For those who use M all the time...

I use manual nearly all of the time.
I started to learn on my Dad's Olympus OM10 and continued to use manual on digital.
Using manual certainly helped a lot in understanding how the mechanics and principles of the camera worked - I just continue to use manual without thinking, adjusting the settings to suit the situation. I also like the challenge of using manual as it always keeps me on my toes, especially with fast moving objects - I suppose I also like to be in complete control of my camera too :D
Still, everyone has their own techniques which I thinks great as I find it interesting to see what people do to capture their pictures.
 
Janice said:
I do!!

I decided to teach myself how to use manual as I have a streak in me that needs to know how everything works. I told myself that once I had learned then I would go back to AV mode.

But I never did, and am very comfortable in full-time manual... (but dont do fast sports or aeroplanes or anything though)
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I also use manual ALL of the time, and I do shoot fast motorsport.

Pretty much the same reasoning tbh, wanted to learn and never felt the need or wanted to go back.
 
I am interested to know from you Wedding Togs if the same applies to white balance - i.e. to maintain consistency in a sequence of images do you set WB to one of the modes rather than automatic?

While I know if, shooting RAW, it can be adjusted in PP, are there any benefits to shooting a predetermined WB in camera.

WeddingHack said:
I shoot manual all the time, I used to be Av but it's so inconsistent when the lighting is tricky - e.g. backlit, dark scene, etc - exposures change from one frame to the next.

With manual you get it right once and keep firing and you know every shot will have the same exposure. You just have to be more aware of the light.
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nfulcher said:
I am interested to know from you Wedding Togs if the same applies to white balance - i.e. to maintain consistency in a sequence of images do you set WB to one of the modes rather than automatic?

While I know if, shooting RAW, it can be adjusted in PP, are there any benefits to shooting a predetermined WB in camera.
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If you shoot RAW - there's no reason to use anything other than Auto WB as you can tweak the WB in your RAW converter and apply that to all the images from that set-up.
However if you shoot JPG and if you have the time, then doing a Custom WB would be better, even though it can also be altered in PP, as it's better to get as much right in-camera with JPG...

For a Wedding - I would say you should be shooting RAW as you'll want the best-quality images of the event...
 
Thanks Arkady, so there's is no benefit in selecting the correct WB as it can be managed in PP - I understand that. Surely though, this same principle applies to exposure setting M/AV/TV (within limits) as it can all be managed in RAW processing:thinking:.

To play devils advocate :naughty:, why would I want to bother fiddling in Manual mode when I can shoot in AV mode concentrating on DOF; provided its within plus or minus 2 or 3 stops it can be sorted out in RAW processing.

Or am I missing something? (Useful thread this BTW)

Arkady said:
If you shoot RAW - there's no reason to use anything other than Auto WB as you can tweak the WB in your RAW converter and apply that to all the images from that set-up.
However if you shoot JPG and if you have the time, then doing a Custom WB would be better, even though it can also be altered in PP, as it's better to get as much right in-camera with JPG...

For a Wedding - I would say you should be shooting RAW as you'll want the best-quality images of the event...
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V8burble said:
How many are actually using M and adjust the aperture and shutter speed bringing the meter to bang on '0' on the meter, thinking they've done a great job at balancing those two variables as they hit the shutter release? I'm sure it's not just a few.
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Totally agree with you there.
Personally I see no point doing this, as in one of the priority modes the camera will arrive at the same place as you, just a massive amount faster.
Isn't this one of the main reasons for buying an expensive DSLR?
 
nfulcher said:
why would I want to bother fiddling in Manual mode when I can shoot in AV mode concentrating on DOF; provided its within plus or minus 2 or 3 stops it can be sorted out in RAW processing.

Or am I missing something? (Useful thread this BTW)
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If you are two or three stops out in either direction then you will be losing out on a large amount of shadow detail or highlight detail.

Best to get it right to start with.


Steve.
 
I shoot mainly Manual and occasionally Aperture priority.

With Manual I am usually looking to keep the aperture at a constant and will use either spot or partial metering and will compensate (for the desired exposure depending upon what I am shooting) by adjusting the shutter speed and/or ISO. I can very quickly adjust shutter speed to get the correct exposure for the subject that I want and that is sometimes considerably different to how the camera meter is telling me it would like me to expose.

I use Aperture Priority when the light is constantly changing. I see it as a compromise and invariably will have a bit of compensation set (plus/minus 2/3rds of a stop) which I can adjust on the fly.

For WB if you intend to process a large number of shots under a constant light source then you are far better choosing the closest camera pre-set rather than using auto WB. This will speed up PP significantly as all you have to adjust is the WB in the first image of a series and then copy those adjustments to the others. If you are using auto WB then you have to adjust each one individually.

John
 
I'm currently using M all the time, just to learn more. the more i change the settings to adapt to different scenarios the more i will learn. However it will be getting changed soon to S or A depending on scenarios - week off this week going to be experimenting :)
 
nfulcher said:
...why would I want to bother fiddling in Manual mode when I can shoot in AV mode concentrating on DOF; provided its within plus or minus 2 or 3 stops it can be sorted out in RAW processing...
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It's not quite the same - whereas colour balance is to a certain degree subjective (I prefer warmer tones in my images than others - and sometimes warmer than they appeared at the time of capture), exposure is less so. To get the full range of highlights and shadow detail that the sensor is capable of producing, you need to optimise the exposure according to the scene you are trying to record and to a lesser extent, the finished image you hope to present...
 
Up to 3 months ago i only used AP. Then i had a go at taking a few duplicate shots with manual... since then i have changed and now shot manual 90% of the time.

