Camera Labs

I've seen pics and reviews of different shots with ISO settings and the highers IOS always look grainy and taken from a 30 dollar snap shot cam. Why is the ISO so important? It seems some, if not most, of the shots are best with the ISO between 100 and 400. Do the higher ISO's always look grainy and cheap?

What are some examples of where and when the higher ISO's are needed?

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Sorry, mate, I believe I just ate your pudding cup.

Higher ISOs increase the sensor's sensitivity to light so they allow you to use faster shutter speeds but you sacrifice some image quality in noise. You would use higher ISOs for available light photography and for sports to name a few examples.

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Graham
Flickr

Look at that post: www.cameralabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9586
I could have never done these shots without ISO 1600 (!).
Have a look at them: do you think they look "cheap"?

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

They don't look cheap if you buy a D80. *cough*
I actualy havn't trashed my D80 in a low light situation. EG A Band Gig. But am sure to soonish

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Nikon D80 | 18-135mm Kit Lens | 50mm f/1.8 | 4GB 150x Card | SB-600
http://flickr.com/photos/antmanisfubar

I get noise from the D80 at iso800 and above but its nothing a few minutes in lightroom can't fix.

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Graham
Flickr

Sure thing, if you can shoot almost exclusively at low ISOs, you'll get great quality, but as the other folk have pointed out here sometimes you simply don't have enough light. This could apply if you're shooting in dim light, want your flash to reach further, require a very large depth of field, or need to freeze action, to name but four.

That would be the first one that does not!

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Sorry, mate, I believe I just ate your pudding cup.