ISO

Raising ISO buys shutter speed in poor light and pays for it in noise and a little dynamic range. Modern sensors are good enough that a high-ISO photograph of a night departure is worth taking, whereas a blurred one at low ISO is not — which is the trade to keep in mind at dusk.

Nearby in Photography

• histogram — A graph of how many pixels fall at each brightness level in an image.
• image stabilisation — Optical or sensor-shift compensation for camera shake, allowing sharp handheld frames at slower shutter speeds.
• JPEG — A compressed, already-rendered image format, and the usual out-of-camera output.
• lens flare — Stray light scattered inside a lens, appearing as haze, streaks or a chain of coloured ghosts.