use of Manual Mode

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gavinb

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gavin
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Hi all,

So I had a voucher code to use on ITune store and used it to purchase Nikon D40 guide (application) By Ken Rockwell.

Whilst reading through it come across a part that says No one uses Manual mode and to ignore anyone that says to use this mode (stating they only recommend it as it's all camera had in the 1950's :D).

Now I'm relatively new to photography but use manual mode quiet alot (infact about 90% of my Flickr Photos are shot in this mode) as I like the control you get and find it good for learning.

Is this sound advice? Do alot of people use it, or in general do most people avoid this mode?

Thanks
 
Arrhhhh!!!! Good old Mr Rockwell :lol:

Mr Rockwell has a bit of a reputation some advice he gives is a load of old tosh, some quite good, but he always starts a discussion/fight with somethings he says.

If Manual was not used then why would the manufactures still include it on there machines?

If it works for you then fine and I would continue to use it and not worry about what other people think.
 
Ignore it! :)

Sometimes manual is the only way to go. I had one last week with three light sources and two subjects and the only way to balance the exposure was to shoot it in manual. I did try other modes to see how good the camera could get it but it could not match some fine tuning by the idiot behind it :)
 
What a load of .... I shoot almost exclusively in manual.
 
It's one thing for KR to spout whatever brand of bulltosh he likes on his own site but to charge people who don't know any better for it is wrong. KR used to be full of **** but now he's only half full - he's sold the rest.
 
Knikki said:
Arrhhhh!!!! Good old Mr Rockwell :lol:

Mr Rockwell has a bit of a reputation some advice he gives is a load of old tosh, some quite good, but he always starts a discussion/fight with somethings he says.

If Manual was not used then why would the manufactures still include it on there machines?

If it works for you then fine and I would continue to use it and not worry about what other people think.
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Yes I have seen the name crop up a few times around various places. I intend to continue using it. Just wasn't sure if it was really generally avoided :D
 
Nod said:
It's one thing for KR to spout whatever brand of bulltosh he likes on his own site but to charge people who don't know any better for it is wrong. KR used to be full of **** but now he's only half full - he's sold the rest.
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Yes at £2.99 :suspect:
Thankfully I wasnt paying, just using a voucher, I wouldn't have paid real money at that price!, it would have been the most expensive IPod App I own. would have put the money towards extension tubes :cool:
 
different modes for different tasks I use manual and Av a lot, Tv sometimes when I want specific amounts of blur in changing light

the man must be an arse from that info
 
He's taking the P... I use manual almost exclusively...the only time I ever (and I mean 'ever') use any of the programme modes is when doing air-to-ground recce shoots: there's never any sky in those shots and since from 800 feet the terrain is almost a uniform 18% average (in the UK) I shoot on Shutter-Priority set to 500th sec at 400iso...I also use JPEG-High instead of raw/NEF for those as well...
Processing is limited to auto-levels and save...
No creative input for no creative output...real hack-work...
 
On his website he actually says:

M Mode: Manual Exposure

You have to set everything the hard way.

No one uses this mode except in complex conditions. Ignore old-timers who tell you you need Manual mode; they say that because that's the only mode cameras had back in the 1950s.

NB except in complex conditions.

Not saying that I always agree with him but he is not quite the idiot people like to make him out to be.
 
:-D

Seems like the 'no one uses' statement is definatly completely made up. Glad I really didn't need to pay for the app. There is next to nothing of use in it :-(
 
When I started to learn, I never touched it. Then once I had played about with the other modes, I started on that one. Now I use it alot of the time.
 
Brooksy said:
When I started to learn, I never touched it. Then once I had played about with the other modes, I started on that one. Now I use it alot of the time.
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Ah see, i decided to start out with Manual. Thought it'd be a good idea.....Although now glad I did it, it caused a few headaches :bang:
 
Im quite new to photography and i kind of taught myself by reading the "understanding exposure" book.

I started using manual after reading up on it and its great, its the first setting other than auto that i used. However now i dont use it so much, i use A or S mode depending on what i need. Sometimes manual is the only way to shoot some things though, like the moon. From my recent experience i can only shoot the moon in manual.

If you learn out to use manual first then the rest is easy in my opinion :)
 
Like just about everything on your camera, there is a time and place for it. Just because Ken Cockwell has never encountered the same photographic puzzles as you or I is irrelevant.

