And I didn't buy a $2000 camera for it to tell me what to do. It's a tool, I'm the boss. Manual exposure, always...
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How often do you shoot in "M" (manual) mode?
- Thread starter rbownes
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And I didn't buy a $2000 camera for it to tell me what to do. It's a tool, I'm the boss. Manual exposure, always...
there is absolutely no point in shooting in manual and just centering the meter. the camera will do this infinitely faster in P, Av, or Tv. the whole point of manual mode is to completely ignore what the camera thinks is the proper exposure, because you already know what the proper exposure is.
if you know how to meter a scene, it does not matter which mode you use. the only difference is how you get to the proper exposure.
I suggest you read up on metering. you can start here
no. ISO is simply the sensitivity of the recording media. if your chosen exposure settings yield too much or too little shutter speed, you raise or lower the ISO until the shutter speed is what you want it to be.
Aperture priority all the time for outdoors photography (99% of the time). For tricky situations - exposure compensation
The only time I ever use M is when connected to stobes, which is 1% of the time.
Never use shutter priority though, just adjust the ISO and aperture wheels to get the shutter speed I want.
The only time I ever use M is when connected to stobes, which is 1% of the time.
Never use shutter priority though, just adjust the ISO and aperture wheels to get the shutter speed I want.
Back in the day when I shot film I used manual but with these new fangled thing-a-ma-bobs called dslr's, I use aperture priorty.
Whenever I am in a situation where timing is important, aperture priority sometimes gives me the shot whereas using manual would have lost me the shot. Plus, using exposure comp, bracketing, etc-, I like to keep my shooting simple and fast, especially shooting sports events. About the only time I use manual is for motorsports when I pre-focus on a specific point in a turn otherwise everything else is aperture priority.
Checking out some pop mags, seems like a lot of pros use aperture priority unless they are in low light conditions.
Comparing aperture priority to manual seems like the debate between extensive photoshopping and merely cropping/resizing. How far are you willing to go?
Whenever I am in a situation where timing is important, aperture priority sometimes gives me the shot whereas using manual would have lost me the shot. Plus, using exposure comp, bracketing, etc-, I like to keep my shooting simple and fast, especially shooting sports events. About the only time I use manual is for motorsports when I pre-focus on a specific point in a turn otherwise everything else is aperture priority.
Checking out some pop mags, seems like a lot of pros use aperture priority unless they are in low light conditions.
Comparing aperture priority to manual seems like the debate between extensive photoshopping and merely cropping/resizing. How far are you willing to go?
Go and buy "Understanding Exposure" and all will be revealed. Learn what Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO actually mean otherwise surely your just guessing in M mode?
I shoot M 99.9% the others in AV.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Understandi...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252446970&sr=8-1
I shoot M 99.9% the others in AV.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Understandi...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252446970&sr=8-1
You can base it off your histogram.
Most of my photography is made with strobe lighting, so by default, I have to shoot in M for that. Otherwise, if I'm just walking around with no lights, I'm in AV. It's pointless to adjust your exposure to the middle in M when I can simply determine my depth of field (f-stop) and let my camera assign the shutter speed to make an exposure in the middle. Same end goal. There is nothing prestigious or glorious about shooting in manual mode. It's just a slower method of working.
i always shoot in manual mode. judging by these responses, i'd argue that most shooters on here are probably new to photography and the flexibility various modes offer. saying you can't get good pictures in manual mode is complete BS. you can have the exact same settings in M/AV/TV, the only difference with M is you have to think/know what they will be. hardly difficult and i'd say that if you have a DSLR you should actually learn how to use the damn thing!
seems that since the price has come down on them in recent years so many people pick them up and automatically assume their pictures will be better simply because they have a DSLR. not true. especially not true when you shoot with a horrible kit lens and always keep your camera in some automatic mode.
it doesn't matter if i'm shooting a wedding, concert, product stills, or walking around town. manual mode is easy to use. if you don't know how to use it, read a book or *gasp* practice.
the only time in the last 5 years i can remember shooting in anything other than M was at a recent wedding where i was the primary photographer and didn't have a second shooter with me. kept the 5D2 in manual like always and the 30D in Av since i was using it as a backup and needed to move around a bunch more than when i have someone else assisting me.
granted, i know this really a computer website, but as a photographer, i find this post laughable.
seems that since the price has come down on them in recent years so many people pick them up and automatically assume their pictures will be better simply because they have a DSLR. not true. especially not true when you shoot with a horrible kit lens and always keep your camera in some automatic mode.
it doesn't matter if i'm shooting a wedding, concert, product stills, or walking around town. manual mode is easy to use. if you don't know how to use it, read a book or *gasp* practice.
the only time in the last 5 years i can remember shooting in anything other than M was at a recent wedding where i was the primary photographer and didn't have a second shooter with me. kept the 5D2 in manual like always and the 30D in Av since i was using it as a backup and needed to move around a bunch more than when i have someone else assisting me.
granted, i know this really a computer website, but as a photographer, i find this post laughable.
