Assigning ISO function to a different button on 5D mkII???

[JR]

Does any one know if there is a way either using Canon firmware or a third party firmware to assign the ISO function to a different button while shooting in various mode like Av or Tv?

When I shoot in Av mode, I keep playing with the top botton to change aperture, but unfortunately to also change ISO one need to select the ISO button first on top of the camera and then use the same scroll button to adjust the ISO as we use for the aperture. I just think it would be SOoooooooooooo much easier, faster and ergonimic to have the ability to assign the ISO function for example to the back scroll button so that both function could be changed fast and at the same time.

Does any one else find the existing setup for changing ISO anoying? For myself since I shoot always in Av mode and since very often the auto ISO function does not provide a fast enought shutter speed, I end up playing with Aperture and ISO all the time. Just find it a pain...

I was wondering if someone like a magic lanthern for example or other player make this possible...

Thanks in advance for your reply and any tips you may have while shooting in Av mode and playing with ISO. I am assuming this limitation is also there with the 1DIV and the 1DX???

 

[briansquibb]

Does any one know if there is a way either using Canon firmware or a third party firmware to assign the ISO function to a different button while shooting in various mode like Av or Tv?

When I shoot in Av mode, I keep playing with the top botton to change aperture, but unfortunately to also change ISO one need to select the ISO button first on top of the camera and then use the same scroll button to adjust the ISO as we use for the aperture. I just think it would be SOoooooooooooo much easier, faster and ergonimic to have the ability to assign the ISO function for example to the back scroll button so that both function could be changed fast and at the same time.

Does any one else find the existing setup for changing ISO anoying? For myself since I shoot always in Av mode and since very often the auto ISO function does not provide a fast enought shutter speed, I end up playing with Aperture and ISO all the time. Just find it a pain...

I was wondering if someone like a magic lanthern for example or other player make this possible...

Thanks in advance for your reply and any tips you may have while shooting in Av mode and playing with ISO. I am assuming this limitation is also there with the 1DIV and the 1DX???

The 1D IV does auto iso as you would expect - and has a different button arrangement that makes changing ISO easier (like its own ISO button)

 

[JR]

The 1D IV does auto iso as you would expect - and has a different button arrangement that makes changing ISO easier (like its own ISO button)

What I dont like about the Auto ISO on the 5D mkII (and I suspect it is the same for the 1DIV?) is that say I have a 50mm lens, the for a given aperture, the ISO (under auto ISO) will be select so as to provide a shutter speed around 1/50. This is too slow to freeze moving people like my daughter for example. For many of the inside shot I take I need a speed of at least 1/160 sec to make it work. This mean that with any lens with a focal lenght smaller than 135mm or 150mm, the Auto ISO function will always provide a shutter speed too slow for me. This is why I end up needing to play with the ISO button all the time.

...and sometime because of this I loose some good shot because I am not ready and playing with the camera. Of course another option would be if I could have a real Auto ISO under manual mode on the 5D so I can set both aperture and speed to my liking, but the 5D laskc this capability (limited to 100-400ISO under manual).

I know the 1DX will solve this for me under manual mode (at least I hope) but was wondering if a shoter term solution was possible for my 5D...

 

[briansquibb]

The 1D IV does auto iso as you would expect - and has a different button arrangement that makes changing ISO easier (like its own ISO button)

What I dont like about the Auto ISO on the 5D mkII (and I suspect it is the same for the 1DIV?) is that say I have a 50mm lens, the for a given aperture, the ISO (under auto ISO) will be select so as to provide a shutter speed around 1/50. This is too slow to freeze moving people like my daughter for example. For many of the inside shot I take I need a speed of at least 1/160 sec to make it work. This mean that with any lens with a focal lenght smaller than 135mm or 150mm, the Auto ISO function will always provide a shutter speed too slow for me. This is why I end up needing to play with the ISO button all the time.

...and sometime because of this I loose some good shot because I am not ready and playing with the camera. Of course another option would be if I could have a real Auto ISO under manual mode on the 5D so I can set both aperture and speed to my liking, but the 5D laskc this capability (limited to 100-400ISO under manual).

