How many use auto on their cameras

When I first got my camera about a year ago, I started out in P mode, just to get the hang of the camera as a "real" camera. Then I decided to use aperture priority and that taught me a lot! Just about a month ago, I forced myself to start using full manual and it sure has made me think. I just wish I had dived right into manual! :D But when my friends want to use the camera, I stick it in P, just so that I don't have to explain what each thing means and how to change it... argh!
 
Last edited:
boliston said:
Program mode on the D700 is surprisingly good and I find it tends to pick settings that I would have used anyway most of the time.
f/11 seems to be the most commonly allocated aperture in sunny conditions, f/8 for bright overcast, f/5.6 for dull overcast.

It also chooses useful shutter speeds, typically 1/250-1/500 most of the time, again shutter speeds I like to use when selecting shutter speed manually.

What it would NOT be so good for would be things like "action" photography where you would typically shoot a wider aperture but faster shutter, but even then you can tweak the control wheel. As I don't tend to shoot fast action then this is not a worry for me really.
Click to expand...

Aren't Auto, P and scene modes just like having an experienced photographer, like ourselves, inside the camera.

That's why the settings it chooses are just like the ones we would, gained over years of experience.

Awful lot of snobbery involed IMVHO, can't be any good it was shot on a scene mode.

Forget the technicalities, let the camera do that, and concentrate on composition.

What modes do I use....A, S and sometimes M :D

D in W
 
If it wasn't for the auto modes on cameras the sales would probably be a lot lower and prices higher.
 
Dave in Wales said:
Aren't Auto, P and scene modes just like having an experienced photographer, like ourselves, inside the camera.

That's why the settings it chooses are just like the ones we would, gained over years of experience.
Click to expand...

I would say the Scene Modes would be most like having an experienced Photographer with you, as the settings the camera selects will at least be related to the subject and a particular effect. Program mode is better than Auto, because it allows the user to change some settings, but it is essentially dumb and gives average settings. It doesn't know whether there is a fast moving subject to be frozen or a Landscape scene. :shrug:

I asked a question earlier in the thread about Scene Modes, but I would rather use a Scene Mode than Auto/Program because the settings would at least be tailored to the subject.

Obviously I think it is a better idea for the user to know how to achieve the effects of the Scene Modes and take some control of their camera rather than just being the person who presses the button. :shrug:
 
Not running down those that use auto on a regular basis as I did it myself for quite a while but I only started to really learn how to use my camera when I decided to avoid it and use AV, TV or now almost always fully manual.
 
I can never understand why Pro spec cameras have an auto options.

AP or Manual for me never use anything else no reason to
 
DannyDMR said:
I can never understand why Pro spec cameras have an auto options.

AP or Manual for me never use anything else no reason to
Click to expand...

AP is technically an "auto" option as it means the camera is automatically adjusting the shutter speed based on the camera's own interpretation of brightness levels within the scene.
 
boliston said:
AP is technically an "auto" option as it means the camera is automatically adjusting the shutter speed based on the camera's own interpretation of brightness levels within the scene.
Click to expand...

But that's the only thing it controls you control ISO can add or decrease compensation change metering mode single point focus, White balance etc non of this you can do in full auto
 
Full auto won't let me adjust a flipping thing. Excludes exposure compensation which is a must with most cameras.

Does explain why you see people's flashes popping up outdoors - they have it on auto and are trying to do something backlit.

Think it would be quite fun to go somewhere take some shots on auto then go round again on whatever normal shooting mode is used to see how much difference there is. There'll be some things full auto does as well and others it will make a right mess of.
 
I had the best fun with my camera this weekend :) and all because I put it in auto mode and enjoyed it. Up till now I have been frustrated with my lack of undertanding of how it all works and what does what and trashed more photo's than I have saved and felt like a failure. This weekend I read a few bits, took it out and just shot people and it was brilliant :)

:plusone: for auto mode and enjoying the camera.
 
boliston said:
AP is technically an "auto" option as it means the camera is automatically adjusting the shutter speed based on the camera's own interpretation of brightness levels within the scene.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but could also use spot metering and exposure lock to make camera meter exactly the point you want. And of course ou decide what aperture you use - i.e. what DOF you want to achieve. Letting camera randomly choose an aperture you could end up shooting portrait at F11 or landscape at F2.8 which are both nonsense in most cases.

Likewise with auto focus you choose where you want camera to focus at by selecting the focusing point. So I would say autofocus is an analogue to aperture priority mode.

Shooting in AUTO mode with manual focus... I agree with one of the comment - it's a waste if the camera.

BTW, unless you have changed a stock focusing screen in your D700 you are simply missing the focus at any aperture wider then F4. Just something to keep in mind.
 
Last edited:
gunnar said:
Yeah, but could also use spot metering and exposure lock to make camera meter exactly the point you want. And of course ou decide what aperture you use - i.e. what DOF you want to achieve. Letting camera randomly choose an aperture you could end up shooting portrait at F11 or landscape at F2.8 which are both nonsense in most cases.

Likewise with auto focus you choose where you want camera to focus at by selecting the focusing point. So I would say autofocus is an analogue to aperture priority mode.

Shooting in AUTO mode with manual focus... I agree with one of the comment - it's a waste if the camera.

BTW, unless you have changed a stock focusing screen in your D700 you are simply missing the focus at any aperture wider then F4. Just something to keep in mind.
Click to expand...