I'm not sure I agree with you. the goal isn't to shoot in a particular mode; the goal is to make a good photograph. Everything else is immaterial. The photograph doesn't know how it got there; it is either successful, or it is not. It might be shot in jpg and "mountain"; if it works, it works.
I'll agree that knowing how to use the camera is good. I'll agree that shooting manual is best for you. I'll agree that knowing more about your tools gives you a better chance to make a good photograph.
But: an honest inquiry and truthful responses "laughable"? You laugh at some unusual things. Everyone who has written and responded seems to be interested in learning more. I take no offense at your laughter, but it does puzzle me.
1. take a test shot, and change your exposure based on the histogram
2. meter off of a known value, like green grass or a gray card or caucasian skin at EC+1
3. zone system
it makes absolutely NO difference whether someone shoots in P, Av, Tv, or M, as long they know how to meter. shooting in M has no significance whatsoever and does not make one photographer better or more knowledgeable than another.
Depends which camera I use
For a year I only used the manual mode on my Nikon D40X camera, because I was only using my Lensbaby Selective Focus lenses. It was a good learning experience.
In June I bought a slightly used (2000 shots) demo model Nikon D300 and have not shot any manual pictures with it yet. I am using a 50mm f 1.8 lens most of the time, and also a Sigma 17-35mm f2.8 lens. I'm still reading everything I can to learn how to use the new camera to the fullest, and will switch back to manual mode again soon, but will not shoot manual all the time.
Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbmac/
For a year I only used the manual mode on my Nikon D40X camera, because I was only using my Lensbaby Selective Focus lenses. It was a good learning experience.
In June I bought a slightly used (2000 shots) demo model Nikon D300 and have not shot any manual pictures with it yet. I am using a 50mm f 1.8 lens most of the time, and also a Sigma 17-35mm f2.8 lens. I'm still reading everything I can to learn how to use the new camera to the fullest, and will switch back to manual mode again soon, but will not shoot manual all the time.
Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbmac/
I use manual mode 100% of the time, I just feel like I don't have any control when the camera sets any of the variables. I just figure that I know what kind of picture that I want, so why let a computer try to figure out what I can do? And when in high contrast situations where finding the correct exposure is difficult, I always bracket the shots so that at least one of them is workable.
and yet if they shoot in any of the auto modes, they're not really metering the scene themselves, are they? the camera is making the appropriate settings for them. all they're doing is setting X (aperture or shutter speed).
i wholeheartedly agree that regardless of what mode you shoot in that one way or another doesn't make you a better or worse photographer. however, if you only shoot in an auto/semi-auto mode because you don't understand why your images are coming out under/over exposed or because it takes too long, then i'd argue you still have a lot to learn.
i wholeheartedly agree that regardless of what mode you shoot in that one way or another doesn't make you a better or worse photographer. however, if you only shoot in an auto/semi-auto mode because you don't understand why your images are coming out under/over exposed or because it takes too long, then i'd argue you still have a lot to learn.
There are plenty of excellent reasons to shoot in Av or TV mode. First and foremost, if you are shooting in rapidly changing lighting, you may not be able to keep up with things in 'M' mode. If you're shooting handheld in very low light and you MUST keep a certain shutter speed to keep your images sharp, Tv mode might be more convenient than M.
Moreover, if you are shooting in Av mode AND you understand how a camera's incident light meter works (i.e you know the difference between evaluative, centre-weighted, and spot metering), you will constantly be using exposure compensation to appropriately alter exposure; you're basically in 'M' mode.
I agree that you shouldn't rely on semi-auto modes at the expense of learning how a light meter works or how a camera calculates exposure, but I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. As I said, I use Av mode predominantly, except for (a) indoor flash (M mode) or (b) handheld in very low light (Tv mode).
Horses for courses.
I almost always use aperture priority unless I need to force a fast shutter for sports or a slow shutter for motion blur.
Personally I've found that the modern meters do a fairly good job of getting exposure "in the ball park", and from there I'll just bias up or down if my first shot doesn't come out the way I want it to or I know for a fact that the meter is going to be incorrect.
