Working out correct settings

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jimmy83

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Was helping out at a wedding Friday, which was great experience and Iam quite happy with the photos I got.

I found that the quickest way to find te correct settings to use in some circumstances was to use auto then switch to manual and use the auto settings that the camera suggest are the best. Then when in manual I can select the focus point I want. Just wanted to know if this is good practice?

Sometimes you have to be so quick when shooting wedding and I guess it's just down to experience when people just know what settings to use straight away...
 
If totally relying on cameras metering/judgement and the only change you are making is to focus point then why not just use P mode which will give same aperture and shutter as auto but will allow you to change things. You can also then program shift if you want a lower aperture, higher shutter speed etc,. while still keeping within the camera's recommended metering for the scene
 
jimmy83 said:
Was helping out at a wedding Friday, which was great experience and Iam quite happy with the photos I got.

I found that the quickest way to find te correct settings to use in some circumstances was to use auto then switch to manual and use the auto settings that the camera suggest are the best. Then when in manual I can select the focus point I want. Just wanted to know if this is good practice?

Sometimes you have to be so quick when shooting wedding and I guess it's just down to experience when people just know what settings to use straight away...
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Utterly pointless!?
Why bother switching to manual and then using the setting that the camera already worked out in auto
Your using the same values as auto this makes little to no sense.
And selecting focus points, why not just put camera into manual focus, leave it in whatever auto mode your using and shoot away.
 
Simon photo said:
Utterly pointless!?
Why bother switching to manual and then using the setting that the camera already worked out in auto
Your using the same values as auto this makes little to no sense.
And selecting focus points, why not just put camera into manual focus, leave it in whatever auto mode your using and shoot away.
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Perhaps he doesn't want to manually focus, just select the focus point, different things ;)
But yes doing it the way the op says is a bit bizarre.
 
i'm confused too
you can use a specific autofocus point really quite quickly on the 40D in A, S, P or M mode.
Using AI Focus, you can pick your point, use A-mode to get the sweet spot of your lens and then over expose a little if you think your 40D makes things too dark, esp if you're shooting a bride in white.
 
Wouldn't back-button focus in P mode with single central AF point (with no shutter button AF activation) and then recompose to take the shot be quicker and get the same results?

Edit: that's if your focus object isn't moving ;)
 
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DizMatt said:
i'm confused too
you can use a specific autofocus point really quite quickly on the 40D in A, S, P or M mode.
Using AI Focus, you can pick your point, use A-mode to get the sweet spot of your lens and then over expose a little if you think your 40D makes things too dark, esp if you're shooting a bride in white.
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I tend to use P mode quite abit but find better results using auto. I just find that due to weddings and that you have to be super quick and sometimes dont have time to select settings I try out auto and look at the results. I thought this was a good way to do things, but maybe not :thinking:

weybourne said:
Wouldn't back-button focus in P mode with single central AF point (with no shutter button AF activation) and then recompose to take the shot be quicker and get the same results?

Edit: that's if your focus object isn't moving ;)
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Will have a read-up thanks for the advice :)
 
Use Av so you can decide on what DOF you want, or in some cases Tv so you can decide to show movement or not.
 
I kinda get what you're doing - taking the parameters set by one of the auto/scene modes and switching to manual to allow you to choose the focus point. If it works for you, do it, you'll get a feeling for the full manual settings soon enough using this method as a guide I reckon.

...as long as it doesn't develop into a habit. ;)
 
On the Huh said:
Use Av so you can decide on what DOF you want, or in some cases Tv so you can decide to show movement or not.
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Yeah I normally use Av mode, but found most of the photos to be under/over exposed grey skies/white dresses wasnt the easiest for me.


JT74 said:
I kinda get what you're doing - taking the parameters set by one of the auto/scene modes and switching to manual to allow you to choose the focus point. If it works for you, do it, you'll get a feeling for the full manual settings soon enough using this method as a guide I reckon.

...as long as it doesn't develop into a habit. ;)
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Yup, as above 9/10 I use Av mode, but thats partly due to me having more time to prep the shot.
 
Unless I've missed something all you need to do is use P mode. Gives you all the benefits of auto but allows you to choose the focus point. Also allows you to adjust exposure comp up and down as needed. I've only had experience of canon though so not sure about other systems.
 
