Still no auto ISO in M mode?

[a friedrich]

Coming from a Nikon system I really appreciate and love the two wheel settings for aperture and shutter in manual mode, but why still no auto ISO setting in M mode? I had the X1D 4116 and loved to see this feature enabled on the X1D mk II
Am I the only one missing this feature? I often need to adjust settings on the fly and setting the ISO manually via the button is a bit a moving target
Regards, Alexander

[SrMi]

I am also used to Auto ISO in M mode and miss it on X1D. I hope that it will come in a firmware upgrade.

[jwillson]

As of a year or two ago, Hasselblad had no intention of enabling auto ISO in M mode.  It had something to do with the fact that they could be off by up to ⅓ EV or ½ EV because the Sony chip wasn't stepless (at least in their implementation).  They didn't want to be fielding large numbers of questions about why people were getting slightly inconsistent exposure results, so they decided not to enable this feature.  I find it incredibly frustrating since there are lots of situations where I would want it.  If, for example, I need a particular shutter speed to stop motion and want a particular depth of field/background blur but am in variable outdoor light, then I am stuck.  I just need to adjust ISO manually or take a chance on the shutter speed being fast enough as I move to shadows.  Dumb.  They have made their decision, though, and I don't expect them to change it via a firmware update.

- Jared

[Wesley P]

I'm so thankful for this thread!!! I've been racking my brain trying to figure out why I couldn't find the correct setting for this.

Thanks
Wes

[paratom]

Dissapointing IMO.

[Paul925]

Agreed.  Anyone who didn't want to deal with 1/3 to /2 EV exposure variation resulting from auto ISO could certainly just use manual ISO. No need to "protect" those who would like the flexibility. 

[JoeC]

In an email exchange with Ove Bengtsson in February 2017, who was then the X1D product manager:

Me: Auto ISO in M mode; I want to be able to set the aperture and shutter speed and have ISO "float"
Ove: We had this in the early testing of the Auto-ISO function, but quite many said it was confusing. It might come back.

I was disappointed then and I'm still disappointed. This is one of the more bonehead decisions made by Hasselblad for the X-system.

Joe

[disposable@tx.rr.com]

In an email exchange with Ove Bengtsson in February 2017, who was then the X1D product manager:

Me: Auto ISO in M mode; I want to be able to set the aperture and shutter speed and have ISO "float"
Ove: We had this in the early testing of the Auto-ISO function, but quite many said it was confusing. It might come back.

I was disappointed then and I'm still disappointed. This is one of the more bonehead decisions made by Hasselblad for the X-system.

Joe

I'm inclined to wonder if perhaps the "quite many" who said it was confusing were to simply turn it off then everybody would be happy

This strikes me as a highly desirable option, but then I sort of think AF-C is useful also.

[Camaro5]

I've read that shooting in manual mode with auto ISO and slower shutter speeds or wider apertures in sunny conditions, there is a risk of creating overexposed images as the camera would not be able to drop the ISO low enough.  I don't know if that's reason enough not to have it, but it's something to consider. 

I like auto ISO in shutter priority if I'm shooting handheld where DOF is not a huge concern, and need to keep a certain shutter speed to not get any camera shake.  Other than that I'd rather set ISO myself. 

[SrMi]

I've read that shooting in manual mode with auto ISO and slower shutter speeds or wider apertures in sunny conditions, there is a risk of creating overexposed images as the camera would not be able to drop the ISO low enough.  I don't know if that's reason enough not to have it, but it's something to consider. 

I like auto ISO in shutter priority if I'm shooting handheld where DOF is not a huge concern, and need to keep a certain shutter speed to not get any camera shake.  Other than that I'd rather set ISO myself.

All cameras have the issue in the Misomatic mode (Manual mode + Auto ISO) that the image can be overexposed if the ISO reaches the lowest value. Fortunately, that situation is easily detectable with EVF/LCD.

If you need to keep a specific shutter speed to prevent camera shake, it is best to shoot in Aperture Priority and set the Auto ISO shutter speed limit to something like 2f (limit depends on the photographer).