The main use I have for it is either:

1) When using a teleconverter and needing to stop the lens down and not let it run to the maximum permitted aperture - I normally shoot motorsport in shutter priority mode as the shutter speed is what controls how frozen (or not!) the action is, but when I need to control both the shutter speed and not let the aperture go all the way wide open (because with a TC on thats nasty and soft) its manual mode for me (and probably using auto ISO to allow for light level changes)

2) Shooting backlit subjects - MX bikes against the sky without flash... flash is the better way of balancing the shot, but failing that you need the bike to have enough detail and sod the sky :D
 
I use it a lot in the studio for product shoots, plus when exposing for a person etc against the sky. It's easier to expose for your hand, then shoot and most of the time it turns out right.
 
Fortunately by the time I read KR on 'manual', I'd read a few posts on here explaining just why it could be needed.
 
dear oh dear!

I use manual most of the time when shooting, especially with studio lights as once I have set my lighting and set the camera appropriately, you can shoot all day long without having to worry about your settings... *well mostly* ;)

To say no-one uses it is a bold statement indeed!

I used to like reading his site, but the more I learn the more I scratch my chin and go "hmmmmm" whilst reading his stuff
 
KIPAX said:
Complex like shooting towards the sun?



Well he does a very good impression of an idiot then :)
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Very!
I don't often knock people, I'd prefer to say nothing if I can't say anything good. But just sometimes they deserve everything they get!
 
gavinb said:
Ah see, i decided to start out with Manual. Thought it'd be a good idea.....Although now glad I did it, it caused a few headaches :bang:
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I sometimes think I should have started out first with M. Probably have understood the other modes better?? Who knows, but I got to it eventually and now am happy :)
 
I would use AV and manual almost equally.
when in AV I usually lock the exposure on a suitable area.
 
He is just trying to fill up the book so it looks like he has loads of pages. Everyone shoots manual at some point :)
 
Andy said:
He is just trying to fill up the book so it looks like he has loads of pages. Everyone shoots manual at some point :)
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No no....he specifically says no one does!!! It's in a commercial application so must be true!!! just the same as all games and film are based on fact!!!!
 
My camera has only been in AV a few times to see what all the fuss is about, can't say I was too impressed.

And I've never felt the pull to view any of Mr K.R's stuff yet, might have a little gander though :suspect:

Steve
 
Can't see the point in manual, your gonna chimp the screen every shot whatever mode you use and make adjustments if you think you need to.

In Rockwells film days, things were different.

Just what exactly is the point of all manual on a digital camera once you've learned the rudimentaries, why does anybody shoot it, there is no less control shooting a priority mode.

Isn't using a pre-view screen, just like shooting auto...:)
 
Once I've set up a controlled lighting shoot in M I'm good to go without chimping (too much) and know exactly what I'm going to get, because I've set it up.

AV ?
 
I was quite pleased when I was at a friends wedding reception and I used my D300 in manual mode to very good effect. had a 50mm f1.4 on the cam so I set the aperture fairly wide, about F2'ish. the shutter speed was set to a fairly slow speed, about 1/30 or slower and then I set the pop-up flash to auto. this meant that the flash auto exposed the subject properly, but the slow shutter speed allowed the background to light up nicely. as the lens was pretty wide open, it didn't matter if the background blurred from motion, as it was blurred from aperture anyway, but the subject was frozen by the flash.

the pics came out really nicely (I thought) and I don't know if I could have achieved that effect without manual mode.

as it happens, once the manual settings were set, I didn't have to change them all night.

David
 
PerfectSpeed said:
Once I've set up a controlled lighting shoot in M I'm good to go without chimping (too much) and know exactly what I'm going to get, because I've set it up.

AV ?
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Exactly - unless the light changes radically (which as a photographer, you should notice...lol)...or you change position relative to the subject...and it'll still be within 1/3 of a stop...
 
I've never ever used a DSLR on anything but manual mode even from the first time I picked up my 350D

It helps to be competent with equipment so the creative side is the only thing to be worrying about
 
There is a time & place for manual mode

I hardly ever come across it - but there is a time & a place for it :D

Seriously though - it's best used when the lighting condition isn't prone to huge & swift changes, but IMO ONLY when incident metering is used too - i.e. from a hand held meter

So great for weddings in a church, reception, home, any venue where the lighting is relatively uniform - but for a 'reportage' style of shooting outside when within seconds you can go from whispy clouds to solid clouds to clear blue skies & sun - auto rules for me - as you'll find for most Pros these days shooting so freely

DD
 
I went through a stage of shooting manual exclusively. It helped my understanding but I now shoot mostly aperture priority. Having said that I use exposure compensation 99% of the time so in actual fact there's not a lot of difference.

The most important thing (to me) with a Digital SLR is guesing what your camera is thinking with regards to metering and exposure - and then compensating for it. Whether you do that with manual or exposure compensation hardly matters.

