Manual vs Automatic

[smoke665]

Not being disrespectful to anyone but this thread seems to have deviated from helping the OP, to a war of rhetoric on who's right. As someone pointed out earlier everyone's right. Shoot what you feel most comfortable with. However as others have also pointed out, the OP's problems involve more than just exposure. By going manual at least for know, it will help him understand and adjust, without the camera second guessing him.

 

[sashbar]

She's lost her Manual, silly cow...

... so was shot in Auto (A) with just 2 stops comp and some quick pp.

 

[Deleted member 215987]

I don't care! Never have cared! Never will care! Sorry, I forgot to take my meds today.

 

[Deleted member 215987]

By the way sashbar, that gal in the photo looks like she has a spry-on tan!

 

[BananaRepublic]

P-easant mode! I only read the first page and assumed that it reflected the other 5.

P is Perfeshunul Mode![/QUOTE

A sarcastic or a edumacated point ....Hmmm

 

[BananaRepublic]

Says who?
The polls.
Which polls?
All of them.

Nobody mentioned Hilary or Trump.

 

[Braineack]

Just making the observation that the statement seems to contradict statements in this thread.

Not really.

Suggesting that one should knows how to take control of shutter speed, Aperture, and ISO before giving control over to the camera in no way contradicts his statement. In fact, it supports it. Had the OP started in (M) or with the basics of how a camera operates and chooses the exposures it does, then he would know that shooting in (A) or (M) matters little. It's the means in how you ultimately determine (3) settings that creates a final output.

Just like I posted two different shots, one in (M) and the other in (A), where the exposure ended up exactly the same --because I know my tool works, and how to use it.

The OP somewhat blindly switched to (M) and was convinced it was better without knowing why/how. We are presenting questioning to this to help guide the OP without lambasting. Yes, the shot done in (M) looks better, but the shot -- in whatever auto-mode was used -- could have looked identical. Vise versa, the shot done in (M) could have looked worse.

 

[480sparky]

Says who?
The polls.
Which polls?
All of them.

Nobody mentioned Hilary or Trump.

Bacon.

This thread needs some bacon.

 

[Gary A.]

Says who?
The polls.
Which polls?
All of them.

Nobody mentioned Hilary or Trump.

Just seems devolving into a similar conversation ...

Hilary ... Trump
Manual ... Auto
Toe-May-toe ... Toe-Ma-toe

 

[TCampbell]

Apart from a lot of mud-slinging... I was hoping for some more meaningful info on "why" a person should select "auto" vs. "manual".

I really dislike the two overly-generalized terms because most cameras have more than 2 modes on the dial. I actually use most of the modes on the dial and "which" mode I choose depends on the situation.

"Auto", and it's close-relative "Program" both follow something called the "Program Line". The Program line is an algorithm designed to try to find a "safe" exposure -- which is a lot different than finding the optimal or most artistically pleasing exposure. Since light will vary and the camera doesn't know anything about the subject, it has to generalize a few things.

At the risk of generalizing too much (because different cameras will tweak this) here's what it does:

Primarily it assumes you are hand-holding the camera and so it tries to use a "safe" shutter speed for hand-held photography... meaning 1/focal-length of the lens.
It will prefer base ISO but will boost ISO to meet the needs of the exposure... but it will somewhat resist needing to do this to keep the noise low.
It will prefer a middle-aperture.

If light is poor, it will boost ISO and reduce aperture to maintain a "safe" shutter-speed for hand-held photography. If light is particularly poor then it'll drop to lowest possible aperture and highest possible ISO to maintain the safe shutter speed... and if that's still not enough then it'll start dropping the shutter speed. It usually doesn't know if the lens has image-stabilization (although some newer cameras do know.)

The specific behavior will vary by lens capabilities. So the exposure it chooses with one lens will not necessarily be the same as the exposure it choose with another lens on the same camera and same lighting conditions.

If lighting is particular abundant it will drop to base ISO and then start using faster shutter speeds and higher aperture values in roughly equal balance until it hits the limits of either (usually aperture) and then keep going with the other.

"Auto" usually won't let you override settings.
"Program" picks the same initial settings that "Auto" would have picked, but allows you to override elements of exposure (e.g. "Program Shift" features).

And then these discussions tend to ignore the whole discussion over the parts I refer to as "semi-auto" -- such as Aperture or Shutter priority modes.

I personally use Aperture priority for normal photography most of the time because it allows the strongest control over creative shots (primarily depth of field). I will sometimes use Shutter priority when there is a specific need to either deliberately freeze motion or deliberately blur motion. Since most of my photography doesn't involve deliberately freezing or blurring motion, I only occasionally use this mode.

I argue that if you are using manual, but you trust your camera's meter reading, then you're basically using either Aperture or Shutter priority... you're just slower at it. I say this because you'll set one element of exposure (such as Aperture) first, then adjust the complimentary setting (such as Shutter) until the in-camera meter indicates a correct exposure. But had you used a semi-auto mode then the camera would have selected the EXACT same exposure you just picked... but it would have done it faster.

If I'm shooting a situation with rapidly changing lighting conditions then I'm definitely in a semi-auto mode because you'd never keep up with the light changes in manual mode.

However I do use Manual mode quite a bit too...