[Camaro5]

Thanks.  I never really payed much attention to that since I don't use auto ISO that much, but I did find some settings that would work. 

[disposable@tx.rr.com]

I've read that shooting in manual mode with auto ISO and slower shutter speeds or wider apertures in sunny conditions, there is a risk of creating overexposed images as the camera would not be able to drop the ISO low enough.

That could indeed occur if one were to fail to set the Exposure Lock Out of Range function of if it were inoperative in Auto ISO.  Of course, a user could make the same mistake using full manual, so if that's a design concern why not leave that out also?

Still, it sounds to me like they are striving hard keeping menu options to a bare minimum (as in the Leica M) in support of the basic overall minimalist camera philosophy.  Which is pretty much ok with me even if I do end up missing a few options.  Or else trying to incorporate excessive inexperienced photographer protection into a very high end camera.

It seems to me that the Hasselblad target audience would be sufficiently experienced to deal with such issues.  I wouldn't think Hasselblad's prone to ending up with very many point and shoot users.

[viking]

I think an interesting question is who their target group is - or are there more than one ? (how many M 10 users are really pros ?) Myself, I am not a pro but I do very much enjoy shooting with the X1D ii. I would welcome auto iso in M mode as it would make my casual shooting easier (and if a few frames are off I think that would  not be a big issue for me, but I appreciate others have different views). I would  also very much like a Monochrome mode... As for a Histogram I can live without it,  but...) Again, who is the target group for this camera system, if it is only pros, I aim sure they know (most of the time) what they do. Others, like me, might appreciate a few more features just for ease of use. So,  if HB sees the target group being mostly pros, I guess we will not see that many 'unnecessary' features,  but if they see their target group a little wider, then maybe they should consider/reconsider. Just my modest opinion.

[SrMi]

I've read that shooting in manual mode with auto ISO and slower shutter speeds or wider apertures in sunny conditions, there is a risk of creating overexposed images as the camera would not be able to drop the ISO low enough.

That could indeed occur if one were to fail to set the Exposure Lock Out of Range function of if it were inoperative in Auto ISO.  Of course, a user could make the same mistake using full manual, so if that's a design concern why not leave that out also?

Still, it sounds to me like they are striving hard keeping menu options to a bare minimum (as in the Leica M) in support of the basic overall minimalist camera philosophy.  Which is pretty much ok with me even if I do end up missing a few options.  Or else trying to incorporate excessive inexperienced photographer protection into a very high end camera.

It seems to me that the Hasselblad target audience would be sufficiently experienced to deal with such issues.  I wouldn't think Hasselblad's prone to ending up with very many point and shoot users.

What does Exposure Lock Out of Range do? It is not available on 907x SE, it is available on X1D II, but is not in described in the manual of X1DII from 2020-08-03.

[disposable@tx.rr.com]

I've read that shooting in manual mode with auto ISO and slower shutter speeds or wider apertures in sunny conditions, there is a risk of creating overexposed images as the camera would not be able to drop the ISO low enough.

That could indeed occur if one were to fail to set the Exposure Lock Out of Range function of if it were inoperative in Auto ISO.  Of course, a user could make the same mistake using full manual, so if that's a design concern why not leave that out also?

Still, it sounds to me like they are striving hard keeping menu options to a bare minimum (as in the Leica M) in support of the basic overall minimalist camera philosophy.  Which is pretty much ok with me even if I do end up missing a few options.  Or else trying to incorporate excessive inexperienced photographer protection into a very high end camera.

It seems to me that the Hasselblad target audience would be sufficiently experienced to deal with such issues.  I wouldn't think Hasselblad's prone to ending up with very many point and shoot users.

What does Exposure Lock Out of Range do? It is not available on 907x SE, it is available on X1D II, but is not in described in the manual of X1DII from 2020-08-03.

Locks the shutter if the exposure is too overexposed.

I haven't experimented to determine exactly what "too overexposed" is numerically, but for me it basically shows up in bright daylight with A Mode and ISO 100 with a large aperture where it can't get over 1/2000.  Maybe 1 stop over, but that's just a guess.