Favorite setting Man,Av,

mercmanuk

mercmanuk

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Which is the setting you use most, i go from Manual most of the time, then a few of the Auto settings if i am feeling lazy...:canon:

Regards Mark.
 
Depends what I am shooting. Tv if I want to control shutter speed for motion blur or to freeze motion, Av in normal use and M if I am tracking a subject moving between sky and ground.

M can be a real pain if the light is changing frequently and I tend to prefer an automatic mode with exposure compensation for the environment.
 
manual mostly however different situations may require the camera to help a little so a choice of aperture priority or shuter priority.
 
As with GB above, I use whichever one suits the situation/conditions I'm shooting in.
 
av for landscapes
m for rest of time
 
Horses for courses... Av most of the time... P for Flash snaps. Don't take action shots so Tv doesn't get a look in. One day I may go to Manual (I learned to take pictures on a fully manual camera) but the Digital cameras make things slightly more difficult than they need be to set the manual settings - oh for an aperture ring!

B.
 
That a wide variety of settings i will apply some of them to my photography sharing skills and knowledge to be able to see differently.


Regards Mark.
 
Most things I do are moving and sometimes pretty fast, so for me its mostly Tv as I'm comfortable with that, Av is rarely used but I do sometimes play with manual depending on how mad I feel at the time!
 
As with GB too, but as I do a fair amount of sport it's normally on AV
 
I've, as of a couple of weeks ago, switched to mainly M, and some Tv and Av. Although the camera did get put back in P a couple of times yesterday at Goodwood, when other's we were with were using it to take family shots with me in shot too :D.
 
Manual all the time. I really don't understand why anyone would use AV or TV (or nikon equivalent) because surely if you can dial in +ve/-ve exposure somp, then you can shoot in manual?

Or am I missing something obvious?
 
Av works well for me, though P is good most of the time. Av works well with my lenses by stopping down a bit it helps sharpen things up a bit. Have made the mistake of taking a whole load of motorsport pics in P though which when trying to pan never produces decent pics.
 
68lbs said:
Manual all the time. I really don't understand why anyone would use AV or TV (or nikon equivalent) because surely if you can dial in +ve/-ve exposure somp, then you can shoot in manual?

Or am I missing something obvious?
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I don't know about anyone else but I use A mode to directly change dof as I like.
 
68lbs said:
Manual all the time. I really don't understand why anyone would use AV or TV (or nikon equivalent) because surely if you can dial in +ve/-ve exposure somp, then you can shoot in manual?

Or am I missing something obvious?
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Because if light is changing rapidly (as can often happen outside) then manual values stay static whereas Av or Tv tracks the light levels with a given compensation.

I must admit that many people seem to see manual as somehow better or more pure or that it makes them a technically better photographer. However, manual if you just adjust the light meter in the view finder is no different to auto exposure...
 
grumpybadger said:
Because if light is changing rapidly (as can often happen outside) then manual values stay static whereas Av or Tv tracks the light levels with a given compensation.
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Do you have to keep the metering on evaluative for this? ie: the one where the camera considers the whole frame?

If it was on spot, then would the camera not get it wrong even if you've dialed in some exposure comp, if the 'spot' changes from being dark to light. So you'd have to keep changing the +ve/-ve, so might as well be in manual anyways?

I still dont fully grasp this stuff. I just do what I do and it seems to expose ok.
 
grumpybadger said:
Because if light is changing rapidly (as can often happen outside) then manual values stay static whereas Av or Tv tracks the light levels with a given compensation.
Click to expand...

But what happens when you use Av/Tv in changing light against a changing background?

Then it's time to pack up and go home for a beer ;)
 
68lbs said:
Do you have to keep the metering on evaluative for this? ie: the one where the camera considers the whole frame?
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I tend to use centre weighted but again it depends on subject.

pxl8 said:
But what happens when you use Av/Tv in changing light against a changing background?

Then it's time to pack up and go home for a beer ;)
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As I said above, if the background is changing that's when I use manual. If the light is also changing, then you are right it does get tough!

