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Ive recently brought an SLR and am just getting to grips with using manual mode. Are there still times when even the pros use auto mode or should i let it become a thing of the past?
 
I would be surprised if many or even any 'pro' used a fully auto mode as they would be giving up all photographic control to the camera. They may though, when the situation allowed or required it, use semi auto modes such as Aperture Priority or Shutter Speed Priority which would allow them to either control the Aperture (thus DOF) or the Shutter Speed which would help prevent camera shake.

There is no shame in using whatever mode gives you the results you require and if you are happy using fully auto modes then there is no problem with that. If you want to have more control over your camera and thus the components of an image then Manual or Semi Auto modes are the way to go.
 
I have been learning to use the camera in manual mode but sometimes i find myself using auto if i have a limited time to take the shot (wildlife etc) as the camera can take better pictures than i can at the moment, lol
 
Have a ready of understanding exposure by Bryan Peterson.

That and the forum helped me move from auto. You don't always have to use manual, you can use Av or shutter priority mode as well.
 
I think most new/modern DSLRs would take decent enough pictures in Auto, decent but perhaps not "breathtaking" or "stunning".

The problem with Auto is that when light conditions are borderline you run the risk of no two pictures being the same.

I pretty much stopped using full auto one Christmas, a friend was wearing a bright pink jumper but it was coming out red in the photos, I changed to M, replicated the shutter speed, aperture and ISO setting but changed the white balance to flash. The jumper then appeared pink in the pictures.

Also, the camera will use logic/algorithms to try and get exposure, colour etc correct as per how it's programmed but it doesn't know what effect you're trying to achieve from an artistic/creative point of view, i.e deliberately blur motion, leave parts of the scene out of focus.

Kipax (Tony) posted about this a little while back and said that each setting is a tool (even auto) and as a photographer you need to pick the right "tool" for the given situation (Not word for word but that was the gist of it)
 
I am afraid to go to M mode at the moment. Got to learn more first or, should i just dive in?
 
cam1986 said:
I am afraid to go to M mode at the moment. Got to learn more first or, should i just dive in?
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I'd say dive in personally because at the end of the day it's digital so just delete if you don't like it, that said if it's an important photo that has to be taken then and you are not confident that you can get the photo then slip it into auto, but try and learn from the settings the camera picks :thumbs:

Matt
MWHCVT
 
Will do. It is scary from someone who has only ever pointed and shot with a bog standard compact!
 
i put mine in fully auto mode when i use flash (rare) i dont feel embarresed.. it does the job thank you :)
 
I suppose i am afraid of missing a shot if i put it in M mode and start fiddling with the settings
 
I use Aperture Priority for the vast majority of the images I take. I generally want to control the depth of field, or use the sharpest aperture for the lens.

If the image is freezing or showing movement (blurring water, panning etc) then I use Shutter Priority.

If I'm in a situation where I've set the exposure and I don't want changing light levels to alter the exposure (fireworks, gigs etc) then I use manual.


Auto mode wants to give you at least 1/60th of a second, and that's it. :shrug:

Program mode does the same as Auto, but allows you to override some settings.

Some cameras have Intelligent Auto which can recognise what they are looking at :eek: (most of the time) ;) and set the appropriate Scene Mode. It is freaky when you see happen. :eek: That's mostly non DSLR's though. ;)

What mode you use depends on the time and the inclination you have to use the various modes. :shrug: ;)
 
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Aperture priority is the most used mode amongst both enthusiasts and professionals, alternating with manual. But it really doesn't matter.

All modes are just a different means to the same end - correct exposure - use whatever suits you and the subject/circumstances. Even on P you can get any combination of settings and exposure level you want with programme shift and compensation, though there's probably less fiddling about to do it in manual or Av.

A good way to look at manual is as a Set & Lock mode - it won't change unless you change it. Rule of thumb is that if the subject is moving and the background is changing, but the light is constant, lock it down in manual. But if the light is changing, use an auto mode. Rules are dangerous though :D

One thing to note though, if all you ever do in manual is zero the needle in the viewfinder every time, that's usually pretty pointless and the camera will do that much better for you.
 
Don't knock 'Fully Auto'

Some of my best shots are taken with my 'fully auto' Canon IXUS 100IS.
My truely 'pocket' camera.

Why?....I've been thinking about that.
I think it's because my mind is free just to take pictures and is not cluttered up with all that 'mode' stuff.
All I then have to worry about is composition, which is as it should be.

And of course my IXUS is far less obtrusive than one of my great big DSLR's slung around my neck, people take me for a photographer :D.
Whereas with my IXUS...:shrug: Who cares, I'm just a tourist.

With my DSLR's I find that selecting the 'mode/s' suitable for the subject takes up more time than composition, whereas it ought to be the other way around.

