Which mode?

Tringa

Tringa

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Some of the posts on this thread - https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/getting-into-manual-photography.630691/#post-7488995 - made me think. There were a few comments including a couple from myself about which mode is used most often but I wondered what people use most of the time.

Hopefully we all use the most appropriate mode to get what we want, but in doing that does it end up that we are using one mode more than others?

For me it is aperture priority.

Which mode, if any, do you use most?

Dave
 
I primarily shoot aperture priority, but that's only because of *what* I shoot. If I spent my time shooting fast moving cars, I'd probably primarily shoot shutter priority. If I was in a studio, I might spend my time shooting in manual. So for me, aperture priority.

edit: I also, often use auto ISO, however, the 7D mkii offers quite nice controls over the ISO range. Sometimes I'll switch to manual ISO if I want a bit more control. I mostly shoot outside, in changing weather conditions.
 
As I said in the other thread, mainly P but can and do use A,S and M when appropriate. Always use manual ISO. Very often shift away from the original camera choice of settings and quite often dial in EC when needed/wanted.
 
Mainly Aperture Priority but sometimes Manual.
 
For wildlife - manual with auto iso (use exposure comp when required)
For most landscape - aperture priority
For long exposures - full manual and probably SS set to bulb with a remote release.
 
On the Sony with EVF and effective spot metering pretty much aperture priority all the time. On the Nikon with OVF and haphazard spot metering it's a mix of aperture and manual to control exposure.
 
Probably about 80% aperture priority with manual set ISO and the rest manual, which suits what I shoot- mainly things that don't move and candids.
 
Probably 60% shutter priority, 20% aperture, 15% manual with auto-ISO and 5% full manual at a guess.
 
Almost entirely aperture priority. Usually on a tripod so low ISO and I don't care about shutter speed.
 
80% aperture priority with auto ISO, 18%manual*, 2% whatever else.

*No auto ISO when manual. It's not manual if you use auto ISO ;)

Manual is mostly for when I'm using lighting, but sometimes just tricky conditions.
 
Most of the time AV mode I prefer to have control over the dof. Rest of the time depends on what I am shooting
 
I usually park the camera in P, and use it quite often too. Otherwise, AV most of the time and TV if required. The 30D doesn't have Auto ISO (or not in these modes anyway) so that's not an option.
 
Tringa said:
Which mode, if any, do you use most?

Dave
Click to expand...


No idea.... I use what's appropriate at the time. Probably a mix of aperture priority and manual. It's very rare I use shutter priority.

I never use program modes.

I never use auto ISO, but only because I've never had a need to.
 
I use all of them. No idea what percentages, it all depends on what I'm shooting and what effect I want to get. Likewise auto ISO, I switch it on and off as required. Like all features on a camera, they're just tools in the toolbox as far as I'm concerned. Heck, cameras and lenses are as well.
 
Usually av with auto ISO and a min shutter speed or manual. Subject dependant
 
The great unknown with threads like this is what people shoot and frankly what the end result looks like. I am in the M+Auto ISO camp for daylight stuff mainly because the wheels change Aperture and Shutter speed directly and I want to control these most. I do watch the ISO though and choose the other two values to keep the ISO at a sensible level as far as possible
 
I'm pretty evenly split between aperture priority, manual with auto iso and full manual. Really bugs me that my Olympus doesn't facilitate exposure compensation when using manual with auto iso. Maybe I'm naive but that sounds like a relatively simple thing to implement in software.

I use shutter priority when panning but that is pretty rare.
 
What could be the effort of knowing which modes others are using?
 
I use aperture priority, shutter priority and manual (with or without auto iso) equally (well maybe slightly less shutter priority).
I find it quite easy to use manual, but I by no means see this as being smart or show off-ish, it's just i find things like this easy to pick up.
When shooting moving subjects, changing light situations, I'll pick a semi auto mode to get the "correct" exposure. It means I have more time to concentrate on focusing, composition and such like.
 
For those using manual most of the time; what method do you use for metering? If you do what most seem to and just use the camera's built in meter and match the needle to the notch, you may as well be using one of the automatic modes (P, A or S) with EC dialled in as and when necessary.
 
Nod said:
For those using manual most of the time; what method do you use for metering? If you do what most seem to and just use the camera's built in meter and match the needle to the notch, you may as well be using one of the automatic modes (P, A or S) with EC dialled in as and when necessary.
Click to expand...


Only if you blindly line up the meter with "0" as you say... btw.. needle and notch? Showing your age there :)

If you know how to read a situation, then you can manually set the meter to what you want.


Also, you're neglecting the fact that in manual, you can spot meter the scene. With auto modes you'd have to spot meter the scene, then lock AE, which is a pain.

I'm not one of these people who reckon "real photographers use manual" by any stretch of imagination, but using manual is NOT the same as using auto and exposure compensation at all.
 
Last edited:
I am my age so probably am showing it! Wasn't suggesting that using manual is (necessarily) using PAS and EC, just that that's how the majority of "manual" users use it, often because they've been told that "real photographers use manual."
 
boolean said:
It's called discussion, always good to hear others approach to things.
Click to expand...
Up to that point, there wasn't any discussion. Other approaches will show that any mode is used by someone somehow. ;)

Mostly I use aperture priority mode, because most of my subjects don't move. I don't use that so called "creative modes" (my most preferred cameras do not have them anyway) and I don't use auto ISO. I don't use P-mode and I don't use the automatic Mode 'A', except I handle my camera to someone who isn't experienced with having not AF-Start at the shutter button, but on the AF-On or * button.
 
Nod said:
I am my age so probably am showing it! Wasn't suggesting that using manual is (necessarily) using PAS and EC, just that that's how the majority of "manual" users use it, often because they've been told that "real photographers use manual."
Click to expand...

Using manual lets you set exposure as you want (whether with the internal or an external meter) then point the camera where ever you like without affecting the exposure. That's the only reason for using manual really.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Using manual lets you set exposure as you want (whether with the internal or an external meter) then point the camera where ever you like without affecting the exposure. That's the only reason for using manual really.
Click to expand...

Kind of related to this - but if you're shooting panoramas, you really need to be using manual everything, so that each image has the same chosen exposure, white balance, focus etc. as the 'starting' point for your pano.
 
EightBitTony said:
Kind of related to this - but if you're shooting panoramas, you really need to be using manual everything, so that each image has the same chosen exposure, white balance, focus etc. as the 'starting' point for your pano.
Click to expand...

Must admit I'm lazy with white balance. I just leave it on auto and make sure they all match before I stitch them. Exposure and focus are always locked though.
 
The thing i forget most often to change is the metering.
I don't know why, it's probably just lack of experience.
 
Nostromo said:
The thing i forget most often to change is the metering.
I don't know why, it's probably just lack of experience.
Click to expand...

It's one of the things you probably don't need to change often, because the general purpose metering modes are pretty good. I only remembered half way through a choir performance to change to spot metering, and while the spot metered images are better exposed for the subject, the default Canon setting did pretty well.
 
Manual if I'm using my RZ67 or one of my 5x4s (auto simply isn't an option). I carry around hand held meters, one of which is a spot meter.

With the Sony a7r/rii, as I use manual lenses, I always use aperture priority (the lenses can't be adjusted by the camera) and exposure compensation when the camera gets it wrong.
 
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