Amateur photographers, what you using?

[elf69]

I been told I take some nice photos.

truth be told my cam is set to auto 95% of the time as I do not know how to use the settings.

I do play sometimes and try off auto.

But what do you prefer and is there a reason?

Me?
Well I was given a Pentax ME film camera years ago. To this day I still think my best shot was taken on this camera!

Since then had a Pentax K100 and currently have a Pentax K-M, see a pattern?

I like the Pentax brand plus all my film lens fit the digital body if stick with Pentax.
Do use many brand lens though not just Pentax but I have searched the globe for certain Pentax equipment I wanted, finally found it in Canada but since having it I only used it once lol.
It was a certain flash gun or vintage age I really wanted for my ME.

The poor ME has seen no use for almost 9 years now!
Think it needs come out again in summer!

 

[casperes1996]

Composition is more important than settings.
The intent behind an image means a lot more than how the camera is set up, assuming it's not set up horribly of course.

I do prefer shooting manual however, as it gives a lot more control over the image, and thereby more ability to adjust the look to match the intent. Also I often shoot video, and if you leave the camera on auto for that you're gonna have a bad time, as it may just decide to adjust the shutter speed in the middle of filming. It may make for a better exposed image, but it also looks clunky and messed up when it switches in the middle of filming.

 

[elf69]

I do not do video myself but yes seen this you talk of with the point and shoot cams.

I agree to a degree the subject can make or break a photo.

I used to do garden wildlife shots, but due to auto settings the wings always a blur and colours/hue where off sometimes.

I took more automotive photos of late, static shots.

Even done a shoot for a friend of her BMW, she was happy with results.
Me less so as they seemed dull and lacked the brightness that my eyes could see.

 

[mollyc]

I only shoot manual mode. But I’m a control freak.

 

[kenoh]

Manual mode when I want to be really critical, aperture priority +95% of the time.

 

[MacRy]

Same as Ken. AP for the most part with manual when I want more control.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Manual gives me the control I need. I learnt that way.

 

[someoldguy]

I ,too learnt with manual , but I'm lazy and use Aperture Priority most of the time.

 

[kenoh]

Manual mode when I want to be really critical, aperture priority +95% of the time.

Edit: i do find manual yields better results in terms of being closer to my imagined vision but yeah, aperture priority is just so convenient...

 

[0970373]

Manual mode when I want to be really critical, aperture priority +95% of the time.

Same.

 

[Apple fanboy]

M is for master
A is for Amateur!

Not sure what S or P are for!!!

 

[0970373]

M is for master
A is for Amateur!

Not sure what S or P are for!!!

Should have brought a tripod
Please stand still

 

[bunnspecial]

P are for!!!

P is for professional

In all serious, I'm in aperture priority in "modern" cameras about 3/4 of the time and manual the rest of the time. I learned lock exposure-recompose so still use that a lot. I tend to use manual more with slide film since it's easier than using exposure compensation.

I use a lot of cameras where manual is the only option. To me, the Nikon F2 is just about perfect as a 35mm SLR goes, and I find the center-the-needle or light-the-diode system(depending on which F2 I'm using) to be as good as anything. I tend to work with either an aperture priority or shutter priority mindset with manual, though, regardless of the camera. When I'm working with all manual cameras(or cameras like an F3 or FE/FE2 that I treat as manual) and I'm inside I tend to pick the lowest "safe" shutter speed and adjust the aperture to compensate. Where I have more light available, I tend to pick my aperture(sometimes for desired DOF, sometimes for optimum performance) and then set the shutter speed to match.

When I'm working with strobes, full manual is a necessity and the shutter speed doesn't matter as long as it's at or lower than the flash sync speed(although not too low as the idea with using strobes is to take complete control of the light and not have ambient affect it). There, I usually get the lights set up how I want, and ultimately I just set the aperture that gives the correct exposure and leave it there.

