The Enthusiast's Guide to Night and Low-Light Photography, 1st Edition

26. HOW HIGH CAN YOU PUSH THE ISO?

ISO IS THE (not so) secret weapon when it comes to capturing action in low light. If you are keeping track, this is the third section on ISO in this book. There is a really good reason for that. Pushing the ISO higher and higher allows you to shoot in lower and lower light.

As we’ve discussed previously, there are three settings that work together to create the exposure—aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. You can’t magically increase the opening in the lens wider than it can go, and you have to use a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the action, so your only solutions are to either add more light or increase ...