ISO

ISO is the acronym for International Standards Organization.

What is International Standards Organization?

It is an independent, non-governmental international organization that develops and publishes standards for various products, services, and systems. These standards are intended to promote efficiency and quality in various industries and help ensure that products and services are safe, reliable, and compatible.

ISO develops and publishes standards for a wide range of industries, including:

• Information technology
• Telecommunications
• Energy management
• Medical devices
• Agriculture
• Environment and safety
• Quality management systems
• and many more

One of the best-known ISO standards is the ISO 9001 standard for quality management systems. This standard provides guidelines and requirements for establishing and maintaining a quality management system within an organization. Many companies, especially in the manufacturing and service sectors, adopt the standard to improve their operations and the quality of their products and services.

ISO standards are voluntary, and compliance with them is not a legal requirement. However, companies often choose to adopt them to demonstrate their commitment to quality and ensure that their products and services are compatible with international standards. Adoption of ISO standards can also provide access to international markets and a competitive edge.

ISO standards are developed through a transparent and consensus-based process, involving experts from all over the world. This process is intended to ensure that the standards are relevant, practical, and based on the latest scientific and technical knowledge. ISO standards are periodically reviewed and updated to adapt to the latest technology and the changing needs of the industry.

ISO (Photography)

In photography, ISO still stands for the International Organization for Standardization, but it refers to camera settings. ISO measures the sensitivity of the camera’s image sensor to light. It is one of the three main pillars of photography, alongside aperture and shutter speed, which together control the exposure of an image.

The ISO value indicates how quickly the sensor absorbs light; lower values mean the sensor is less sensitive to light, and higher values mean it’s more sensitive. In practical terms, increasing the ISO setting allows you to shoot in darker environments by making the sensor more responsive to the available light, without changing the aperture or shutter speed.

Increasing ISO does have its drawbacks. Higher ISO values can increase noise or graininess in the final image, reducing overall image quality. Modern cameras, especially DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, are designed to handle high ISO levels better and reduce noise, but it’s still a factor to consider.

Typically, you might start with a low ISO setting (such as ISO 100 or 200) in well-lit conditions to ensure the clearest image quality. In lower light, you might increase the ISO to 800, 1600, or higher to capture the scene without resorting to long exposures or wide apertures that might not suit your subject or situation.

Understanding how to balance ISO with aperture and shutter speed – often called the Exposure Triangle – is crucial for taking well-exposed photos in various lighting conditions.

• Abbreviation: ISO