Peterson or Rockwell?

P

parkmoy

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I've got a D40 and am fairly new to this game. I started using it in A and S mode depending on what I thought was needed.

Then I read Bryan Peterson's Exposure and found it very interesting and helpful. Basically he recommended shooting in manual mode and he convinced me, so I started to practice that. Cracked it;)

Well, yes, until I read Ken Rockwell's guide to using the D40. Manual is now old fashioned and unnecessary. He shoots everything using the P mode and selects the appropriate aperture and shutter combination with the thumb wheel:bang:

What do others prefer to use and why?
 
I also enjoyed Bryan Petersons book. I use what ever suits the situation, mainly S or M as I tend to shoot mainly motor sport. You need to find which mode gives you the results you want and use that. There are no rules written in stone saying you MUST do this or YOU ARE WRONG.
 
I almost always shoot Manual, its a habit i got into not long after mastering my D70. I now even struggle to use Ap Priority! im happy with manual, i know my camera well enough to be confident shooting in this mode. Unless theres a particular type of photography you shoot such as motorsports or fast moving objects then you may want to shoot in another mode for shutter speed reasons. i think if your confident and happy using manual or whatever mode you prefer then go with it. i recently had a one to one with a photographer and he told me to stick with M - that kind of clarified a lot for me! hope to see some of your images on the forums soon
 
so if you use manual mode how do you meter the scene? with a light meter the built in camera meter? if you use a built in camera meter isnt that the same as using A or S mode really?
 
cannockwolf said:
so if you use manual mode how do you meter the scene? with a light meter the built in camera meter? if you use a built in camera meter isnt that the same as using A or S mode really?
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Built in meter if the camera has one. Handheld, or guess if it doesn't.

With manual you just have to meter once for the ambient, then you're set. Say you're shooting a footy match (and the pitch is evenly lit in the sun):

With manual, you can just take a reading off the grass or wherever and you're good to go.

If you're using aperture priority, you're constantly metering, the darker crowd in the background could throw you off, if one team is in white and the other dark blue, you're forever dialing in positive and negative compensation = Hassle.
 
ok i see that being very useful in those situations, but surely not for wandering round a landscape or venue taking pics at random like the op may well be doing? surely a or s mode would be better?

i use all three as and when a situation calls for it, but the aperture mode is mostly used i treat it as auto mode as i can dial in an f-stop quickly with out thinking about it
 
I use Manual on my D700...as I did on my D90 (which was after reading Understanding Exposure).
 
M for me, using the in camera light meter, and then a look at the histogram to check there's no clipping and the tones are spread how I want them once I've started shooting.
 
Today 15:50
cannockwolf so if you use manual mode how do you meter the scene? with a light meter the built in camera meter? if you use a built in camera meter isnt that the same as using A or S mode really?
Click to expand...

You are using the cameras light meter in M but you don't have to use the 0EV the camera's meter decides is right. You can very easily over/under expose the meter reading to suit your needs without seperately dialing in an exposure compensation.

Different ways if acheiving the same result.

EDIT: Another benefit of M: If you are spot metering one part of the picture (for midtones or highlights) you would need to lock the exposure in A or S mode before recomposing whereas in M the settings remain the same when you recompose even though the meter will be telling you you're way out.
 
They key is not to take what people 'in the know' so or do as gospel. What Ken Rockwell finds best may not be what suits your needs or style. You have to experiment and find your own away around things, just use everyone's experiences as an example on the road to photographic nirvana. ;)

When I first got my DSLR, I had it on auto for about an hour, then I dived straight in to manual. After a couple weeks I realised that for everything other than specialised shots, Av does everything I require and in half the time.

But that's not to say it's what you should do. It's just an example
 
well tbh thats what i was thinking, i can use exposure compensation just as easily

different strokes for different folks... :)
 
If I want to prevent blur from movement I use Shutter Priority

If I want to control the depth of field I use Aperture Priority

If I want to prevent blur from movement, and control the depth of field I use Manual.
 
Personally I'd take anything Ken Rockwell says with avery large pinch of salt!

As for what mode to shoot in, it entirely depends on what you want to achieve. Manual is the only mode that gives you total control. Any other mode, the camera is doing some of the choosing for you.
 
parkmoy said:
I've got a D40 and am fairly new to this game. I started using it in A and S mode depending on what I thought was needed.

Then I read Bryan Peterson's Exposure and found it very interesting and helpful. Basically he recommended shooting in manual mode and he convinced me, so I started to practice that. Cracked it;)

Well, yes, until I read Ken Rockwell's guide to using the D40. Manual is now old fashioned and unnecessary. He shoots everything using the P mode and selects the appropriate aperture and shutter combination with the thumb wheel:bang:

What do others prefer to use and why?
Click to expand...

Free large pinch of salt with every Rockwell guide :lol:
 
cannockwolf said:
so if you use manual mode how do you meter the scene? with a light meter the built in camera meter? if you use a built in camera meter isnt that the same as using A or S mode really?
Click to expand...

I would say yes. And I would also say that Ken Rockwell is also using a form of manual control in working as is suggested by the OP. A and S are only semi-auto, and even P can be overridden manually. Just different ways of getting to the result you want.

I think that the major difference between manual and the other various auto modes is that once you've set it in M, then it stays that way until you move it. With any of the auto modes, it can change by itself.
 
Peterson is a photographer, rockwell a gear whore... if it's run and gun and you don't have time to adjust settings, and don't feel confident using A mode effectively, go with P, but other than that, you'll learn more in manual mode, to the point where it pretty much becomes second nature as to how a scene is exposed.
 
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