Beginner Scenario Settings Cards - Tip Cards - Cheat Cards - Pocket Guide

[BenjyBoo]

Hi all,

Does anyone have a recommendation, link or basically a point in the right direction for a pocket type guide with scenarios with camera settings or like tip cards?

I find reading large books doesn't sink in, and I thought if I had a basic to the point tip like ("Landscape Hills" ISO 100, f5, AF area mode:single point, metering:matrix) would help greatly and while out about about taking the pictures.

I'm going away soon and will have time to play with the DSLR and would like to be able to try using the manual settings for landscapes, architecture and night city lights.

Thanks.

 

[Phil V]

They’ve been tried - but they’re doomed to failure.

A camera isn’t a washing machine (40 deg for cotton) it’s more akin to a musical instrument. Where the whole point of picking up the camera is ‘what you want to create’ which differs from what someone else would want to create in exactly the same place.

P mode, auto ISO and you being left to choose what to focus on is all the info you need. You’ll soon learn when you need to select a wider or narrower Aperture, or a different shutter speed, that info will tell you whether to move to Aperture or shutter priority modes. Also you’ll learn when you need to tweak the cameras chosen exposure by using exp compensation.

It ought to be obvious when to choose continuous or one shot focus (is your subject moving).

There’s no right or wrong metering mode - and only idiots believe that there is. Frankly they can all be right or wrong and the only fix is you learning how they’re fooled. Stick w matrix/ eval or whatever your camera calls it.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

If your camera has any version of the "Intelligent Auto" (iA) setting on its control dial, you could start with that.

Take a picture, then, while the circumstances are fresh in your mind, review the image and see what settings the camera used. By doing this, you should begin to build a memory of what settings are good for different subjects and conditions.

 

[BenjyBoo]

I have a couple of cards in my camera bag from Digital Camera magazine. They have a picture such as waterfall on one side then the best posible settings to use for that kind if picture on the reverse. Such as shutter speed, aperture, iso, best lens type, whether better with tripod and tips for getting a great shot. I find this very helpful and easy way to learn on the go.

They’ve been tried - but they’re doomed to failure.

A camera isn’t a washing machine (40 deg for cotton) it’s more akin to a musical instrument. Where the whole point of picking up the camera is ‘what you want to create’ which differs from what someone else would want to create in exactly the same place.

P mode, auto ISO and you being left to choose what to focus on is all the info you need. You’ll soon learn when you need to select a wider or narrower Aperture, or a different shutter speed, that info will tell you whether to move to Aperture or shutter priority modes. Also you’ll learn when you need to tweak the cameras chosen exposure by using exp compensation.

It ought to be obvious when to choose continuous or one shot focus (is your subject moving).

There’s no right or wrong metering mode - and only idiots believe that there is. Frankly they can all be right or wrong and the only fix is you learning how they’re fooled. Stick w matrix/ eval or whatever your camera calls it.

I have a couple of cards in my camera bag from Digital Camera magazine. They have a picture such as waterfall on one side then the best posible settings to use for that kind if picture on the reverse. Such as shutter speed, aperture, iso, best lens type, whether better with tripod and tips for getting a great shot. I find this very helpful and easy way to learn on the go.

 

[Phil V]

I have a couple of cards in my camera bag from Digital Camera magazine. They have a picture such as waterfall on one side then the best posible settings to use for that kind if picture on the reverse. Such as shutter speed, aperture, iso, best lens type, whether better with tripod and tips for getting a great shot. I find this very helpful and easy way to learn on the go.

How do they know what picture you want to take*? How do they know how much light you have**?

I’m trying to be helpful.

*as per my first post, any tips are subjective, and only useful if you want to copy someone else’s view.

** There’s no way they can predict the light level, so they can only suggest a suitable exposure value. But without explaining the pitfalls, the must have bits and the don’t worry of you can’t bits, at best it ‘might’ be useful.

Whereas learning the basics; will enable the average brain to fill in the gaps, and then make their own artistic choices.

There is no shortcut to understanding and trying to chase one will hold you back more than it’ll help.

 

[welshwizard645]

I'm with Andrew.... the Program mode is great (some cameras have a Green option - aka idiot mode) and is ideal most of the time. If the camera has auto-ISO use that....

Phil is right, the cards are only ok if you want to recreate the same shot you see in a magazine. There are so many variables that affect how your image will turn out...

Once you become more familiar with your camera and confident you will be able to set your own setting to make your own images and not carbon copies of those in the magazine.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

Another way you can learn how the camera's settings affect the outcome is to get an exposure meter.



Using this to set your digital camera, you will begin to understand the relationship between the light on the subject, your perception of that light and how the camera's sensor reacts to the light, depending on what settings you choose to use.

The basics of manual exposure are very easy to learn. It's the subtleties of deciding how to balance the very different exposure required to show detail in shadows against the details you wish to show in brightly lit parts of the image, which require effort.

 

[sirch]

and would like to be able to try using the manual settings for landscapes, architecture and night city lights.

The only time I use full manual is when using flash otherwise I would use aperture priority for pretty much everything that doesn't move and shutter priority for anything that does.

My basic thought process for most things is what depth of field do I want and do I want to freeze or blur motion. DoF is set by aperture, freeze/blur is set by shutter speed, then use the lowest ISO I can for that aperture and shutter speed. Focus mode doesn't matter really for things that are not moving, it's more about where you put the focus point

So landscapes - generally higher/tighter aperture, lower shutter speed. If hand holding then the shutter speed needs to by high enough to avoid shake
Architecture - not my thing but similar to landscape I guess, unless you want details with blurred backgrounds then lower/wider aperture
Night city lights - tripod, consider bracketing so that you can blend later.

 

[Phil V]

I'm going away soon and will have time to play with the DSLR and would like to be able to try using the manual settings for landscapes, architecture and night city lights.

A big misunderstanding by newbies is the importance of going fully manual.

Back in the mists of time it was the only way to learn for most people (auto cameras were expensive). The result for me was 2 large carrier bags full of photos that were incorrectly exposed, mis-focussed or in some other way unsharp. This taught me nowt more than ‘photography is hard’.

Whereas your modern camera, with its fantastic inbuilt meter, AF system and array of aids is a different proposition.

Forty + years into photography, I rarely go back to Manual mode. And when I do it’s for a specific reason, usually when shooting flash as a primary light source*.

All of the great photos up to the 80’s were almost certainly shot full Manual, including focus. And only a tiny % of the ones produced since. Pro’s generally don’t shoot manual, nor do the vast majority of gifted amateurs, it’s making the easy part difficult**.


*When shooting w flash I rarely need my cameras inbuilt meter to influence my decision. I’ll be guessing/tweaking or using a flash meter.

** Some people still spend months struggling with the exposure triangle (a simple concept) rather than learning how to make a great picture. Many of those people give up photography because ‘it’s hard’. Using cheat cards that might not work leads you into that place.

 

[Phil V]

it’s making the easy part difficult

The easy part of photography:
Getting the correct exposure, ensuring the subject is sharp. It’s barely a craft, though fairly simple using modern technology.

The hard part:
Being in the right place at the right moment to frame your image in an interesting way. This often requires an intimate understanding of your subject. Whether that’s airplanes, lakes and mountains, wildlife or people. Also a craft but at its best turns into art.
No amount of technology can make this straightforward, though there are some things that are easier now than they used to be - but it requires effort.

And that’s why I think wasting ‘effort’ to shoot Manual is a waste - concentrate on the bit that needs the work.

 

[BenjyBoo]

Thank you all for the sound advice.