ISO Confusion (My error or ML's?)

[bman85082]

Hey all,

First, let me be a broken record in stating that while I still have alot to learn, I absolutely LOVE Magic Lantern! Man the features just cause me to wonder how I ever would have gotten by without it. Anyhow, let me get to the topic of this post. I have two issues concerning the ML ISO's as follows:

1. I'm using ML ver 2.3 on my Canon T3i. After reading a very informative page on the ML Wiki Page (http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/ISO), I came to the conclusion that I wanted to take a stab at using a few of the unique ISO's that I have yet to use. Of those ISO's that I wanted to make use of, two absolutely will not pull up no matter what I do. After much trial & error, I cannot seem to access ISO 175 or ISO 2200 (even though both of these ISO's are clearly stated as selectable within the ML Wiki Page listed above)... Mind you, at this point I am well-aware of how to change the ML/Canon "EV" values within the magic lantern ISO submenu screen & have been all up & down that submenu in particular. No matter what I do, however, I absolutely cannot seem to select either of these two ISO's. I can get to ISO 170 & ISO 185 but not ISO 175 & I can get to ISO 2000 & ISO 2250 but not ISO 2200... Could I possibly be doing something wrong here, is this a problem/bug within the ML software or is there simply a typo within that Wiki Page (as far as these two ISO's being listed as selectable when they are not)? Really stumped here & would LOVE to resolve this! If anyone else using the T3i with ML ver 2.3 is able to successfully select either of these two ISO's, it would definitely help me to troubleshoot if you could let me know exacly how you were able to select them :-)

2. Last but not least, under the "Then, what is the best ISO?" section of this magic lantern wiki page (http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/ISO), it refers to "low-contrast" styles or "high-contrast" styles when listing the best uses of certain ISO numbers. My question: When it states this within this section, is it referring to A. the "non-final" picture style used in camera & displayed on screen PRIOR TO further processing (color correction/etc) in computer editing software, or B. the final DESIRED result after all processing (both in-camera & in computer) is complete??? This has me slightly confused & although i'm assuming the answer is "B", i'd LOVE to clarify.

FYI- I basically keep my picturestyle glued to "FLAAT10" (to get as much detail as possible+leave room for easier color correction in post) & I ultimately wish to have some projects that have that super-low contrast/vintagey vibe (think Karmin "Brokenhearted" &/or Katy Perry "Teenage Dream" music video's) in addition to some projects that have that high contrast vibe with the "crushed" blacks & what not.

As stated, I have alot to learn, but i'm determined, i'm putting myself through "bootcamp" & want to get this stuff right so I can possibly be a great photographer/videographer one day. Hope someone can help. Thanks so much!

-bman

[a1ex]

ISO 175: it's just a rounding issue. That wiki page contains unfinished work and was never announced on main ML page.

[jagnje]

Hello, first time user here. I think I have the same problem as the user above...I have managed to figure out most of the settings I need, but  when I togle thru menus in video mode I just canot get all of the available ISO values. If I use 100/160 I can togle the 160, 320 etc, but When I try to use ML ISOs it just gives me standard canon values 100,200 etc. Also in neither mode I can`t acces below 100.
Everything works like a charm in manual photo mode.
Also, I haven`t figured out the white balance completly. Is there a way to have auto white balance? So I can see what would the camera use on its own and I can learn.
I am using 550d with the latest magic lantern.
I have a feeling that I have to set something in Canons menu but don`t know what.
Regards

[nanomad]

The last setting is used to cycle "equivalent iso" either through standard canon ISOs or to Analog ISO + ML digital iso applied, so if you apply 0 EV ML digital ISO you'll get the standard Analog ISOs with ML ISO selction active

[a1ex]

With ML ISOs option you need to adjust ML digital gain.

There is an option for push-button WB in WB submenu, or in Arrow/SET shortcuts. You can use this one to learn. Also, boosting display saturation or using the vectorscope may be helpful when setting WB.

[jagnje]

ok, I think I get it now. For the below 100 ISO I have to set the EV.
For white balance I pick the bottom option, press arrow and it adjusts automaticly.
I can stil hardly belive at all of the options you get with ML. Thank you guys!

[bbarb]

Hi to everybody and ML is an amazing software. If I was canon, I would have a good contract with you!
I use a 50d and there is no way I can set the ISO below 100. If I set 100 ISO then the gain is not allowing me to set negative EV values, is something  I am doing wrong?


My main concern is to reduce the noise of 50d even lower than iso 100 does.
Best Regards
Vasilis

[ilguercio]

You simply can't, each sensor is given a base iso to work with so you can have 100 iso clean but most of all 25600 iso usable.
Note that no camera has 50 iso as base iso, but i would love to see it nowadays.
You can set iso down to 25 in video mode, though, but remember this leads to having 2 less stops of dynamic range, so be aware of what you do.

[bbarb]

Thanks for rapid reply!

So is there a way to reduce noise further?
If I use iso 200 and a gain of -0.3 ( iso 160) am i going to get images with less noise?

[nanomad]

At such low ISO in video or photo mode noise is a non-issue.

[ilguercio]

Thanks for rapid reply!

So is there a way to reduce noise further?
If I use iso 200 and a gain of -0.3 ( iso 160) am i going to get images with less noise?

That won't get you much less noise but it will allow you to use slower shutter speeds since you aren't changing the overall exposure and you're reducing the DR anyway.
So, it's not a win-win- situation but more something you know how to use at your advantage.

[bbarb]

At such low ISO in video or photo mode noise is a non-issue.

Yes you are correct, but to be honest with you i was hoping for ML to give a boost to even cleaner images even at this low iso's. At dark areas even at 100 iso there is some noise. I Admit, not important but there is noise. At 200 300 level it is quite annoying already, and i hoped for better results with ML.
But ilguercio is havinh an intresting approach on the other thread, if you would like to join.

Thanks

[bbarb]

That won't get you much less noise but it will allow you to use slower shutter speeds since you aren't changing the overall exposure and you're reducing the DR anyway.
So, it's not a win-win- situation but more something you know how to use at your advantage.

By decreasing the gain, i reduce the dr?

[ilguercio]

Think harder, the only way to get a cleaner shot at 100 iso is to expose to the right.
If i exagerate and try to get 25 ISO what i am probably going to get is two stops of overexposure which leads to two stops of information lost inside the clipped highlights.
There's NO WAY of recovering that, that's why you have to know when and how to use iso 25 in movie mode. Lower iso in movie mode are there to try to help you if you don't have an ND filter, you don't need them in photo mode as you can do the job afterwards and you're not "forced" with 180 or 360 degrees of shutter speed.
Is that clear now?

[bbarb]

I think it is clear!
Excellent! Thank you!