High ISO's when taking flash pictures

edited April 2012 Posted in » Nikon D5100 Forum
Howdy Everyone. Every time I take a picture using the built-in flash on my D5100, the camera raises the ISO to the highest limit (usually 3200). I don't like to go beyond that point. I suppose it's because I'm using Auto ISO, but I'd like to know if that's normal or if I'm doing something wrong? I don't think it's normal to have the ISO fixed in order to take flash pictures. Regards - Miguel

Comments

  • Howdy @nileugim (Miguel) - I would first reset your in-camera settings back to factory default. It's possible you accidentally engaged a certain feature which is trying to 'overexpose' your images.

    To reset your D5100, just access the MENU, navigate to the Shooting menu and select Reset shooting menu settings. Once that's complete, access the MENU, navigate to the Custom Settings menu and select Reset custom settings.

    Next, rotate the mode dial to Program mode (P on the mode dial) and take a test shot using flash. If you're still getting high ISO's, access the MENU again, navigate to the Shooting menu and highlight ISO sensitivity settings and change the maximum sensitivity setting to 1600.

    Let me know how it all shakes out. Happy shooting! :)
  • edited April 2012
    Howdy @Moose - Thanks for your reply, and sorry for not having answered sooner. I did try with resetting the camera when I noticed the problem with the ISO, but nothing happened and the problem remains. I usually use Program mode (P) so my flash pictures are always in P mode and after resetting the camera it keeps using the highest ISO available in the AUTO ISO mode.

    I'll be using your suggestion and adjust it to a lower ISO before using flash. What bothers me is that with my old D90, I never had this problem. I always used ISO 800 in my flash pictures, even in good lightning, but it never raises to an ISO beyond that.

    Many thanks! Best regards - Miguel
  • @nileugim - If you follow the instructions I mentioned above in my first comment, you can set the highest available ISO to use while using Auto ISO. For example, if you set the Auto ISO Maximum Sensitivity to 800, the D5100 will use ISO's between 100 and 800, depending on how much light is available. For more info about this feature, refer to page 155 of the D5100 manual.
  • edited January 2013
    Hello,

    I have to agree with @nileugim. If you have the camera's mode set to Auto it will ignore the maximum ISO setting and take everything at ISO 3200. The camera is excellent in mode P, but with the mode set to Auto with flash in low light the photos are sadly unusable.
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