Why does my Nikon D5100 raise ISO indoors even when using the built-in flash?
Asked 4/25/2012
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I have a Nikon D5100, and when I shoot indoor photos with the built-in flash in Auto mode, the camera often raises Auto ISO to around 1600. I expected the flash to provide enough light that the camera would stay near ISO 100 instead.
Why does this happen, and is there a way to keep ISO lower when using flash?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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The ISO used will depend upon flash power, how bright/dark the scene is, the subject distance, and what settings the camera and flash are using. That is, it's possible that no, ISO 100 can't be used because the flash doesn't provide enough light.
The D5100 built-in flash has a guide number of 39 (measured in feet) at ISO 100. By the math, GN39 / 10 feet (subject distance) = f3.9 at ISO 100, so there should be just enough power to light the subject using the flash at nearly full power. But, flash power isn't the only decision to be made when taking the photo.
Note that at 18mm and f3.5, the depth of field is from roughly 6ft to 28.5 ft. That is, the scene is rendered in-focus from 6 ft to 28.5 ft. With the camera set to full auto, it could well be trying to get everything lit out to 28.5 ft. The math: GN39 / 28.5 ft = f1.39 at ISO 100 -- which I'm sure your lens can't do. It's almost 3 stops out to f3.5, which means the minimum ISO you can probably use is ISO 800. It's only 1/2-stop to the ISO 1250 your camera used, which could certainly be due to how the scene was metered and what your camera thought should be done.
Back to the initial question: the flash does have just enough power to light the subject as you've described it. The trick is that you can't let the camera decide how to do it: you need to make the decisions. In full auto the camera is just trying to get a technically-correct photo; it has no idea what sort of photo you envision. Switch to the manual or aperture priority modes and set the ISO to 100, the aperture to 3.5, and the shutter to 1/60 and shoot, and I bet you'll see that the subject is lit, and the rest of the scene gets much darker than in the automatic mode. You've got the photo, but you can also raise the ISO or lower the shutter speed to better light the rest of the scene -- which is effectively what the camera was doing in full auto mode to take the photo.
Indoors, I often shoot at ISO 800-1600 with flash specifically to get the rest of the room bright enough to make out some detail. I also use an external flash (Nikon SB-900) which has much more power than the built in flash. In the case of your situation, f3.9 is the extreme end of aperture you can use at ISO 100 and 18mm focal length; the external flash will let me shoot at f5.6 or f8 at ISO 100 and 18mm, for example.
Originally by user8473. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user8473
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—this can be normal. The built-in flash does not automatically guarantee ISO 100. Exposure still depends on subject distance, aperture, scene brightness, and how much of the background the camera is trying to expose. In full Auto, the D5100 may raise ISO so both the subject and more of the room are bright enough, especially if the subject is not very close or the camera wants more depth of field.
Auto ISO is simply trying to ensure a correct exposure, and with the small built-in flash there may not be enough flash power for ISO 100 in every situation.
If you want lower ISO, take more control:
- use P, A, S, or M instead of full Auto
- set ISO manually to 100 or 200 in the shooting menu
- try exposure compensation if needed
- keep subjects closer to the flash
One user found that in P mode with the flash raised, the D5100 generally kept the manually set ISO and chose a flash-friendly shutter/aperture combination. So the main issue is not that the flash is being ignored—it’s that Auto mode is making broader exposure decisions than you expect.
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