ISO when using strobes

[jonathanlung]

I normally shoot with as low an ISO as possible, but this Strobist post has given me pause. I'm a slow shooter so recycle speeds rarely both me, but now I'm considering bumping up my ISO and bringing down strobe power.

How many of you bump up your ISO to put less strain on your flash/battery and how many of you go for image quality?

[k bennett]

This is pretty common for me. In the studio when I want faster recycle times I may bump the ISO up a stop or two. On location I'm often trying to balance flash with dim ambient light, so the ISO is already pretty high.

[hugowolf]

I normally shoot with as low an ISO as possible, but this Strobist post has given me pause. I'm a slow shooter so recycle speeds rarely both me, but now I'm considering bumping up my ISO and bringing down strobe power.

How many of you bump up your ISO to put less strain on your flash/battery and how many of you go for image quality?

I almost always shoot at base ISO. My studio lights are almost instantaeous at anything less than full power. If you are using shoe mount type flashes, then manual models are so inexpensive that adding a couple more is the way to go.

Brian A

[eagleyepro]

This is pretty common for me. In the studio when I want faster recycle times I may bump the ISO up a stop or two. On location I'm often trying to balance flash with dim ambient light, so the ISO is already pretty high.

I agree with Bennett with the idea that in the studio recycle rate is king and increasing the ISO is a way to increase that based on lower flash output. A suggestion is to test with your ISO in your studio with the flash to see the differing results ie. see where the sweet spot is for your camera with the ISO and flash recycle rate. As a rule of thumb always learn and ISO and leave it low to limit any noise and artifacting which i'm quite sure you already know. The beauty of Studios is that you have the control and usually the time.

Strobist photography is great and a lot of fun.