When Changing ISO Saved My Highlights.

If you have read my articles on filmmaking, you would know that I’m a firm believer in not changing the ISO when filming and leaving it at the Native ISO. That works best when you are in a controlled filmmaking setup.

A few days ago, I was filming a video in barebones mode. It was just me as a crew in an uncontrolled environment without any light controlling tools. The sun was hot and bright. Every way I looked, I had sunlight. Getting a background that was not blow out was almost impossible. The good news was that I was peaking just barely, but my F Stop was at 22, and as far as it went.

That is when I remembered that on the BMPCC 4k, the dynamic range changes as you change the ISO. I said “Screw it” and went up to 1000 since I knew that was the last ISO step before switching to the second native ISO and reset the dynamic range in the highlights.

That change in ISO gave me the 1–2 stops extras on the highlights, but I sacrificed those stops in the shadows, which didn't bother me in that instance.

That is how changing my ISO saved my highlights, and I wanted it to share it with you guys.