James Hope said:
Unless I've missed something all you need to do is use P mode. Gives you all the benefits of auto but allows you to choose the focus point. Also allows you to adjust exposure comp up and down as needed. I've only had experience of canon though so not sure about other systems.
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Yeah I did try P mode and use it a lot but it didn't seem to work as well as it had done in the past :(
 
jimmy83 said:
Yeah I did try P mode and use it a lot but it didn't seem to work as well as it had done in the past :(
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The difference (in camera-deduced settings) between P and auto is ISO - ISO is set by user in P but by camera in auto. Maybe the camera dared to go higher than you ;)
 
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weybourne said:
The difference (in camera-deduced settings) between P and auto is ISO - ISO is set by user in P but by camera in auto. Maybe the camera dared to go higher than you ;)
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His auto was AV which is less automatic than P, and there's no auto ISO on the 40d.
 
i dont get this switching to manual to select focus point thing - on the 40d you can select focus point in any PASM mode using the focus point selection button which is one of the two buttons at top right (positioned to be pressed with your thumb).

That said I usually leave it set to centre point and just lock the focus where i want it and recompose

(to be frank if you don't understand the basics of how your camera works you aren't ready to be shooting a wedding anyway - but thats a diffeent can of worms)
 
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I use this method in general photography if the light stays similar. You get a setting from Auto ... dial these into Manual mode....then you can shoot 'most' subjects without fear of backlighting, white colours etc. (providing, of course, that the original reading was of something around 18% grey). Is this what you mean jimmy83?
JohnyT
 
I think the thing you need to concentrate on is not what mode you're but why you're using it and what advantage it gives you. Settings are settings regardless of what mode you're in - 1/100th @ f/5.6 is just an exposure setting - and it's how each mode changes those settings that you just have to gain experience of.

I've used an auto setting now and then to get a base reading before I, say, then set to manual for locking at somewhere near max sync speed when shooting with non-TTL flash.

It's all just about knowing your camera and that only comes from shooting
 
Phil V said:
His auto was AV which is less automatic than P, and there's no auto ISO on the 40d.
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there is I think, I use it all the time! perhaps my imagination :P
but the difference for me between auto and P mode on the 40D is that AUTO will pop the flash up, which you might not want
 
specialman said:
I think the thing you need to concentrate on is not what mode you're but why you're using it and what advantage it gives you. Settings are settings regardless of what mode you're in - 1/100th @ f/5.6 is just an exposure setting - and it's how each mode changes those settings that you just have to gain experience of.

I've used an auto setting now and then to get a base reading before I, say, then set to manual for locking at somewhere near max sync speed when shooting with non-TTL flash.

It's all just about knowing your camera and that only comes from shooting
Click to expand...

:thumbs: Best advice/comments on this thread.
 
jimmy83 said:
Yeah I normally use Av mode, but found most of the photos to be under/over exposed grey skies/white dresses wasnt the easiest for me.

Yup, as above 9/10 I use Av mode, but thats partly due to me having more time to prep the shot.
Click to expand...

Phil V said:
His auto was AV which is less automatic than P, and there's no auto ISO on the 40d.
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I interpreted that the OP was shooting full auto because it was faster than Av and he felt he was getting incorrect exposure on Av. According to the manual, the ISO speed is set automatically within ISO 100 - 800 when using full auto. In Av mode, ISO can be set to auto using the dial - the manual states: "The ISO speed will be set automatically within ISO 400 - 800 so that a shutter speed preventing camera shake will be set. If overexposure would result at ISO 400, a lower ISO speed, as low as ISO 100, will be set".
 
Yes, it does look like auto ISO is an option on 40D, whereas it definitely isn't on 20D
 
On the focus point issue. There's a CFn option with the 40D to set the focus point using the thumbstick. Push up for the top point, click for the centre, push down-left for the lower left, etc. I'm not sure why it's not set by default on the 40D (but it isn't, you have to set it yourself) and like back-button focussing it's something that makes the camera so much easier to use.

I can't figure out why you're not using manual from the off - given the problems you have described and the solution you have developed for yourself. Set your ISO according to the general conditions and your ideal aperture (ISO100 for daylight, ISO400 for overcast). Auto ISO on the 40D only flicks between ISO400 and ISO800 which is only 1 stop and neither here nor there in most circumstances. It's quicker than framing with auto, remembering the settings, changing mode, transferring the settings, reframing the shot.
 
DizMatt said:
there is I think, I use it all the time! perhaps my imagination :P
but the difference for me between auto and P mode on the 40D is that AUTO will pop the flash up, which you might not want
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But see below, the OP uses AV, where if he was using auto ISO surely he'd still use it in P?
ADMISSION
I had to check the 40d has auto ISO available, I bought mine at launch and have never used it. I probably dismissed it because it wouldn't give me a shot in low light.:thinking:

jimmy83 said:
Yeah I normally use Av mode, but found most of the photos to be under/over exposed grey skies/white dresses wasnt the easiest for me.

Yup, as above 9/10 I use Av mode, but thats partly due to me having more time to prep the shot.
Click to expand...
 
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