If you have a Canon 5D Mark II, you will notice the ISO range is impressive – from 100 ISO – 6400 ISO. This ISO range can be further expanded in your Custom Settings to an effective 50 ISO to a whopping 25600 ISO.
You may be thinking who on earth wants to shoot at 25600 ISO; it will produce so much grain! Well, yes, there will be grain, but I have shot at this setting and it wasn’t too bad – for travel and holiday shots and when you don’t have a speedlite handy. I’d never shoot any commercial work on an ISO setting higher than 400 ISO.
How to expand your ISO:
1. Go to the Custom Functions Setting
2. Select C.Fn I: Exposure
3. Scroll through the Exposure options to Option 3: ISO Expansion, and select 1:On
As explained above – shooting on extremely high ISO setting WILL produce grain. But when I’m travelling, most of the images I shoot are “memory shots” and I’d rather have them grainy than ruined by camera shake.
View of Hong Kong from The Peak, shot on an excessively high ISO!
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Really handy tutorial. I like this content :)
Yup, I have to agree. ISO expansion is super handy in emergency situations where I want a shot badly, but there simply isn’t enough light and long exposure isn’t an option. Like when I stupidly forget my tripod at home.
ISO 50 is also quite handy for when I want to open up my lens just that extra bit in bright light and I don’t have an ND filter with me.
Absolutely, and ISO 50 is so silky smooth, no grain whatsoever!
I know this is an old post but thank you!! Found it through searching, so helpful
Thanks for your feed back Emmy, much appreciated!
thanks rikki
Just bought a 5D to work along side my 7D, wow! The iso 50 and the Zeiss 21mm f2.8 Distagon are a dream made in heaven. Thanks for reminding me of the iso expansion.
Hi Ian, hope you are enjoying the 5D!
Thank you for info about ISO expansion!!
This helped me quite a lot, thanks!
Rikki, I found this accidentally while snooping around for some high ISO information on the 5DMkII. Haven’t played with settings that high yet on my 5DMkII but your cityscape example is stunning and has given me some composition ideas. Thanx for the tip and posting it where it was easy to find. Cheers!