Of course, with a meterless camera(everything from my Leica IIIc up to my view cameras) I either eyeball the exposure or meter depending on the situation. If I'm handholding an MF SLR, I use the highest shutter speed I can, while if I'm dealing with MF or LF on a tripod I get the DOF I want and let the shutter speed follow. LF and my RB67 get really fun since the shutter speeds generally aren't what's marked on the dial, and of course it's different for every lens. Add in a bellows factor if you're working very close and things get really fun.

 

[kenoh]

P is for professional

In all serious, I'm in aperture priority in "modern" cameras about 3/4 of the time and manual the rest of the time. I learned lock exposure-recompose so still use that a lot. I tend to use manual more with slide film since it's easier than using exposure compensation.

I use a lot of cameras where manual is the only option. To me, the Nikon F2 is just about perfect as a 35mm SLR goes, and I find the center-the-needle or light-the-diode system(depending on which F2 I'm using) to be as good as anything. I tend to work with either an aperture priority or shutter priority mindset with manual, though, regardless of the camera. When I'm working with all manual cameras(or cameras like an F3 or FE/FE2 that I treat as manual) and I'm inside I tend to pick the lowest "safe" shutter speed and adjust the aperture to compensate. Where I have more light available, I tend to pick my aperture(sometimes for desired DOF, sometimes for optimum performance) and then set the shutter speed to match.

When I'm working with strobes, full manual is a necessity and the shutter speed doesn't matter as long as it's at or lower than the flash sync speed(although not too low as the idea with using strobes is to take complete control of the light and not have ambient affect it). There, I usually get the lights set up how I want, and ultimately I just set the aperture that gives the correct exposure and leave it there.

Of course, with a meterless camera(everything from my Leica IIIc up to my view cameras) I either eyeball the exposure or meter depending on the situation. If I'm handholding an MF SLR, I use the highest shutter speed I can, while if I'm dealing with MF or LF on a tripod I get the DOF I want and let the shutter speed follow. LF and my RB67 get really fun since the shutter speeds generally aren't what's marked on the dial, and of course it's different for every lens. Add in a bellows factor if you're working very close and things get really fun.

Oooft... serious case of kit lust here.... have to say you obviously like to torture yourself!

I like the LED meter system on the M9. When in manual, adjusting shutter speed to where the under exposed triangle juuust appears, normally results in a nice image. On my other camera the meter scale is a tad too small to see it easily so so I tend not to use it so much.

 

[bunnspecial]

Oooft... serious case of kit lust here.... have to say you obviously like to torture yourself!

I've been building this for a number of years, and also have lucked into some seriously good deals lately.

The strobes have been my newest big addition. I use Norman equipment, which is old and a bit clunky but it basically indestructible. Once you get your foot in the door and people find out you use it, you either have folks giving it to you or selling it to you for a little of nothing.

After the last round of rediculousness, I'm up to 16 heads, 5 power packs(800 w-s, 1250 w-s, and 3 2000 w-s) and probably close to every modifier that Norman has ever cataloged. I have tons of reflectors, snoots, grids, and barn doors-all of which would be great except I tend more toward soft shadows. I'm set if I ever want to do "hard" lighting. That's not to mention the umbrellas, soft boxes, and all the other good stuff plus the stuff like extension cables and spare flash tubes. When all of this stuff was new, it was definitely well into 5 figures, and I have under $1K in all of it.

As for the glutton for punishment thing-I sometimes question myself but at the end of the day nothing beats a transparency on a light table or the satisfaction of seeing a well-done print where I know the whole process was under my complete control.

On the metering thing-cameras like the Nikon FM, FM2, and F2AS use a three LED array and two lit LEDs indicate a half stop over or under. I was advised by some long time F2AS and FM users that they generally generally expose with the 0 lit and the - just barely on. I've found that to be a good practice with slide film on my own cameras, although I ALWAYS err on the side of overexposing negatives.

 

[kenoh]

I've been building this for a number of years, and also have lucked into some seriously good deals lately.

The strobes have been my newest big addition. I use Norman equipment, which is old and a bit clunky but it basically indestructible. Once you get your foot in the door and people find out you use it, you either have folks giving it to you or selling it to you for a little of nothing.

