Which DSLR Mode?

[Groucho]

i would LOVE a programmable mode where i controlled the "exposure graph" and could set parameters as mark suggested. i've been wishing for that for years. unfortunately, since the ultra-high-end canons don't even have that yet, it will probably be many years before something like that makes it to something i can afford. new features often start at the top end.

I believe that the new Pentax K10D does this. Competition improves the breed...

Anyway, to answer the original question... I mostly go between program and aperture priority. Occasionally shutter priority, and manual mode for my two lenses that are lacking an auto-aperture mode. Oh, and bulb mode for fireworks, and bus photos... wait 'til you see what I shot last night, talk about pictures the average tourist doesn't take.

Today we spent the day in Epcot and I spent most of the day switching between the 50-200mm for zoom stuff, and 50mm for the low-light/indoor and "0bli0"-style photos - heavy depth of field stuff. Too bad they don't make one single small lens that goes from a fisheye 10mm to, oh, 300mm or so, and F1.4 at all focal lengths... boy, that'd make things easier!

 

[Disneyfreak92]

Too bad they don't make one single small lens that goes from a fisheye 10mm to, oh, 300mm or so, and F1.4 at all focal lengths... boy, that'd make things easier!

I want that lens!

I use Program mode a lot for walking around, but I switch to Av for certain circumstances, and I use manual for my night shots.

 

[gruZ]

I want the lens too - ideally it would be < 6 ounces, and around $150!

Depending on the situation, I will use Av, Tv, or M. From time to time I will still use P, but not nearly as much.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Why manual? What do use manual for and how do you use it?

If you are adjusting the exposure and shutter speed to match the camera's meter, why not just use AV or TV and skip the extra step? If you are using the camera's exposure meeting as a guideline but compensating, why not use the camera's exposure compensation?

The only times I use full manual are with external lights (which the camera can't meter for) or with the built in flash when I want to tightly control the shutter speed and aperture but still want the camera to give me enough light to make my decisions work.

So why do you shoot in Manual? What advantage does it provide over AV or TV?

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I guess I could also see using M if you used an external meter to deal with limitations of the camera's meter.

Or if you wanted to do everything yourself to force yourself to pay more attention to your camera settings.

 

[jann1033]

i used manual last night cause to get the full moon it was the only thing that would let me get the shutter speed fast enough and the aperture also...so i guess that would be like the external light

 

[MarkBarbieri]

i used manual last night cause to get the full moon it was the only thing that would let me get the shutter speed fast enough and the aperture also...so i guess that would be like the external light

I was really thinking external flash when I said external light. If the light is constant, your camera's meter should be able to handle it. The moon is so small for most focal lengths that a camera without a spot meter might have trouble with it. Without a spot meter, I agree that manual would probably be the best way to deal with it.

A bit off topic - the full moon takes up the same amount of space in the sky regardless of whether it is a harvest moon, a moon near the horizon, or a moon way up high in the sky. Many people think that a harvest moon looks larger, but that is an illusion. Your brain "sees" the moon being larger when it is near the horizon because it has more context.

 

[fitzperry]

Or if you wanted to do everything yourself to force yourself to pay more attention to your camera settings.

When I shoot in manual, that's often the reason--I'm trying out different exposures. Part of the educational process I suppose.

Sometimes in low light I'll use manual and underexpose something a bit in order to use a shutter speed that I can still hand hold (I'm too lazy to carry a tripod, and even if I weren't, the presence of two impatient children and one only slightly less impatient husband makes the use of a tripod somewhat tricky). Then I can brighten it up a bit in Photoshop. Not the best technique I'm sure, but it occasionally produces an acceptable result.

 

[0bli0]

i'm not sure who Mark's question is aimed at... i use 'M' mode for team sports in the daylight because different people's faces and jerseys are different colours. so i take a reading for the grass and stick with that. i'll take another reading at the half or if there is a significant change in cloud cover.

 

[Disneyfreak92]

I use manual at night, but I guess I should say primarily for fireworks. I set my aperture at f/8, shutter on bulb, and ISO at 100. That way I can time the exposures using my shutter release and hopefully get something like this...

 

[Groucho]

0bli0 has a good point - manual allowing you to set an exposure level that you like for a location and let it stick, without worrying about the camera deciding that something should change. I hadn't even thought about that when reading Mark's question, although I did do that myself a couple times yesterday and today. Sometimes you don't want the camera to do any thinking for you.

I was thinking earlier today if we aren't overthinking by avoiding the manufacturer-created "scene" modes? I've almost never use them on any camera, and never on my DSLR. Maybe there are times where they will actually "work as advertised"? Something to play with one of these days.

 

[jann1033]

0bli0 has a good point - manual allowing you to set an exposure level that you like for a location and let it stick, without worrying about the camera deciding that something should change. I hadn't even thought about that when reading Mark's question, although I did do that myself a couple times yesterday and today. Sometimes you don't want the camera to do any thinking for you.

I was thinking earlier today if we aren't overthinking by avoiding the manufacturer-created "scene" modes? I've almost never use them on any camera, and never on my DSLR. Maybe there are times where they will actually "work as advertised"? Something to play with one of these days.

kind of forgot about them on my dslr but on my slr i used to use the auto "closeup" all the time and got really great macro shots, the background was really nicely blurred and the object nice and sharp even with my less than spectacular sigma "macro" lens. i think unless it's something you particularly want to try to accomplish, why not? sometimes my brain needs a rest ( sometimes my brains takes a rest whether i want it to or not but that is another topic )

 

[wdwpluto]

Mostly Av because I like to control the depth of field. But if it's a fast moving subject, I'll switch to Tv. I use M occasionally if I'm not happy with the exposure I'm getting from Av or Tv.

I do, however, love night portrait. I know there's another thread on it and that you can get the same results without using a mode, but I like the ease of it.