But, for example, I was at the Shuttleworth Trust on Saturday evening taking pictures of planes as the sun set. Since I wanted propeller blur and to cope with changing light, IMO, Tv (S) was the answer.
 
mercmanuk said:
Which is the setting you use most, i go from Manual most of the time, then a few of the Auto settings if i am feeling lazy...:canon:

Regards Mark.
Click to expand...


the cameras are always left set in TV mode (iso 400 shutter 1/500th, single shot ai servo autofocus with single point focus) and much of the work I do i would use these settings with or without compensation/fill flash.

if the light/conditions dictate then i use manual or maybe Av if i'm needing to be arty
 
I can understand manual for portrait or heavily composed shots, but I don't understand why you'd want the extra effort involved with shooting manual when 'out and about' or at shows etc when the light changes so much.

Pick your desired DoF with A mode then change your metering mode if you are worried about the camera messing up the exposure (which is unlikely in a normal contrast scene.)

Or, are people saying they use manual, but really just changing the shutter speed to match the -/+ indicators in the viewfinder? In which case just let the camera choose it anyway! :bonk:
 
Aperture priority for me but as I am waiting for the Bryan Peterson book Understanding Shutter Speed to arrive in t'post I suspect that may well change in the near future.
 
mercmanuk said:
Which is the setting you use most, i go from Manual most of the time, then a few of the Auto settings if i am feeling lazy...:canon:

Regards Mark.
Click to expand...

I have shot manual for a few months now, love it. Did get lazy on holiday and went to Aperture Priority for a while though, this was due to feeling a little rushed.

Gary.
 
Manual is an expression of the purity of photography - which is then wasted by using the camera's own meter :bonk:

Manual & an external meter does make some sense, especially if it's a very tight spot-meter and you're using the zone system, though not much in the real world these days as all camera manufacturers product are fab at metering - with a little help from the user

Locking exposure or exp comp can solve just about anything as, if not more, quickly than in manual

Where manual comes in useful is for maintaining the same exposure while (for instance) zooming in or out - back to Weddings again... a head and shoulders of the bride and quick change to full length can mean the exposure on auto changes too which would look odd, so manual or exp lock is best

Does 'Manual' lead to a snob value - to some definitely YES

Does it deserve or or necessarily mean you're 'better' than the non-manual user - NO

Oh, and I use A most of the time, and M where it matters

:thumbs:

DD
 
I use whatever will let me take the shots with the greatest of ease, mostly it's aperture priority, occasionally shutter priority when I'm at motorsport events and if the lighting is likely to trick the sensor manual.

I don't get any warm fuzzy feeling from using manual mode like some people seem to so I don't bother with it unless it's needed.
 
A usually, to get the lens working at it's best with S coming second.

If I'm feeling particularly lazy, Auto :(:(:(
 
DD - so much more eloquant than I was. M with the inbuilt meter is no different to using Av or Tv or P and exposure compensation...
 
Camera in P mode but very often shifted to get the aperture or shutter speed I'm after. There's sometimes some exposure compensation dialed in as well. If I know I'm going to be wanting a certain shutter speed for a lot of shots and that I'm going to be turning the camera off between times, I'll go to S mode and set the speed I'm after. If I'm playing with Macro or the like, I'll go for M and bracket manually around the internal meter's suggestion, checking the histogram to make sure the highlights aren't blown.
 
I use full manual most of the time.

Occasionally i'l use Av when I need to get quick shots (like my rescent protest shots, some of them I shot in Av) but don't like using it becuase the camera dosn't do it right everytime.
 
With the 40D I tend to use Av with my thumb on the exposure compensation dial.
 