After the last round of rediculousness, I'm up to 16 heads, 5 power packs(800 w-s, 1250 w-s, and 3 2000 w-s) and probably close to every modifier that Norman has ever cataloged. I have tons of reflectors, snoots, grids, and barn doors-all of which would be great except I tend more toward soft shadows. I'm set if I ever want to do "hard" lighting. That's not to mention the umbrellas, soft boxes, and all the other good stuff plus the stuff like extension cables and spare flash tubes. When all of this stuff was new, it was definitely well into 5 figures, and I have under $1K in all of it.

As for the glutton for punishment thing-I sometimes question myself but at the end of the day nothing beats a transparency on a light table or the satisfaction of seeing a well-done print where I know the whole process was under my complete control.

On the metering thing-cameras like the Nikon FM, FM2, and F2AS use a three LED array and two lit LEDs indicate a half stop over or under. I was advised by some long time F2AS and FM users that they generally generally expose with the 0 lit and the - just barely on. I've found that to be a good practice with slide film on my own cameras, although I ALWAYS err on the side of overexposing negatives.

Wow! you have a serious setup. I have a Nikon FM here... I should put a roll of film through it... so that metering approach is the same as I do on the M9 by the sound of it... feel like a trip to the local park is needed...

 

[The Bad Guy]

Full auto all of the time.

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

For personal use, I'm on Aperture Priority for about 95% of the time, Shutter Priority for maybe 1% and Manual for the remaining 4%, when I absolutely want full control so as to achieve a certain end result.

For the photography course I'm doing, everything needs to be done in Manual. Which personally, I have found surprisingly useful for action shots, as you have to get the exposure and motion freeze right in camera, cause we have to submit unedited jpegs, straight out of camera. You soon learn what works and doesn't depending on what look you are after.
[doublepost=1515110729][/doublepost]

Full auto all of the time.

I alway suspected that you used an iPhone on Portrait Mode to get such good lighting every time, Adam! Now it's been confirmed!

 

[The Bad Guy]

I alway suspected that you used an iPhone on Portrait Mode to get such good lighting every time, Adam! Now it's been confirmed!

Ya got me.

 

[Moakesy]

Manual 100% of the time now.

Not so long ago, I shot full auto. Then I started to play with Aperture priority for around a year and then decided to bite the bullet and go to full manual. It was something of a steep learning curve, but there is a noticeable difference in quality when you get it right.

In the winter I shoot a lot of CycloCross racing, which is fast paced laps in country parks, similar to mountain biking but without the extreme jumps. During a race, I'll take around 700 to 800 shots. Of course I make mistakes that wouldn't have occurred in full auto, more often than not when I head into the woods and don't account for the massive drop off in light.

But by switching to manual, it has forced me to think. Think about what I want the image to look like, the depth of field, if to freeze the action or have motion blur etc. Before I would just think about taking a picture and pay little attention to what I was doing. I'd press the shutter and not really have any idea what the final result would look like until I got home. Typically they'd either be 'OK' when the camera got it right, or 'rubbish' where the algorithms missed. Only occasionally did I get really good images I was proud of. Because I now am forced to think, I still get some rubbish, but my percentage of good or great shots is a lot higher....and the satisfaction is greater knowing that I got it right.

Even if someone never wants to shoot manual long term, I would recommend they spend some time just trying it. I found it wasn't as difficult/scary as I had imagined it to be, with the added benefit that I now enjoy photography a lot more.

 

[bunnspecial]

I think that action is definitely one of those times and place where manual can be the best option, especially if the lighting is consistent. Once you establish a good exposure, you just leave it parked there and worry about other stuff.

BTW, going back to the '80s a lot of cameras have some sort of "flexible program" mode where you can roll through different equivalent exposure combinations. Hasselblad(on the 500 series) along with some 60s Rolleicords and Rolleiflexes are set up so that you set the exposure in terms of EV. Once an EV is "locked" the shutter speed and aperture settings move together. I have a love-hate relationship with that system, although fortunately Hasselblad makes it easier to "unlock" than the Rolleiflexes so equipped.

