Ricoh TAv Mode and ISO

Roh

Rookie
Hi

Maybe I've just missed it in the instructions manual but is there a way to set a maximum ISO when one is on the TAv mode on the GR?

For those unfamiliar the TAv mode is effectively a manual mode but allows the camera to set the ISO

I really like this mode but it's deeply frustrating when in certain light conditions it pumps up the ISO to ludicrously high levels rendering the final image unusable

Thanks
 
Its not designed to be able to limit it, but if I recall there were workarounds that allowed it to be capped. I never got them working to my liking but I think some have. Joe, are you still getting that trick with DR settings to work???

-Ray
 
Ray ooh great- if there are any tricks that would be great. Perhaps a firmware update or do you think that's unlikely?
 
I remember someone who had been in touch with Ricoh indicating that it was working the way they thought it should. So I don't know about a firmware fix, although it's possible. Have you tried using it in aperture priority with Auto-High ISO (where you can set the max)? This works well as long as you're OK with a shutter speed of 1/250 or lower, which a lot of people are - that's the fastest minimum shutter speed you can designate. If that's not fast enough for you, I think you may be out of luck, although I'd think a firmware update for THAT would be incredibly simple to implement if they wanted to. I bought the Nikon instead specifically because you can use auto-ISO in aperture priority mode and set a max ISO and a minimum shutter speed up to 1/1000. I prefer that to TaV mode, but to each their own. If you use TaV and they did let you cap the ISO, what would you want to happen if you hit the cap - just leave it there and underexpose the shot? Or start shifting the aperture or shutter speed to make the exposure work?

-Ray
 
But...if the aperture and shutter speed are fixed, and the camera didn't bump up the ISO to ludicrous values you'd have an underexposed file that would need to be pushed during processing (resulting in lots of noise), which above ISO 6400 is what the camera is usually doing anyway.
 
I've not tried Ap Priority- my natural preference is to go manual, but ill try that. That's a good idea.

If I could set a max on TAv I'd be quite happy if the shot didnt come out at all. In a perverse way for me it would be easier to accept than an image that was noisier than a tap dancing troupe using road drills!

I was tempted by the Nikon but was out of my budget. Loving the GR though
 
I've not tried Ap Priority- my natural preference is to go manual, but ill try that. That's a good idea.

If I could set a max on TAv I'd be quite happy if the shot didnt come out at all. In a perverse way for me it would be easier to accept than an image that was noisier than a tap dancing troupe using road drills!

I was tempted by the Nikon but was out of my budget. Loving the GR though

If you're OK using a minimum shutter speed of 1/250, there's no downside to using aperture priority. The way it works is it will keep raising the ISO to allow for your minimum shutter speed until it hits the max ISO you've designated. Once it hits that, it will start to drop the shutter speed to assure an adequate exposure. That's exactly the logic I'd use doing it manually, so I'm happy to let the camera handle it for me. My only problem with the GR (and the GXR-28 I still own and the GRD3 I have owned) is that you can only set a minimum shutter speed up to 1/250. I get a lot of blur at that speed from my own movements (I tend to be moving a fair amount when I'm street shooting). So I like the Nikon's faster minimums. But if you're OK with 1/250, you should be happy with that mode.

-Ray
 
I do not know if this applies to the GR, but on my Pentax, I can set a limit to the Auto-ISO in the menus, and then, in Tav mode, it has to obey that limit. Worth a look, just in case they have brought that over from Pentax as well, it would seem to be a waste, if not. I see on my GRD, I can set an upper limit, you'd think Tav would obey? Really mad if not.
 
Kyteflyer - there is a max ISO setting in the menus but doesn't appear to apply when camera is in TAv mode. Hence why I thought I'd missed something in the instructions manual

I do hope they introduce it in the next firmware release
 
There are a few tricks:

1. Set the dynamic range correction to high (it will only affect the jpg I think, more reason to shoot raw), it will practically limit the ISO to be between 320-~8000. Set the aperture/shutter shift to aperture priority. So in TAv mode, it will reach the ceiling at around 8000, once reach that it will slow down the shutter

2. Shoot bracket in A mode. If you shoot a bracket of 0, -1, -2 exp, the first shot will be at your setting, let's say it is 1/250s. And then the second and third shot will be 1/500s and 1/1000s, respectively.
In good light when the A is shooting 1/1000s, the GR's 1/1000s shot should have the same exposure as the one you can get from Nikon A, and you have two shots with supposedly better noise (but slower shutter) in case they are adequately fast.
In less good light when the Nikon is picking 1/250s, the GR's 1/250s shot would be equivalent to A's shot, and you have two shots with higher shutter speed (but noisier) in case you need it.