I do enjoy my DSLR's, but it seems all more 'serious' somehow, superior shots ought to be the result but that is now always so.

So.....the moral is.
Feel free, cast off all technical thoughts, concentrate on composition and let the camera take the strain, most times it knows far better than we do anyway.:D

Just my 2p's worth.

D in W
 
A gentle way for a beginner to get into manual adjustment is to use P mode. By default this will be the same as Auto, but you can change one thing at a time to see what the effect is. That helped me initially, and now I've graduated to using aperture priority most of the time.
 
AP looks like a good mode to start with then. I will give that a go on monday when i am out and about with the family
 
Some of the World's top Wedding Pros who shoot P...

Joe Buissink
Brett Harkness
Damien Lovegrove

And there are plenty more who do that I know personally

The trick is to knowing how the camera will react to any given lighting situation and knowing how to quickly compensate (easiest is to find something appropriate to meter off & lock it with a back button). This is the easiest & fastest way to shoot any auto mode

Personally I prefer AP as I want to control my DoF more than my shutter speed

There are of course times when Manual is best, and as a newbie to photography I think that M is actually best to learn by - then when you know enough, you can use the Auto modes perfectly too and M becomes useful only in certain situations

P is the 'safest' auto mode though as the camera will always try to get you a shot - I use it in holiday mode and especially where booze comes into play where I call it my P for 'P**ssed' mode :D

DD
 
Ok so P mode is worth a shot too. I would like to get out of full auto mode as i feel as though i am not learning anything that way
 
Like Ed says, there's no shame in using full auto - it's just that at some point, it won't allow you to do what you feel is best as quickly as a mode with user override, that's all.

I generally use Av for the majority of my shooting without flash, because my 'control' is how much is sharp; shutter speeds and ISOs are set to facilitate the aperture I want.

For flash I shoot in manual because I'm working with max sync speeds and want a constant (i.e. the shutter speed) to capture the ambient and then add the flash into.

There are odd occasions where I use auto (P mode - the D2x doesn't have green square); events where I have little or no time for sussing out the shot - it's running and gunning so the flash is always on and I just let the camera do the job, only interfering when I know it'll give me the wrong result, usually in mental sunlight.
 
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MatW said:
Maybe Ken Rockwell... :D
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Truth is P-mode is used my a great many Pros even though in the Amateur world its thought of as a bit of a joke mode - there is some real, and misplaced, snobbishness about photography

Pros just use what they like & what works without giving a damn; same with gear often too

I've seen many an Amateur using D3s when a D300 will have done everything they want perfectly well at less than 1/3 the price - gear lust bites Amateurs harder than those who have to justify each purchase on financial grounds

Doesn't stop us wanting the most expensive gear though :D

DD
 
KIPAX said:
i put mine in fully auto mode when i use flash (rare) i dont feel embarresed.. it does the job thank you :)
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i thought we where reffering to P mode as fully auto...thus my above line should read

i put mine in P mode when i use flash (rare) i dont feel embarresed.. it does the job thank you :)


so what are you all reffering to when you say fully auto?
 
cam1986 said:
Ok so P mode is worth a shot too. I would like to get out of full auto mode as i feel as though i am not learning anything that way
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If you're learning your way around exposure - then shoot any Auto you like for general shooting, but Manual when you have time to experiment and see what's happening - when the camera gets it wrong is really what you're looking for, and how to compensate

Most of us oldies had no choice but to shoot in M - there were no Auto modes back in t'olden days :D

DD
 
KIPAX said:
use whatever mode, settings and equipment that works... there are no rules :)
Click to expand...


Well said Tony. Use whatever gets the shot you want, saying that,I use aperture priority for 90% of what I do.
 
KIPAX said:
i thought we where reffering to P mode as fully auto...thus my above line should read

i put mine in P mode when i use flash (rare) i dont feel embarresed.. it does the job thank you :)


so what are you all reffering to when you say fully auto?
Click to expand...

It's the green square mode that 1 series cameras don't have.
 
I think i will stick with AP mode and try to learn that as DOF is important to me. Still in a quandry at the moment though as i much prefer Nikons!! Thats another story
 
P mode can be good as noted but be aware that many new entry level cameras no longer support Program Shift where you can set P mode to set aperture or shutter with the control wheel in the menus. Still it does allow a certain degree of change to be made unlike full Auto.
 
The trick is to know when you can get away with auto modes...
 
I will use Auto when i need a quick pic and am unsure of the best setting
 
I would like one count of Auto to be taken into consideration.

We had a barbeque a while ago and I had had a skinfull.

After it got dark I heard something scratching around in the garden. I was in no fit state to try to take a picture properly so I put the flash and the 50-135 on the Pentax and set it to Auto.

Result -

Hedgehog.jpg


At least I got something.
 
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