Here's another fun one from back in the ancient days of full manual flash. I don't know if any of you have ever worked with guide numbers, but basically the GN is the flash-to-subject distance times the aperture(GNs are usually given at ASA 100-you have to compensate for other speeds). If the flash is stationary, you just work it out once and leave it there. If the flash is on camera, you go through a dance of focusing, reading the distance, and then calculating and setting the aperture. A lot of flashes DID put tables or calculator dials on the flash. The ultimate, though, IMO, is the Auto-Nikkor 45mm 2.8 GN. This is a tiny little Tessar-type lens-it's actually the smallest 35mm SLR lens Nikon has made(it's thinner than the 45mm 2.8 AI-P and the Series E 50mm 1.8). The focusing ring also moves the opposite direction of all other Nikkor lenses, which is significant. Basically, it has a GN scale on the side and a small "fork" that you slide into place to lock in the GN. When you do this, the aperture ring moves with the focusing ring so your flash exposure is(theoretically) always correct for an on-camera flash.

 

[elf69]

very clever of nikkor.

sounds nice bit of kit.

 

[Martyimac]

I have a Canon Powershot S110 which i use when I know I am going to be taking a lot of pics. While it has many programs i usually shoot in auto mode but have occasionally used portrait mode. Great enough pictures for me and I hardly ever use photoshop or photos.app to doctor them.

 

[kenoh]

I think that action is definitely one of those times and place where manual can be the best option, especially if the lighting is consistent. Once you establish a good exposure, you just leave it parked there and worry about other stuff.

BTW, going back to the '80s a lot of cameras have some sort of "flexible program" mode where you can roll through different equivalent exposure combinations. Hasselblad(on the 500 series) along with some 60s Rolleicords and Rolleiflexes are set up so that you set the exposure in terms of EV. Once an EV is "locked" the shutter speed and aperture settings move together. I have a love-hate relationship with that system, although fortunately Hasselblad makes it easier to "unlock" than the Rolleiflexes so equipped.

Here's another fun one from back in the ancient days of full manual flash. I don't know if any of you have ever worked with guide numbers, but basically the GN is the flash-to-subject distance times the aperture(GNs are usually given at ASA 100-you have to compensate for other speeds). If the flash is stationary, you just work it out once and leave it there. If the flash is on camera, you go through a dance of focusing, reading the distance, and then calculating and setting the aperture. A lot of flashes DID put tables or calculator dials on the flash. The ultimate, though, IMO, is the Auto-Nikkor 45mm 2.8 GN. This is a tiny little Tessar-type lens-it's actually the smallest 35mm SLR lens Nikon has made(it's thinner than the 45mm 2.8 AI-P and the Series E 50mm 1.8). The focusing ring also moves the opposite direction of all other Nikkor lenses, which is significant. Basically, it has a GN scale on the side and a small "fork" that you slide into place to lock in the GN. When you do this, the aperture ring moves with the focusing ring so your flash exposure is(theoretically) always correct for an on-camera flash.

They did the 45mm f2.8 Tessar lens without the flash automation in Contax-Yashica mount. It was a belter of a lens adapted to the Sony A7. I only let mine go because I got the native 55mm f1.8. Doddle to focus, super sharp. A wee cracker!

 

[bunnspecial]

They did the 45mm f2.8 Tessar lens without the flash automation in Contax-Yashica mount. It was a belter of a lens adapted to the Sony A7. I only let mine go because I got the native 55mm f1.8. Doddle to focus, super sharp. A wee cracker!

I've probably been into photography for ~15 years, and for a long time Tessar-type lenses were all I had in medium format. Since I've largely started using Japanese SLRs in MF, most of my lenses are a bit more "modern" but most of my LF lenses are also Tessars.

It honestly is a timeless design, and modern technology has made them even better. The 45mm 2.8 AI-P Nikkor that was made from 2000-2006 is probably the highest contrast lens I've ever used, although like all Tessars it does need to be stopped down 2-3 stops to sharpen the corners.