Why does Nikon D7200 Auto ISO stay high when using the built-in flash?
Asked 9/2/2016
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2 answers
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On my Nikon D7200, Auto ISO often chooses ISO 3200–6400 indoors, even when the built-in flash is enabled. I see this in A and M modes. If I turn flash off, the camera chooses about the same ISO, which makes sense in low light. But with flash on, I expected Auto ISO to drop much lower.
If I manually set ISO 100–200 with the flash on, the results look good and have much less noise. Why does the camera keep using such high ISO with the built-in flash, and is there a setting that makes it choose a lower ISO automatically when flash is on?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
1
Use a hot shoe flash.
The D7200 is one of the later models with the latest way that Nikon Auto ISO reacts with flash (there have been three methods on iTTL models).
If a hot shoe flash is used (a flash model recognized by the camera, meaning that can communicate with the camera), then Auto ISO will only advance at most 4x ISO (two stops) above Minimum ISO if using the hot shoe flash. However, the internal flash is exempt from this rule, and Auto ISO will seek whatever high level for the ambient, regardless of flash.
The solution for internal flash is the same for a manual flash... turn Auto ISO off.
Originally by user38978. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user38978
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
On the D7200, this is normal Auto ISO behavior with the built-in flash. Nikon treats the internal flash differently from a compatible hot-shoe flash.
With the built-in flash, Auto ISO still meters strongly for the ambient light, so in a dark room it may raise ISO very high even though flash is firing. The camera does this because the pop-up flash is relatively weak and may not be able to light the whole scene by itself.
With a compatible external Nikon flash, Auto ISO follows different rules and is more limited in how far it raises ISO.
So if you want low ISO with the built-in flash, the practical solution is to turn Auto ISO off and set ISO manually. If you want the camera to handle flash/ISO more intelligently, use a dedicated hot-shoe flash.
Also remember that flash exposure often balances two things: the flash lights the subject, while shutter speed/ISO/aperture help determine how bright the background appears.
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