That should cover the ground. ;)
 
Kyteflyer - there is a max ISO setting in the menus but doesn't appear to apply when camera is in TAv mode. Hence why I thought I'd missed something in the instructions manual

I do hope they introduce it in the next firmware release

I hope so too, thats one of the reasons I would buy a GR at all, having used it a lot with my K-5 when not completely manual. If they dont make a change... I guess I won't, I'll make do with the GRD3
 
Joe, are you still getting that trick with DR settings to work???

-Ray



There are a few tricks:

1. Set the dynamic range correction to high (it will only affect the jpg I think, more reason to shoot raw), it will practically limit the ISO to be between 320-~8000. Set the aperture/shutter shift to aperture priority. So in TAv mode, it will reach the ceiling at around 8000, once reach that it will slow down the shutter

2. Shoot bracket in A mode. If you shoot a bracket of 0, -1, -2 exp, the first shot will be at your setting, let's say it is 1/250s. And then the second and third shot will be 1/500s and 1/1000s, respectively.
In good light when the A is shooting 1/1000s, the GR's 1/1000s shot should have the same exposure as the one you can get from Nikon A, and you have two shots with supposedly better noise (but slower shutter) in case they are adequately fast.
In less good light when the Nikon is picking 1/250s, the GR's 1/250s shot would be equivalent to A's shot, and you have two shots with higher shutter speed (but noisier) in case you need it.

That should cover the ground. ;)




Yeah, I'm still using the DR workaround and to date it has worked just fine sticking mostly to a limit of iso6400, when it does breach that limit however it will go no higher than iso8000....typically I have a 1/320ss in my Tav setting so if I see ISO is beginning to push iso6400 i'll just turn the shutterspeed down a notch to 1/250, that usually buys me enough room, if I'm really pushing it then I give fstop a click from f6.3 to f5....doing either of those things (or both) will usually sort any issue out, and they only take a second to do anyway.....before I know it I've turned the corner and I'm back in a sunny street and the whole thing is no longer an issue at all. I've become fully aware of this behaviour and these days I instinctively know that my Tav setting works brilliantly in normal light but if i do per chance head into a 'heavily' shaded area i just give the dials a couple of clicks without breaking my stride and it's problem solved. And yes, the DR fix doesn't do weird things to the RAWs....jpeg only.

I only ever shoot in this way when Im shooting street where there is limited-to-no time to fiddle with settings....and shooting in this way I'm usually MORE than happy to accept grungy looking high ISO images. When I'm shooting just family stuff and general scenic stuff and I want nice clean images and I have time to think and compose then I'll just avoid the whole thing and shoot in aperture priority the way I would normally.

All that being said....for this very particular shooting setup/scenario, Nikon did a better job with the 'A'.
I went with the GR for a few other reasons but admittedly, I am hoping Ricoh add a couple of lines of code in their next firmware update to bring the GR up to speed on this.





Before the mostly very effective DR workaround was found I hit ISO25600 frequently in very dark streets when in Tav mode....however, it wasn't always a bad thing !


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[explored] Old Friend. by Livnius, on Flickr
 
This sounds like a great idea. Hopefully a firmware update will add these features.

I'm new to Ricoh. Just got my new GR in the mail. How often does Ricoh offer up firmware updates? Roughly speaking.
 
Welcome to the clan Tom...I'm new to Ricoh as well with the GR being my first and thus far only. I asked a similar question when I first got on and long time users told me that Ricoh, much like Fuji, is VERY good with regular firmware updates.

Whether they see fit to address this particular issue is something else.
 
Welcome to the clan Tom...I'm new to Ricoh as well with the GR being my first and thus far only. I asked a similar question when I first got on and long time users told me that Ricoh, much like Fuji, is VERY good with regular firmware updates.

Whether they see for to address this particular issue is something else.

Thank you very much.
 
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