DiddyDave said:
Manual is an expression of the purity of photography - which is then wasted by using the camera's own meter :bonk:

Manual & an external meter does make some sense, especially if it's a very tight spot-meter and you're using the zone system, though not much in the real world these days as all camera manufacturers product are fab at metering - with a little help from the user

Locking exposure or exp comp can solve just about anything as, if not more, quickly than in manual

Where manual comes in useful is for maintaining the same exposure while (for instance) zooming in or out - back to Weddings again... a head and shoulders of the bride and quick change to full length can mean the exposure on auto changes too which would look odd, so manual or exp lock is best

Does 'Manual' lead to a snob value - to some definitely yes

Does it deserve or or necessarily mean you're 'better' than the non-manual user - NO

Oh, and I use A most of the time, and M where it matters

:thumbs:

DD
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I can not believe it :lol: is this really true ?????, or a wind up i would think there is no passports to snobbery in this hobby, but then again i live and learn, i use manual because it's finally sinking in my potatoe of a brain that it's like years ago when the settings where on the len's and camera body.:bonk:

Regards Mark.
 
Nope - not a wind up at all

It's quite common in Club-togging land to look well down on those who use auto anything, and look up to those who earn a living from togging

I confuse them all when I say I'm a Pro who uses Aperture Priority most of the time!

Snobbery abounds and snobs tend to be easily confused too :lol:

But then I was Manual only for the first 15 years as there was no option - perhaps if you consider it a better learning tool than auto it's got a point - for most shooting most of the time a good brain can make an auto setting work better/faster/easier

DD
 
sportysnaps said:
the cameras are always left set in TV mode (iso 400 shutter 1/500th, single shot ai servo autofocus with single point focus) and much of the work I do i would use these settings with or without compensation/fill flash.

if the light/conditions dictate then i use manual or maybe Av if i'm needing to be arty
Click to expand...

would you attempt continuous shooting with them settings, and i realized my 400D is a bit slow at the AF or is it me getting quicker, am i finding short falls in the 400D already?????

Regards mark.
 
When I'm shooting at a rally I generally set Tv mode to 1/125, aperture to the fastest the lens I'm using is capable (unless I'm using the 10-20 then I use f8) then I set manual to around 1/250th and whatever aperture is needed to get about the right exposure.

That means that the camera in any of the modes will be in the right ball park then I just switch between them depending on the type of shot I want to take.
 
DiddyDave said:
Nope - not a wind up at all

It's quite common in Club-togging land to look well down on those who use auto anything, and look up to those who earn a living from togging

I confuse them all when I say I'm a Pro who uses Aperture Priority most of the time!

Snobbery abounds and snobs tend to be easily confused too :lol:

But then I was Manual only for the first 15 years as there was no option - perhaps if you consider it a better learning tool than auto it's got a point - for most shooting most of the time a good brain can make an auto setting work better/faster/easier

DD
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My sister in law is a snob (rich and gobby) and a bloody crap one at that yet her sister who i married was interested in etiquette runs rings round her, yet we live the simple life, and i try not to judge but when she opens her gob i cringe at what comes out. her husband is a larf he does Del boys all over the place for real, Keeps me entertained for hours and hours


Salutations Mark
 
mole2k said:
When I'm shooting at a rally I generally set Tv mode to 1/125, aperture to the fastest the lens I'm using is capable (unless I'm using the 10-20 then I use f8) then I set manual to around 1/250th and whatever aperture is needed to get about the right exposure.

That means that the camera in any of the modes will be in the right ball park then I just switch between them depending on the type of shot I want to take.
Click to expand...

Hi would you use this for aircraft as i shoot in Manual mode on Sunday quite bright conditions with the insipid background (no cloud) 1/250 @ F/16/18 to try and keep it all sharp. in Raw so i could play around with it when editing,

Regards mark.
 
mercmanuk said:
would you attempt continuous shooting with them settings, and i realized my 400D is a bit slow at the AF or is it me getting quicker, am i finding short falls in the 400D already?????

Regards mark.
Click to expand...

for most of what i shoot (runners, cyclist, triathlon etc) a burst at 8fps is a waste of time, and even with the 1dmk2n and say a 70-200 f2.8L you will still get shots out of focus as the system does not have much time between shots to focus. the only time i do burst of shots is with fast action sports(motoracing, football athletics etc)

I've never understood people who use Av for sports though - never mind each to their own :shrug:
 
AP for me most of the time with ISO set on auto (it's paramount to GET the shot) unless it's something particularly fast like sports in which case I usually switch to manual. Landscapes always on manual. Also manual in studio portraits where lighting is controlled.
 
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