554
Those pics don't demonstrate high ISOs IMO. The daytime shots could well have been at ISO 50.
 

ebarker9

Monkey
Oct 2, 2007
848
242
Aren't we really just talking about lower noise sensors? The whole concept of "ISO" as it pertains to digital imaging is a little strange to me. It's effectively just an amplification (be it digital or analog), no?
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
Aren't we really just talking about lower noise sensors? The whole concept of "ISO" as it pertains to digital imaging is a little strange to me. It's effectively just an amplification (be it digital or analog), no?
Well, yes. You're changing the gain on the sensor.

It still applies to the standard, though, because there are still guidelines for how sensitive the media is to light, be it film or a digital sensor.

So yes, you're talking about lower noise sensors - but the effect of these lower noise sensors is manufactures bumping the available ISO settings on the cameras higher and higher since it now produces a viable image and not a big pile of noisy mush.

The last shot is likely not high ISO since there's tons of light there. I'd say the first two, though, and especially the second, must be at least reasonably high ISO. Pretty low available light, action well-frozen... Even if they're only ISO800, think about how noisy that would have been not that long ago.
 

ebarker9

Monkey
Oct 2, 2007
848
242
Well, yes. You're changing the gain on the sensor.

It still applies to the standard, though, because there are still guidelines for how sensitive the media is to light, be it film or a digital sensor.

So yes, you're talking about lower noise sensors - but the effect of these lower noise sensors is manufactures bumping the available ISO settings on the cameras higher and higher since it now produces a viable image and not a big pile of noisy mush.

The last shot is likely not high ISO since there's tons of light there. I'd say the first two, though, and especially the second, must be at least reasonably high ISO. Pretty low available light, action well-frozen... Even if they're only ISO800, think about how noisy that would have been not that long ago.
Gotcha, thanks. I guess my thinking was just that it's really lower noise sensors that are changing the way that photography is done and not just adding additional ISO settings, which is what the article kind of implies, with the exception of:

"Unfortunately, often the drawback to shooting with a high ISO is increased noise, but due to major efforts in developing better digital hardware, today’s CPUs and sensors are capable of being pushed without losing much quality."

Regardless, very interesting stuff. I really like the natural light approach and the first two pictures are pretty impressive from that standpoint.
 

Peacock

Chimp
Oct 23, 2009
51
0
Rossland, BC
I would agree that it would be interesting to see all the photo information; on the Illume site you can see the spec's of each of the 2007 finalist photos, but not the ISO settings.
Frankowski's shot in the fog is probably a high ISO shot because there is no flash and very little natural light, but it is also taken with a film camera and thus undermines the whole "new-digital-camera-ISO" theme. Still a good read though and quite informative to the less knowledgable rider/photographer.