Begginer - Need some help !

[mitko007]

Hi all,
im quite new in world of digital photography so may be for most of you my questions would sound stupid... I read some tutorials but there are still some issues i dont really understand. One of these are the A,S,P modes on my camera (SOny DSC H50). As i set i to A mode i can adjust the Aperture manually and the camera sets up a Shutter speed automatically. How does this effect the EV as it always stays at 0? Or should i always adjust the EV maunally???! And why do i get always so slow Shutter speeds...like 2-3 sec. even at daylight and clear weather conditions. I see in internet that for the same conditions people get faster shutter speeds....
The same question i valid for the S mode. The one i really dont get is the P mode...what is it ment for? I read in the manuall that it sets a Aperture and Shutter Speed automatically where i set the EV manually ??!
Another thing is this metering option...how is it exactly used.
This EV is the one thats getting me confused so i would really appeciate some help.
Thanks !!!

 

[tirediron]

Welcome to the Forum; let's see if we can't answer your questions. Let's start with 'EV'. 'EV' stands for Exposure Value, which, simply put is the amount of light which is hitting the sensor at the time of exposure. There is no 'EV' adjustment per se, the adjustment is occurs as you change your aperture and/or shutter speed. Ideally, yes, you want to keep your EV at '0' (assuming that's the centre-point on your camera's light-metre scale) for most situations.

EV is most often referred to now as it relates to exposure compensation or bracketing. That is, the deliberate increasing or decreasing the amount of light to hit the sensor from that which the light-metre recommends. This is done usually to compensate for overly bright or overly dark elements in an image.

'P' or Program Mode is simply a method by which the camera picks what it thinks are optimum shutter speeds and apertures based on the available light. This is usually a good mode to snapshots, but not always ideal for photographs if you have a particular finished image in mind. It is however a good mode to use while you learn the ins and ou
ts of your camera.
I'm not familiar with the metering modes of Sony cameras, so I can't help you with that I'm afraid.

As to why you're getting such long exposures, it can only be one or a combination of two reasons, either your aperture is stopped right down (largest f number) or your ISO is right down, or both. If you set your ISO to 200 and your shutter speed to 1/200 of a second, in Shutter priority, your camera should select an aperture of around f16. If it doesn't, then there's a setting which needs adjusting somewhere.

I hope that helps to some degree, your questions were a little bit difficult to understand, but feel free to ask further; I'm sure with the expertise on this board, it won't take long to sort out.

 

[maulrat]

I only wish I could reach out an call you or something to help explain this. I feel your pain, as I felt the same way when I got my first DSLR a month ago. Here is my go at an explanation.

Aperture priority mode, the whole idea is for you to only adjust the aperture. Sorry if I sound like an idiot saying that. The EV is setup automatically by the camera based on what aperture you set by adjusting your shutter speed to reach a 0-EV (proper exposure). This means that your shutter speeds may be extended or shortened. In order to counteract this and keep the same or similar aperture, try raising your iso. This will allow your sensor to pick up more light faster forcing your camera to again, adjust itself by making your shutter speed faster. Be careful though, when taking shots at 800 or higher iso, this will induce some noise onto your photos.

In shutter priority mode, your camera pretty much works opposite of aperture priority by allowing you to adjust shutter speed manually and automatically adjusting the correct aperture to reach a 0-EV (proper exposure).

Hope this helps. Feel free to send me message if I can help explain this in more detail to you.

 

[maulrat]

Doh, Tirediron beat me to respond to your post. hehe. I guess I should have edited my reply to "Yeah, what he said". LoL. I didn't think anyone was awake at this hour.

 

[mitko007]

I only wish I could reach out an call you or something to help explain this. I feel your pain, as I felt the same way when I got my first DSLR a month ago. Here is my go at an explanation.

Aperture priority mode, the whole idea is for you to only adjust the aperture. Sorry if I sound like an idiot saying that. The EV is setup automatically by the camera based on what aperture you set by adjusting your shutter speed to reach a 0-EV (proper exposure). This means that your shutter speeds may be extended or shortened. In order to counteract this and keep the same or similar aperture, try raising your iso. This will allow your sensor to pick up more light faster forcing your camera to again, adjust itself by making your shutter speed faster. Be careful though, when taking shots at 800 or higher iso, this will induce some noise onto your photos.

In shutter priority mode, your camera pretty much works opposite of aperture priority by allowing you to adjust shutter speed manually and automatically adjusting the correct aperture to reach a 0-EV (proper exposure).

Hope this helps. Feel free to send me message if I can help explain this in more detail to you.

So as i could understand...EV will always stay at 0 because my camera will automatically adjust the Shutter speed and/or Aperture to respond to it.

 

[tirediron]

So as i could understand...EV will always stay at 0 because my camera will automatically adjust the Shutter speed and/or Aperture to respond to it.

Yes, IF you are in an automatic (Program) or semi-automatic (Aperture or Shutter priority) mode, and if it can, ie, there may not be enough light or there may be too much light for a given shutter speed or aperture. In manual of course, whatever settings are set are the ones that will be used, whether or not they're even close to a correct exposure.

So summarize all that, until you're much more familiar with the camera, and how the different modes work, keep making sure that your meter is at or nearly at the '0' point when you take a picture.

 

[mitko007]

Yes, IF you are in an automatic (Program) or semi-automatic (Aperture or Shutter priority) mode, and if it can, ie, there may not be enough light or there may be too much light for a given shutter speed or aperture. In manual of course, whatever settings are set are the ones that will be used, whether or not they're even close to a correct exposure.

So summarize all that, until you're much more familiar with the camera, and how the different modes work, keep making sure that your meter is at or nearly at the '0' point when you take a picture.

Thanks guys...i'll try those things out and if there is something i'll post some new questions....

 

[Dao]

So as i could understand...EV will always stay at 0 because my camera will automatically adjust the Shutter speed and/or Aperture to respond to it.

When EV=0, this is what the camera think the best exposure for that particular shot. However, sometimes, you may need to adjust it so that it is a positive or negative number depends on the situation.

For example, you are taking a picture of a cup with a very dark background. The camera may think the overall picture is very dark, so it may allow more light to hit the sensor when you press the shutter button.

In that case, you may need to adjust the EV value to a lower number. i.e. -1 or -2. And that is the exposure compensation.


I would recommend you try to take a shot (using "A" mode) of an object. And then take 2 other shots with EV setting of +1 and -1. You will see what exposure compensation can do for you.

 

[Jasmine S.]

Hello!
Along with the wonderful information you have already been given you might consider a tutorial DVD as well..With a DVD you can refer back to it at any time. There are a few brands out there but I would personally recommend QuickPro Camera Guides. They have a Digital 101 DVD; it is very basic and should answer all of your general questions. Take a looksie at their website www.quickprocameraguides.com - I hope this helps!!

Hi all,
im quite new in world of digital photography so may be for most of you my questions would sound stupid... I read some tutorials but there are still some issues i dont really understand.