One key factor that puts me in Manual mode is if I realize that for whatever reason the camera's light meter isn't going to be effective. For example (a subject near & dear to the OP's heart) if I shoot food photography then I'm using flash and lots of light modifiers. The camera's meter isn't going to know about all of these because they aren't "lit" when I'm metering the shot. So I'm manually dialing in the exposure that I know will work best when the shutter is actually open and the flashes are firing.

I actually own an incident meter with flash-metering and flash-contribution capabilities for more advanced metering and exposure than a built-in meter can handle. If I'm using that, then the camera is also on Manual.

If I'm using ND filters, the camera is on Manual (again, this is a situation where you probably cannot trust the camera's built-in meter.)

I never use full "auto" mode. If I hand my camera to someone else (or if my spouse wants to use the camera) then I generally switch it to Program mode ... knowing that it'll take "safe" exposures.

 

[Ysarex]

Apart from a lot of mud-slinging... I was hoping for some more meaningful info on "why" a person should select "auto" vs. "manual".

I really dislike the two overly-generalized terms because most cameras have more than 2 modes on the dial. I actually use most of the modes on the dial and "which" mode I choose depends on the situation.

"Auto", and it's close-relative "Program" both follow something called the "Program Line". The Program line is an algorithm designed to try to find a "safe" exposure -- which is a lot different than finding the optimal or most artistically pleasing exposure. Since light will vary and the camera doesn't know anything about the subject, it has to generalize a few things.

At the risk of generalizing too much (because different cameras will tweak this) here's what it does:

Primarily it assumes you are hand-holding the camera and so it tries to use a "safe" shutter speed for hand-held photography... meaning 1/focal-length of the lens.
It will prefer base ISO but will boost ISO to meet the needs of the exposure... but it will somewhat resist needing to do this to keep the noise low.
It will prefer a middle-aperture.

If light is poor, it will boost ISO and reduce aperture to maintain a "safe" shutter-speed for hand-held photography. If light is particularly poor then it'll drop to lowest possible aperture and highest possible ISO to maintain the safe shutter speed... and if that's still not enough then it'll start dropping the shutter speed. It usually doesn't know if the lens has image-stabilization (although some newer cameras do know.)

The specific behavior will vary by lens capabilities. So the exposure it chooses with one lens will not necessarily be the same as the exposure it choose with another lens on the same camera and same lighting conditions.

If lighting is particular abundant it will drop to base ISO and then start using faster shutter speeds and higher aperture values in roughly equal balance until it hits the limits of either (usually aperture) and then keep going with the other.

"Auto" usually won't let you override settings.
"Program" picks the same initial settings that "Auto" would have picked, but allows you to override elements of exposure (e.g. "Program Shift" features).

And then these discussions tend to ignore the whole discussion over the parts I refer to as "semi-auto" -- such as Aperture or Shutter priority modes.

I personally use Aperture priority for normal photography most of the time because it allows the strongest control over creative shots (primarily depth of field).

With a modern camera Aperture Priority offers no advantage or any stronger creative control access over exposure than Program mode. In A mode you take a moment to set the f/stop (let's say f/8) and the camera meters and sets the shutter speed (let's say 1/250th sec) and that's your exposure: f/8 at 1/250th sec (barring any EC value). In P mode I take a moment and turn the Program shift wheel to set the f/stop (let's say f/8) and the camera has already metered and set the shutter speed (1/250th sec) and that's my exposure: f/8 at 1/250th sec (barring any EC value). You're not getting anything different; it just doesn't matter.

As the photographer you need to make the exposure call. You can do that using P, A, S, or M. With a modern camera neither P, A, S, or M force an exposure on you so it matters NOT which one you use.

Joe

I will sometimes use Shutter priority when there is a specific need to either deliberately freeze motion or deliberately blur motion. Since most of my photography doesn't involve deliberately freezing or blurring motion, I only occasionally use this mode.

I argue that if you are using manual, but you trust your camera's meter reading, then you're basically using either Aperture or Shutter priority... you're just slower at it. I say this because you'll set one element of exposure (such as Aperture) first, then adjust the complimentary setting (such as Shutter) until the in-camera meter indicates a correct exposure. But had you used a semi-auto mode then the camera would have selected the EXACT same exposure you just picked... but it would have done it faster.

If I'm shooting a situation with rapidly changing lighting conditions then I'm definitely in a semi-auto mode because you'd never keep up with the light changes in manual mode.

However I do use Manual mode quite a bit too...

One key factor that puts me in Manual mode is if I realize that for whatever reason the camera's light meter isn't going to be effective. For example (a subject near & dear to the OP's heart) if I shoot food photography then I'm using flash and lots of light modifiers. The camera's meter isn't going to know about all of these because they aren't "lit" when I'm metering the shot. So I'm manually dialing in the exposure that I know will work best when the shutter is actually open and the flashes are firing.

I actually own an incident meter with flash-metering and flash-contribution capabilities for more advanced metering and exposure than a built-in meter can handle. If I'm using that, then the camera is also on Manual.

If I'm using ND filters, the camera is on Manual (again, this is a situation where you probably cannot trust the camera's built-in meter.)

I never use full "auto" mode. If I hand my camera to someone else (or if my spouse wants to use the camera) then I generally switch it to Program mode ... knowing that it'll take "safe" exposures.

 

[snowbear]

If you're shooting for someone else (customer) and they like the results of whatever mode you used, you were successful. If you're shooting for yourself and you like the results, you were successful.