I was originally replying to someone who said they could not understand why a pro camera would have "auto" modes - well they don't technically have "full auto" like a consumer camera (eg D7000 and below), they just have "program" mode which is similar to Aperture Priority in that the camera decides the exposure level to apply and still allows different exposure modes to be selected (eg matrix, spot, centre). I could of course decide to constantly manually adjust the aperture but I prefer to let the camera make this adjustment as I make a point of checking the exif and I'm generally happy with the choice the camera makes. If the camera has a useful function that works then I will use it even if it makes me less of a "pro" in the process. I find the chosen aperture is dependant on light levels rather than "ramdom".

To be quite honest I have never much liked auto focus but it's difficult to find many digital cameras which don't have it and I expect there are plenty of D700 users who use manual focus who don't feel they are "wasting" the camera.

I mostly focus using the distance scale on the lens, but the D700 viewfinder is very clear and allows me to focus easily wide open at f/2.8.
 
Last edited:
And in program mode a lot of cameras have program shift so you can set it to let you alter shutter speed or aperture from a control wheel while maintaining the correct exposure. And if you use AP or SP then there is nothing stopping you from also fixing the ISO so the camera only has free rein with one element of the triangle....Manual with auto iso enabled is only one step away from aperture or shutter priority...

As long as whatever method you use gives you the results you want then it doesn't matter I don't think.
 
I look on "Auto", as a way to achieve an "acceptable" shot every time - perfectly exposed and perfectly focussed.
However, I haven't used "Auto" for many years, because I do not want the camera to choose an aperture or shutter speed for me, or worse still a compromise involving high ISO resulting in a lot of digital noise.
If anyone uses "Auto" all the time, then they will NEVER be able to take an image which freezes high speed action (very high shutter speeds) or creates a lovely bokeh effect (wide open aperture).
Photography is far more than just pressing the shutter release and hoping for the best, it is about composition and creativity, and by choosing "Auto" all the time, a third word is introduced - compromise.
 
andy700 said:
I look on "Auto", as a way to achieve an "acceptable" shot every time - perfectly exposed and perfectly focussed.
Click to expand...

Perfectly focussed? Auto Mode doesn't guarantee that. It may give a fast enough shutter speed (most of the time) to eliminate camera shake, but Auto Mode normally uses Auto Focus, and AF normally focuses on the nearest thing, and that may not be the thing you want to focus on. :shrug:

AF, and how to use it properly, is a whole other thread. ;) :lol:
 
redhed17 said:
Perfectly focussed? Auto Mode doesn't guarantee that. It may give a fast enough shutter speed (most of the time) to eliminate camera shake, but Auto Mode normally uses Auto Focus, and AF normally focuses on the nearest thing, and that may not be the thing you want to focus on. :shrug:

AF, and how to use it properly, is a whole other thread. ;) :lol:
Click to expand...

Surely with most modern cameras you can hold the focus point for the desired subject and then compose the image?
 
But that is not in Auto mode :) Or at least not on the D7000, auto mode does not allow for AF-S. Auto is auto :)
 
dejongj said:
But that is not in Auto mode :) Or at least not on the D7000, auto mode does not allow for AF-S. Auto is auto :)
Click to expand...

Then that kind of proves my original point, that "Auto" is a compromise. You simply point the camera at the subject (irrespective of composition), and the AF will provide perfect focus, and the camera will provide good exposure for the majority of the shot.
 
andy700 said:
Then that kind of proves my original point, that "Auto" is a compromise. You simply point the camera at the subject (irrespective of composition), and the AF will provide perfect focus, and the camera will provide good exposure for the majority of the shot.
Click to expand...

Auto Mode normally puts all the focus points on, and if the subject is the nearest thing to the camera it will focus on it, but if there is something nearer than the subject, but under a focus point, it will focus on that instead, and not the subject. Program Mode starts off the same as Auto, but allows you to change things, and the choice of focus point(s) used is one of the things you can change.

So 'perfect focus' in certain situations, and on a bright day it may be giving you a small Aperture anyway, so focus may not be as critical. :shrug:

Whatever works for you though, and if Auto always gives perfect focus, then carry on, because I don't always get perfect focus doing it my way. ;) :lol:
 
I think more importantly, once you start developing your style you don't want "perfect" focus of everything. Well at least not me, as to me it provides that snapshot compact camera point and shoot feel. To me there are very few scenes where I would rely on everything being perfectly in focus.

But hey as I said before, when handing my camera to someone else I switch it to auto for them. If they are confident enough they can change other wise they can use the full auto mode for a snapshot. When handing back I'll got to one of my saved presets and everything is back to normal.
 
dejongj said:
I think more importantly, once you start developing your style you don't want "perfect" focus of everything.
Click to expand...

I always say to people, an arty blurry picture is all well and good, :) as long as you meant it to be like that and didn't decide it was what you 'meant' after you've taken the pic. ;) :lol:
 
Auto drives me up the bloody wall, it never works out for me so I permanantly have the camera set to Manual
 
cat001 said:
Auto drives me up the bloody wall, it never works out for me so I permanantly have the camera set to Manual
Click to expand...

:plusone:

Even if it does bite me in the bum occasionally - like last night where I'd forgotten I was playing with ISO3200, and took some macro shots of a moth.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top