I hardly ever go full manual.
Personally I've found that the modern meters do a fairly good job of getting exposure "in the ball park", and from there I'll just bias up or down if my first shot doesn't come out the way I want it to or I know for a fact that the meter is going to be incorrect.
I hardly ever go full manual.
I'm not sure what the fuss is: Av mode + exposure compensation = M mode. the only difference I can see is that the camera may have problems in a particularly complicated lighting situation (or may re-evaluate exposure if using zoom lenses), and in these instances, M mode allows you to lock in an exposure and stick with it.
But again, if you use Av AND understand how the camera meters light, there's no functional difference between Av + EC and M mode.
But again, if you use Av AND understand how the camera meters light, there's no functional difference between Av + EC and M mode.
true i suppose. i dunno, even in those situations i'll still lock my shutter speed on what i need it to be and work from there in full M.
i guess i see it like a manual trans vs auto trans on a car. yeah, the flappy paddles may do the job just as well (and sometimes even better), but it doesn't give you the same satisfaction or experience of driving with both feet and using both your hands.
i guess i see it like a manual trans vs auto trans on a car. yeah, the flappy paddles may do the job just as well (and sometimes even better), but it doesn't give you the same satisfaction or experience of driving with both feet and using both your hands.
true, but the difference is in Av you have to keep adjusting the EC every time the camera gives a different exposure. I find that annoying, so I just put in M and adjust it when I need to.
Most comfortable in manual mode. Sometimes I will be in shutter priority when shooting sports and theater. Rarely in aperture mode.
M or Av
Manual at night usually locked to around f4 and 1/15 to 1/30 with ISO around 400~800. There are just too many things at night that will throw off the Av mode of most cameras i.e. Car headlights, street lamp etc.
If your now to photography I would first learn how the camera calculates exposure. There are usually 3 modes, Center weighted, spot and evaluative.
Try playing with Spot metering and exposure locks next time you go out and see if it makes a difference to your images.
Manual at night usually locked to around f4 and 1/15 to 1/30 with ISO around 400~800. There are just too many things at night that will throw off the Av mode of most cameras i.e. Car headlights, street lamp etc.
If your now to photography I would first learn how the camera calculates exposure. There are usually 3 modes, Center weighted, spot and evaluative.
- Center weighted means that most of what is in the center of your frame will be correctly exposed this can cause issues when you have something very dark or bright in the middle.
- Evaluative usually takes the full frame and does an average, you will be sure that something will be correctly exposed but you won't know what.
- Spot is usually used to get the correct exposure of the object you want to meter by using exposure lock and then recomposing the frame to take the shot you want.
Try playing with Spot metering and exposure locks next time you go out and see if it makes a difference to your images.
I don't agree with this. Unless you are carrying an incident light meter with you, you're not really "metering the scene yourself" in M mode aside from guessing the exposure and chimping out adjustments based on the histogram. Or maybe you're following sunny 16 but that is not always applicable. You think Ansel Adams was out there bracketing his pictures with rolls and rolls of film? No, he metered the scene using a light meter. Was he just letting the camera (or meter, in his case) choose the settings for him? Only difference is nowadays we have the technology to put the meter in the camera.
Having the camera select an exposure for a given aperture is utilizing the tools available to you. Looking through the viewfinder and seeing a bright sky and thinking "my D80 meter likes to overexpose these scenes in order to bring up shadow detail but always blows out the sky in doing so" and adjusting in some negative exposure compensation I think demonstrates more of "metering the scene yourself" combined with knowing how your camera meter works (both how metering works in general AND how your specific camera meters) vs. homing in on the correct exposure using the histogram. And the result is he will quite possibly get the optimum exposure in fewer frames than the M guy did.
Airline pilots rarely fly manually, they are using the tools available to them (the autopilot and automatic aircraft functions) to maximize their effectiveness in a situation. The same goes for photographers.
I can agree with this. It is important for pilots to know how to fly manually just as it is important for a photographer to know when and how to utilize M mode, but just because they don't do it all the time doesn't mean they're copping out in any way.
I must be the odd one out. I shoot in Tv mostly. To blur waterfalls, or freeze motion. I only use Av occationaly when I'm using flash. Otherwise its Tv or P.
I lied. I also use Av in low light. Crank open the aperture and set it to ISO 800, if they're still to dark I bite the bullet and use ISO 1600.
I lied. I also use Av in low light. Crank open the aperture and set it to ISO 800, if they're still to dark I bite the bullet and use ISO 1600.