I know the 1DX will solve this for me under manual mode (at least I hope) but was wondering if a shoter term solution was possible for my 5D...

On the 1D4 Auto ISO is best used in manual mode - you set shutter speed and aperture and the camera sets the iso. No limit to the iso

 

[JR]

Well I am jaleous because the 5D mkII is certainly crippled on front! So frustrating because this must be all firmware possible anyway. I guess I need a 1 series body now

 

[Picsfor]

Need to give this a bit of a read uop, as i haven't used them - but what about the 3 custom functions on the wheel on the left?

Can't you configure them to run with ISO 200 for CF1, 800 for CF2 and 1600 for CF300?

As said, they're customisable, would assume you can set them to let set shutter and aperture manually...

 

[JR]

Need to give this a bit of a read uop, as i haven't used them - but what about the 3 custom functions on the wheel on the left?

Can't you configure them to run with ISO 200 for CF1, 800 for CF2 and 1600 for CF300?

As said, they're customisable, would assume you can set them to let set shutter and aperture manually...

Yes you are correct we can do that indeed. The only issue is while you can program them for a specific ISO for Av mode within the CF buttons, the CF button will also be set to a specific aperture by default.

Lets say I setup the CF1 button with ISO 200 and I am at f2.8. Then every time I will go to CF1 button no matter what my current aperture (I could be shooting at f5.6 for example) then aperture will be reset to f2.8 all the time. For someone shooting always at the same aperture this might be useful indeed.

For most use (or my use anyway) unless I program them everytime I shoot for the specific aperture I need then (assuming it does not change for the session) then I might get away with it.

Not exactly ideal? The easiest solution would be to have the Auto ISO in Manual mode for the 5D as it is for the 1D series (which is not going to happen right!)...

 

[briansquibb]

I have the same problem which is one of the reasons I upgraded the 50D to the 7D for the auto iso. Unfortunately I couldn't live with the 7D images after having the 5DII quality - so I got the 1D4 which is a far better all rounder.

I also recently bought a used 1Ds3 which seems to have better IQ than the 5DII (at least on the few test shots) - but this is limited to iso 1600/3200. The no noise iso1600 is staggering !! Comes with all the Series 1 benefits, including a very good AF

Unfortunately no Auto ISO at all, but for what I am going to use it for that is not material (portraits of people and animals), IQ will be #1 for this, low light is not an issue as there will be plenty of flash around.

 

[cpsico]

Does any one know if there is a way either using Canon firmware or a third party firmware to assign the ISO function to a different button while shooting in various mode like Av or Tv?

When I shoot in Av mode, I keep playing with the top botton to change aperture, but unfortunately to also change ISO one need to select the ISO button first on top of the camera and then use the same scroll button to adjust the ISO as we use for the aperture. I just think it would be SOoooooooooooo much easier, faster and ergonimic to have the ability to assign the ISO function for example to the back scroll button so that both function could be changed fast and at the same time.

Does any one else find the existing setup for changing ISO anoying? For myself since I shoot always in Av mode and since very often the auto ISO function does not provide a fast enought shutter speed, I end up playing with Aperture and ISO all the time. Just find it a pain...

I was wondering if someone like a magic lanthern for example or other player make this possible...

Thanks in advance for your reply and any tips you may have while shooting in Av mode and playing with ISO. I am assuming this limitation is also there with the 1DIV and the 1DX???

I do believe the answers to what you seek lie in programming the c1 c2 and c3 buttons it is fairlynsimplemonce youmconsultmthe manual

 

[JR]

I have the same problem which is one of the reasons I upgraded the 50D to the 7D for the auto iso. Unfortunately I couldn't live with the 7D images after having the 5DII quality - so I got the 1D4 which is a far better all rounder.

I also recently bought a used 1Ds3 which seems to have better IQ than the 5DII (at least on the few test shots) - but this is limited to iso 1600/3200. The no noise iso1600 is staggering !! Comes with all the Series 1 benefits, including a very good AF

Unfortunately no Auto ISO at all, but for what I am going to use it for that is not material (portraits of people and animals), IQ will be #1 for this, low light is not an issue as there will be plenty of flash around.