Its still fairly new to me so it does make me a little slower (and yes I probably make more mistakes at the moment than when i shot in AP) but i think its worth it for the difference it makes to my images. Somehow theres just more depth to my manual images, i'm not a techinical person so can't explain why but I'd recommend for those interested in shooting manual to do as i did and take a few shots for comparison.

Anna
 
Arkady said:
If you shoot RAW - there's no reason to use anything other than Auto WB as you can tweak the WB in your RAW converter and apply that to all the images from that set-up.
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Actually there is Rob, auto WB can and does change shot to shot. So if I'm taking pics of the speeches then shots of the groom and shots of the best man can actually be different which is a pest to correct. I don't want to be correcting individual images. So. I actually choose a WB that is not necessarily the right one but stick to it. Then I can correct the whole lot as a batch in PP. I learned this on from Mark Cleghorn and it is the quickest way of doing a whole batch at once :)

My own shooting is a right mixture, sometimes it's AV, occasionally SP and quite a lot in manual, it depends on what I'm shooting and what the lighting is like. I've recently found a cracking way of shooting strobist stuff in P as well which is rather good fun.
 
AliB said:
Actually there is Rob, auto WB can and does change shot to shot. So if I'm taking pics of the speeches then shots of the groom and shots of the best man can actually be different which is a pest to correct. I don't want to be correcting individual images. So. I actually choose a WB that is not necessarily the right one but stick to it. Then I can correct the whole lot as a batch in PP. I learned this on from Mark Cleghorn and it is the quickest way of doing a whole batch at once :)

My own shooting is a right mixture, sometimes it's AV, occasionally SP and quite a lot in manual, it depends on what I'm shooting and what the lighting is like. I've recently found a cracking way of shooting strobist stuff in P as well which is rather good fun.
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Ali, I remember reading something along the same lines regarding setting WB for a sequence of images to keep PP to a minimum - but I was curious to hear what the pros do. Quite a mix of techniques really.

I am intrigued of your technique for using P mode for strobist work, I have been struggling to get to grips with my 580EX and 5D - do tell :shrug:
 
I was referring to shots taken under the same lighting conditions - it may be as little as a kelvin or two, but that's not enough for me to worry about and my earlier comment still stands - you can edit your first image and apply that to others from the same set-up.
 
Yep, no problem with those slight changes Rob, it's just an interesting little technique.

As for practicing some really, really simple strobist stuff, try this one.

Camera on P (Shhhh it can be our secret) take the exposure, knock it down anything from 1-3 stops. Flash on ETTL and have fun!

The EX580 also works quite nicely when zoomed to 105mm, you can use it slightly further away from your subject.

I won't post any of my results from last night because I'm quite sure you all don't want to be looking at pics of my other half's socks, yes I used the washing line as a test subject. :)
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Forbiddenbiker
All good photographers will switch between the various tools available depending on what they need at the time.
I agree 100% with this.

I would advise everyone to learn how to use the camera in manual. it will give you a better idea what other modes are doing for you and how best to use them. It will also give you an extra option as there are times when semi auto modes will not work as you want them to.

I use Manual as much as I can.. but on a cloudy/sunny/windy day when the lighting is changing quickly as the sun is in and out of clouds, to the point where you could point and compose a shot then before you hit the shutter the sun pops out... then I tend to go for Av mode myself. But constant light usualy means manual for me

these options are there for a reason. I paid a lot of money for my cameras.. I use whatever option produces best results.. if I stuck to manual all the time I would miss a lot of shots ... if I stuck to semi auto modes and no manual I would miss shots.
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+1

The semi Auto modes have their place, AV for sports and other fast moving scenarios when lighting is changing. TV for airshows etc (i think).

But 90% of the time its manual for me on spot metering then add exposure comp as required.
 
I think someones messing up quoting...90% of my post is attributed to forbiddenbiker
 
AliB said:
As for practicing some really, really simple strobist stuff, try this one.

Camera on P (Shhhh it can be our secret) take the exposure, knock it down anything from 1-3 stops. Flash on ETTL and have fun!

The EX580 also works quite nicely when zoomed to 105mm, you can use it slightly further away from your subject.

I won't post any of my results from last night because I'm quite sure you all don't want to be looking at pics of my other half's socks, yes I used the washing line as a test subject. :)
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Thanks Ali, I'll give that a try. Just to be sure I understand you, when you say knock it down 1-3 stops you're referring to Exposure Compensation in camera (EV) rather than Flash Exposure Compensation, right?
 
nfulcher said:
Thanks Ali, I'll give that a try. Just to be sure I understand you, when you say knock it down 1-3 stops you're referring to Exposure Compensation in camera (EV) rather than Flash Exposure Compensation, right?
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Yes, spot on, just dial in between one and three stops(EV) depending on how much ambient you want to retain. I tried it on the washing last night and it's a very quick and dirty method (not the washing, it was nice and clean and smelled lovely........) Just what I need if I'm in a situation of working quickly.

Of course if I have the time I'd be looking to have more control over it all but as a very easy method, might as well use some of those electronics I've paid for :D
 
i was lucky in a way as i started with a bridge camera (fuji s6500fd) so i learnt my way around manual settings early on, including manual focus, i use them nearly all the time, if not im using S for action shots and auto focus(shooting the kids....erm, with a camera ill point out) surpisingly, for some of you, ive been taking photos for over 3 years but ive only been shooting in raw for the last 3 months when i got my alpha, even though my fuji supported it, purely cos i didnt understand it back then.
 
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