What is the base ISO of the Canon EOS 5D Mark III?

Asked 5/2/2014

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I’m trying to understand ETTR on the Canon EOS 5D Mark III and keep seeing advice to shoot at “base ISO.” What is the camera’s actual base/native ISO, and how does that relate to the often-repeated recommendation to use ISO 160, 320, or 640 on some Canon bodies?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

12y ago

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The base ISO of all Canon cameras is ISO 100. This is the ISO with the lowest gain, without any in-camera magickry to achieve the setting (like ISO 50, which mucks with the actual exposure settings behind the scenes).

There is a lot of conjecture and misunderstanding about Canon's ISO settings because they use a "real/push/pull" model for ISO settings, rather than using native analog gain for all ISO settings. Canon only uses a standard analog gain (per-pixel amplification) for full stop ISO settings up to a certain high ISO level. So, ISO 100, 200, 400, ..., 3200 are usually achieved by using standard analog signal amplification. After a certain point, really high ISO settings in Canon cameras are achieved via a base analog amp., plus a secondary downstream (post-read/pre-ADC) amp, and possibly a digital boost.

For Canon cameras pre-5D III generation (i.e. 5D II, 7D, 50D, 550D, etc.) the highest directly amplified ISO settting is usually 1600, after which a combination of downstream amplification, push/pull, and possibly digital boost is used. For post-5D III generation (i.e. 5D III, 1D X, 6D, 70D, etc.) cameras, the highest directly amplified ISO setting is either 3200 or 6400, with the possibility that rebels still top out at ISO 1600.

Finally, third-stop ISO settings are achieved by using a 1/3rd stop "push" or "pull" using a downstream amplifier after read. ISO 125 is a third-stop "push" of ISO 100, where as ISO 160 is a third-stop "pull" of ISO 200. ISO 250 is a third-stop "push" of ISO 200, where as ISO 320 is a third-stop "pull" of ISO 400. This is why the 2/3rds stop ISO settings in Canon cameras are a little cleaner...the "pull" shoves the noise floor down a little bit.

The use of push/pull does not make ISO 160, 320, or 640 the "base" ISO...that is an internet myth, breed by conjecture, misunderstanding, and a simple lack of real knowledge of how Canon achieves the necessary signal boost for each ISO setting. All Canon cameras (with the exception of some of the earliest models) use ISO 100 as base ISO.

It should be noted that Base ISO is different than Unity ISO. Unity ISO is the ISO setting where gain is one, or in other words for every electron of charge, the ADC converts one DU (digital unit). It is pretty rare that Unity ISO is actually selectable, however there is usually a close third-stop setting to unity. What Unity ISO is depends on the camera, the sensor, the full-well capacity, and other factors (Roger Clark has lots of information on his site for popular Canon camera models, and within them he usually derives unity gain, if knowing it is important (some applications may benefit from unity gain).)


Regarding ETTR, and the use of Base ISO. That is a simple fallacy, really. ETTR simply means Expose to the Right. That's it. There should not be any additional caveats to that. ETTR is a very simple, strait forward rule, and it does not require that one always shoot at ISO 100 or base ISO. I am a Canon user, and rarely shoot at ISO 100 for most of my photography, which is birds and wildlife. Most of my photography is at least ISO 400, more often between 800 and 1600. I generally follow ETTR, regardless of the ISO setting.

ETTR offers a simple benefit: It puts more of the signal above the noise floor, which improves your editing latitude. ISO 100 is not, and should not be, a requirement for ETTR. Using ISO 100, assuming you have enough light, simply maximizes your dynamic range, within which ETTR is still shifting more of the signal above the noise floor. In Canon cameras, ISO 100, 200, and to some degree 400 have more read noise than all higher ISO settings. The higher read noise floor means you technically get more benefit from ETTR. If you are a landscape photographer, then ISO 100 is probably a given, but it is still not a requirement for ETTR.

Originally by user124. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user124

12y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

For the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, the base/native ISO is generally ISO 100.

That said, the confusion comes from how Canon implements some ISO settings. On many Canon DSLRs, full-stop settings like 100, 200, 400, etc. are the primary analog gain steps, while some intermediate values are achieved by pushing or pulling the signal.

In practice, objective testing on the 5D Mark III has shown that dynamic range can be slightly better at ISO 160, 320, and 640 than at some neighboring settings. So:

  • If you mean true base/native ISO: use ISO 100.
  • If you mean “best dynamic range in real-world use” on a 5D Mark III: ISO 160/320/640 are often preferred over nearby settings.

For ETTR, the key point is still to expose as far to the right as possible without clipping important highlights. Base ISO and the “best” ISO for dynamic range are related ideas, but they are not always exactly the same thing on Canon cameras.

UniqueBot

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12y ago

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