For some reason part of me is not surprised! Spec aside, a 1 series must be top of the line so I am not surprised by your comment. For cleaner ISO 1600 and 3200, not having the 1DX on the way, I think I might consider the 1DsIII myself as well.

I also find myself more and more shooting with a flash as I get more comfortable with them so not sure i will need a clean ISO 52,000 after all !

 

[JR]

I do believe the answers to what you seek lie in programming the c1 c2 and c3 buttons it is fairlynsimplemonce youmconsultmthe manual

I am very familiar with these functions and use them a lot. I was just looking for something more flexible on the spot. With the control function I am still limited to a set aperture and 3 ISO speed. Granted this is better then nothing, it is not perfect. But I guess from the response so far I gather this is the best compromised solution for the 5D for now!

Thanks.

 

[pwp]

I like iso to be as quickly and easily adjustable as aperture & shutter speed. It's an equally valid exposure adjustment.

Sometime I bracket using iso adjustment, particularly in HDR situations where I'm using studio flash. Bracketing with aperture delivers files with a slight focus/focal length shift, not helpful when stacking & aligning layers in post. Pixel perfect alignment is possible with iso bracketing and tethered shooting.

What I'd really like to see is an option with auto-bracketing to choose iso.

Paul Wright

 

[neuroanatomist]

@JR - I do think the 1D X will address this with M mode: set aperture and shutter speed, Auto ISO will adjust the exposure (like the 7D now), but you can set the ISO limits you want, and the Safety Shift C.Fn will force an aperture or shutter speed change if you hit the wall for the ISO limit.

In the meantime, one workaround may be Tv mode with Auto ISO, depending on how thin a DoF you can tolerate. I find it works well for low light shooting with f/2.8 and f/4 lenses, and also the 35L, but less so with the 85L. With that setup in dim light, you set your 1/160 s (I often use 1/125 s), and aperture is second priority - as light gets dimmer, it opens up to max aperture before lifting the ISO above 100.

 

[JR]

@JR - I do think the 1D X will address this with M mode: set aperture and shutter speed, Auto ISO will adjust the exposure (like the 7D now), but you can set the ISO limits you want, and the Safety Shift C.Fn will force an aperture or shutter speed change if you hit the wall for the ISO limit.

In the meantime, one workaround may be Tv mode with Auto ISO, depending on how thin a DoF you can tolerate. I find it works well for low light shooting with f/2.8 and f/4 lenses, and also the 35L, but less so with the 85L. With that setup in dim light, you set your 1/160 s (I often use 1/125 s), and aperture is second priority - as light gets dimmer, it opens up to max aperture before lifting the ISO above 100.

Thanks Neuro you are right this is also a good compromise. I will need to try it again. I tried it in the past but back then the only lens I had was the 50 1.2 and the 85 1.2 so the camera was ending up picking an aperture of 1.2 all the time which was not ideal! I think this approach might work well with my 70-200 2.8 zoom and I am also planning to get the 24-105 f4 so it would work well there too.

On my 135L I find the side a bit soft a f2 so I prefer shooting at f2.8 but I will try this approach anyway. For my 24 1.4L, not sure it would work. Shooting at 1.4 with the 24mm unless I am really hunting for low light is not always what I want. You say you have done this with your 35 1.4 with good result?

Thanks for reminding me of this option...will give it another shot.

 

[neuroanatomist]

You say you have done this with your 35 1.4 with good result?

Yes, because at the distances I'm usually shooting (5-8 feet for indoor ambient WA shots), the DoF at f/1.4 is enough to get a face in focus (6-16").

 

[JR]

Make sense. I actually tried this approach at a car show today using my 24 1.4L II and it worked very well!

Thanks again.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Glad that helped!

FWIW, as I stated before, the 1D X should obviate this issue. I assume it will have similar customizations as the 1D IV, where you can actually specify upper and lower limits not only for ISO, but also for aperture and/or shutter speed. You can also register up to 3 sets of C.Fn settings. So, you could have a C.Fn set for people-shooting where the minimum shutter was 1/160 s, and perhaps minimum aperture of f/1.8, and then use Av mode with Auto ISO and you'd be good to go.