Help! advice please on when best to use which mode (Canon 450D)

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DGN1984

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Hi Everyone,

I am just looking for a bit of advice and guidance and any feedback is really appreciated.

I have just started regularly using my Canon 450D as I have started an 8 week Photography for beginners evening class in London. I am getting to grips with the manual settings on the camera (Program/Aperture Priority/Shutter Priority/Manual/A-DEP) and have a basic usnderstanding of what each one does. My problem at the moment is I am unsure of when I should be using the different modes.

For example say I am shooting at a music gig in low light, should I:

1) shoot in AV to open up the aperture as wide as possible and let the camera control shutter speed

2) shoot in TV to select a fast shutter speed preventing motion blur and let the camera select the aperture

3) shoot in manual to have complete control over both aperture and shutter speed.

I appreciate that some of this comes down to personal preference and with practice and experience I will develop my own way of doing things however I'm just a bit confused about when best to use certain modes and leave certain things up to the camera to select automatically.

Any advice on this would be really helpful

Thanks in advance

Dan
 
For me, what mode I shoot in really depends on what I'm trying to achieve with the picture. If I'm after a specific DOF, I'd use AV and set the camera to whatever Aperture I wanted. If I were shooting something fast paced (like motorsport), I'd whack it in TV and set the shutter speed to the desired amount and go from there.

If I were shooting a gig (which I've never done before), I'd probably put the ISO up as high as is practical (on the 450D probably something like ISO1600 or ISO3200), set the aperture as wide as possible (maybe using a fast lens like the 50mm f/1.8) and see what happens. That's just my best guestimate though without any experience of gig photography behind it.
 
I never shoot in shutter priority, it is either manual or AP, for a gig or any low light i would use AP with the lens wide open and use my ISO manually to control shutter speed. for fast sport depends on the light, if it is consistent i'll shoot manual and maybe have auto ISO on from 100 to 1600 otherwise same as the gig setup
 
As already mentioned it will totally depend on what you're shooting.

For example, when I try to get some cricket/rugby shots I shoot in AV mode. The logic behind it is that I was as fast shutter speed as possible to freeze the action. I have the aperture wide open and set the ISO so that my shutter speed is at least 1/1000, although even then a cricket ball might be a little blurry.

A good way to learn is to just go out an play, get some shots, see what works and what doesn't.

If you post pictures up on here people will normally be able to tell you where you went right or wrong ;)
 
Thanks for the replies guys, I think its going to be a case of me playing around with the camera and gaining experience to see what suits me best in different situations.

Thanks again

Dan
 
At a music gig.. manual.. the lighting rig will be causing rapid changes in local lighting levels that will confuse the metering. That's what has worked for me, ymmv.
 
What Alastair said.
I'd personally just whack up the ISO to 1600 which on my 450D gives more than acceptable pictures, I wouldnt miss out on a picture simply because of a little noise (it doesnt go to 3200 btw) If you know the lighting isnt changing that much between shots then then av is fine but full manual gives you better control.

Oh Dan whats your fastest lens? you will need at least a 1.8/2 to get decent shutter speed as I assume they wont allow flash (most places get tetchy if you keep blinding the band)
Scout the venue, find a good location, ask about flash and take it from there.


Edit:Just seen your other thread and your nifty should be fine.
 
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