canon slr, when to use what

[wet]

I am seeking people's opinions on what is the most optimum mode (manual, aperture priority, shutter priority, program, automatic) most people use at these occasions below. The reason is my friends were giving me very different advises & none of them converge. The other reason is I want to be able to concentrate on capturing the expressions/sceneries & not have to fuss around with the camera settings to see which out turn out better.

1. Shooting outdoor wedding ceremony/birthday party
2. Shooting indoor wedding ceremony/birthday party
3. Outdoor kids/family portrait
4. Indoor formal family portrait with studio lighting
5. Landscape like National Park
6. Wildlife like birds, bear etc

I will do flashfill when is neccessary.

Thanks.

tt

 

[DScience]

Manual. But that's just me.

 

[musicaleCA]

Short answer probably is "what works best for you and gets you the image you want". For me that means shooting Av most of the time when there's available light, but I shoot manual with flash.

Off-hand, and overgeneralizing, and completely just my PoV:

1. Fill flash and M.
2. Fill flash and M.
3. Fill flash and M.
4. M all the way.
5. Av.
6. Av.

 

[Classic_Obsession]

Aperture priority seems to be the best for me.

 

[Henry Peach]

The reason is my friends were giving me very different advises & none of them converge.

People do it different ways; practice to find out which works best for you and your style.

The other reason is I want to be able to concentrate on capturing the expressions/sceneries & not have to fuss around with the camera settings to see which out turn out better.

All of the exposure modes are basically variations of 2 controls: shutter and aperture. I shoot almost everything in M or Av (landscapes, weddings, portraits, family snaps, etc...). If you practice in M you will figure it out pretty quickly, and eventually setting the camera becomes almost unconscious. That's when you can really start concentrating on your subject.

 

[bigtwinky]

I never use Automatic. I don't think there is a time and place where I can see myself using this.
I don't shoot with the Program mode either.
1,2,3,4 are all portraits and will often need to have fill flash. So probably M
Actually when using studio lights, you need to be on M to properly sync your camera with the lights.
5 as I am not concerned with shutter speed as I am usually using a tripod to steady the camera, I use AV and have a smallish aperture (11-16).
6 I would probably go with AV here as well.

 

[snaggle]

I use manual for almost every thing, I usaly take a couple test shots before I start taking any keepers. If I am in a pinch I will use auto but only as a last resort.

 

[fast1]

Aperture priority seems to be the best for me.

same for me too.

 

[KmH]

90% Manual, 10% Aperture Priority.

If I want it more automatic I grab the little p&s.

 

[Montana]

90% Manual, 10% Aperture Priority.

If I want it more automatic I grab the little p&s.

Same here. I shoot manual almost exclusively. If I am shooting an outdoor sporting event such as a rodeo, I'll shoot Aperture Priority if the lighting keeps changing with the sun going in and out of clouds.

 

[wet]

Previously, I do manual almost 100% of my pics. My fundamental problem is when I shoot in in manual, if it turns out too dark or too bright & I didn't notice it on my little LCD screen, I have to later rely on my software (irfanview & Canon ZB) to do auto adjust for me. Sometime the autoadjust is really bad. After I sign up to this forum, I learnt to appreciate shooting with RAW, Canon ZB does better with RAW. Still sometime when I tried to crank up the brightness alone, it just look horrible. Is lightroom a better software to use.

Can Av with automatic ISO replace manual? My camera has automatic ISO. I have been using a lot of Av with auto ISO & my success rate is a lot higher compare to when I do manual. My dilemma is if I use Av too much, I will never get better at manual.

Thansk guys, sorry guys, I think I am asking for very fundamental questions. I read many many photograhy books, none of them give me a very good pointer.

This picture is shot with Av + auto ISO @ f2.8. No flashfill. For beginner, it is acceptable?

tt

 

[KmH]

Your image link is broken.

What metering mode do you use the most.

 

[wet]

I only use the general metering mode.

Take 2. Not sure why the first one is broken. This picture is shot with Av + auto ISO @ f2.8. No flashfill. For beginner, it is acceptable?

 

[bigtwinky]

I still see a red X

 

[Josh66]

I don't see anything either (not even the red X)...



To answer the original question-

Currently I use Manual mode for almost everything. No particular reason why...

I used to use Av all the time. And My first month or two I just used the green box.