With regards to KR he loves controversy - simple as. He's got us talking about him for one thing!!
 
ryanyboy said:
I went through a stage of shooting manual exclusively. It helped my understanding but I now shoot mostly aperture priority. Having said that I use exposure compensation 99% of the time so in actual fact there's not a lot of difference.

The most important thing (to me) with a Digital SLR is guesing what your camera is thinking with regards to metering and exposure - and then compensating for it. Whether you do that with manual or exposure compensation hardly matters.

With regards to KR he loves controversy - simple as. He's got us talking about him for one thing!!
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The 'guessing' bit was just as relevant in film m8 - just film had such a huge latitude you didn't know if you'd got it wrong/right or just that the lab had compensated for you

Digi is more like slide film for being less forgiving of errors - so yes, think what the camera is 'thinking' and compensate away :)

DD
 
DiddyDave said:
Seriously though - it's best used when the lighting condition isn't prone to huge & swift changes, but IMO ONLY when incident metering is used too - i.e. from a hand held meter
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So if your forced to shoot towards a low sun and you want to expose a subject.. I think only manual will work.. Are you saying an incident meter will give you the correct exposure for the subject? I have never used one so dont know.. but somehow like in other situations I think it will be as much use as the cameras inbuilt system.

I use manual when the camera cant handle it.. I dont see how an incident meter would help.. Another example is Cricket... white backgrounds.. bright sunshine and slightly off white kits.. the camera doesnt get it right.. the subject is a very long way away and your not allowed to go near it.. will an incident meter work?

I will stop with the examples now.. its when you said ONLY it got my attention.. I find there are no exact rules in photogrpahy.. :)
 
DiddyDave said:
There is a time & place for manual mode

I hardly ever come across it - but there is a time & a place for it :D

Seriously though - it's best used when the lighting condition isn't prone to huge & swift changes, but IMO ONLY when incident metering is used too - i.e. from a hand held meter

So great for weddings in a church, reception, home, any venue where the lighting is relatively uniform - but for a 'reportage' style of shooting outside when within seconds you can go from whispy clouds to solid clouds to clear blue skies & sun - auto rules for me - as you'll find for most Pros these days shooting so freely

DD
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Gee...I must be doing it all wrong then...

Hand-held meter...what are you dribbling on about?
The Matrix-metering in DSLRs these days is far more sophisticated than any hand-held meter...It just required the knowledge to use it properly...

As KIPAX correctly points out, if the subject is any distance from the camera then a substitute reading must be taken, which is a guess at the best of times...
 
KIPAX said:
So if your forced to shoot towards a low sun and you want to expose a subject.. I think only manual will work.. Are you saying an incident meter will give you the correct exposure for the subject? I have never used one so dont know.. but somehow like in other situations I think it will be as much use as the cameras inbuilt system.

I use manual when the camera cant handle it.. I dont see how an incident meter would help.. Another example is Cricket... white backgrounds.. bright sunshine and slightly off white kits.. the camera doesnt get it right.. the subject is a very long way away and your not allowed to go near it.. will an incident meter work?

I will stop with the examples now.. its when you said ONLY it got my attention.. I find there are no exact rules in photogrpahy.. :)
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Ah Kip - why ask one question when you can ask several at once :lol:

Incident measures the light falling ON the subject as a means of giving an exposure, so...

In cricket - yes, go to the player's position and meter that - except you can't can you!!! I'm guessing they don't like togs wandering over the grounds to check exposure :D

However, if the light where you are is the same as where the batter stands (is that the correct term for this boring sport??? :p), then an incident from your position will be just as good

If you are photographing something you can approach, then an incident metering will work perfectly regardless of how bright (Sun) or dark (trees) their background is - both of which can confuse your camera's reflected light reading

But a few test shots and exp comp will sort most of those out anyway - it's only when the sodding light keeps changing within seconds that an auto setting works best. Prior to that then yes manual, but only when YOU rather than the camera has figured out the exp comp - if indeed any is needed

DD
 
Arkady said:
Gee...I must be doing it all wrong then...

Hand-held meter...what are you dribbling on about?
The Matrix-metering in DSLRs these days is far more sophisticated than any hand-held meter...It just required the knowledge to use it properly...

As KIPAX correctly points out, if the subject is any distance from the camera then a substitute reading must be taken, which is a guess at the best of times...
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The 'knowledge' is the key - knowing when each is best and how & when to compensate

Try shooting while zooming in & out on a bridal couple on auto to see how crap your fab camera really is ;)

DD
 
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