Shooting Manual or Auto-unhijacking the other thread

[stsinner]

I don't have anything against people shooting in auto mode, but I have more respect for shots taken in manual, as they require a deeper understanding of what's going on with the camera and the subject.

Very reasonable.

 

[Overread]

I don't have anything against people shooting in auto mode, but I have more respect for shots taken in manual, as they require a deeper understanding of what's going on with the camera and the subject.

I hold respect for shots I find impressive (for many reasons) however mode used is not one I list as a reason. Infact were I to list it I would say that a good shot in auto mode might impress me more than if the same shot were taken in manual mode - it takes a bit of skill to shoot really well when you are not in full control of the camera (and might have to resort to tricks to get the shot right).

 

[EhJsNe]

Well....I would greatly appreciate the option of a manual mode.....BUT, I dont. I have a Fully Manual Nikon FM10 with a broken light meter. Every now and then I use faster shutter speeds than i should have (I used 1/250 second in a gym without a flash at f/4....the next time i used a flash at 1/125 (max flash sync) at f/4 (max aperture on the lens i used)) Even if the pictures are underexposed, you can still make out details, even if I do screw them up.

 

[Overread]

ouch on the meter - you know you can get normal light meters (and flash meters too) which are external to the camera - that might be an option for you - I take it that repairing the camera is not that viable (ie costs too much either based on your budget or on the cameras overall worth)

 

[dxqcanada]

I shot in M mode all the time.
I look through the viewfinder and turn my Shutter speed or Aperture wheel until the internal meter shows +/-0.

Hmm, isn't that manually setting what the auto exposure is expecting ??

Up until a year ago my camera's never had Auto/Program exposure, so it is second nature to me to manually control my Shutter speed and Aperture settings. I take what the internal camera meter or my hand held meter tells me of multiple areas of the scene ... then I use my experience to set the Shutter/Aperture settings.

Using Manual exposure can be either ... so saying you shoot Manual is not a great gauge.

Now saying this ... I have begun to appreciate the automated exposure for quick shots or for scenes that I know will produce the exposure that I expect. Though if I go auto I will use Shutter/Aperture priority most often.


I am a Auto shooter !!! (who understands the limitations of programmed exposure systems).

 

[Overread]

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/photo-themes/157569-amazing-auto.html#post1546229

its time to fight it out!

 

[KvnO]

The camera uses the same meter for both auto and manual modes.

People using manual tend to have a better understanding of photographic principles and how to achieve them through the use of it over auto.

People know what they want in a camera. If they buy an SLR and leave it in auto, that's their prerogative. SLRs have other advantages rather than just easy access to manual controls.

 

[stsinner]

People using manual tend to have a better understanding of photographic principles and how to achieve them through the use of it over auto.

Though they may have a better understanding of what the camera is looking for and why it does what it does, that doesn't make their pictures necessarily better.

I liken this argument to the microwave and popcorn.. Someone who is hellbent on manual would go buy the individual components and position them around the bag of popcorn, then they would sit on the bicycle that produced the electricity and pedal until the bag was fully and perfectly popped..

I would pop my bag of microwave popcorn into my microwave and program 10 minutes (since the popcorn button never gets it right) and let it pop until I hear 5 or so seconds between pops and open the door, revealing a perfectly popped bag of popcorn..

Both are delicious and perfectly done, but i got mine done without knowing how the microwave works, and that pisses the other guy off..

I respect them for putting forth the effort, but I simply prefer doing it my way since the results are the same..

You CANNOT SAY that every picture taken in P is better than every picture taken in Auto.. I would even argue that if we went looking for the most botched pictures in each mode, P would win, hands down...

 

[Rushes]

Though they may have a better understanding of what the camera is looking for and why it does what it does, that doesn't make their pictures necessarily better.

I liken this argument to the microwave and popcorn.. Someone who is hellbent on manual would go buy the individual components and position them around the bag of popcorn, then they would sit on the bicycle that produced the electricity and pedal until the bag was fully and perfectly popped..

I would pop my bag of microwave popcorn into my microwave and program 10 minutes (since the popcorn button never gets it right) and let it pop until I hear 5 or so seconds between pops and open the door, revealing a perfectly popped bag of popcorn..

Both are delicious and perfectly done, but i got mine done without knowing how the microwave works, and that pisses the other guy off..

I respect them for putting forth the effort, but I simply prefer doing it my way since the results are the same..

You CANNOT SAY that every picture taken in P is better than every picture taken in Auto.. I would even argue that if we went looking for the most botched pictures in each mode, P would win, hands down...

Haven't you just debunked your own theory? The automatic 'Popcorn' setting on your microwave doesn't do what it should so you MANUALLY program the microwave to acheive the desired result.

I'm all for using automatic modes when you want but if you can master the manual modes you'll become a far better photographer than someone who hasn't mastered them.

 

[dxqcanada]

How about shooting in Auto/Program Exposure ... and using Exposure Compensation to over-ride the camera meter > would that be considered shooting Manual ?

 

[stsinner]

Haven't you just debunked your own theory? The automatic 'Popcorn' setting on your microwave doesn't do what it should so you MANUALLY program the microwave to acheive the desired result.

I'm all for using automatic modes when you want but if you can master the manual modes you'll become a far better photographer than someone who hasn't mastered them.

The difference is that the other side reverse engineers the microwave and builds it from scratch-I don't care how it works and just pop my bag in and hit start...

And you can be a better photographer, but that doesn't automatically mean that your pictures are better.

 

[Enough Already]

Your meter is your guide no matter what mode you use. Some people dont care about DOF or even know it exists. They just want a shot properly exposed. I use Av 95% fo the time. The other 5% is for when the meter has problems setting the correct shutter, like at city skyline at night. What is the difference between me using Av, setting the aperture at f8 and letting the meter select the shutter? Am I not going to be looking at my meter anyway in M mode and turning the dial until its in the middle?? Am I not going to end up with the same shutter speed?? I say shoot in what ever mode you are comfortable with. If its auto, so be it. Let people get bent out of shape, its none of their business.

 

[Rushes]

The difference is that the other side reverse engineers the microwave and builds it from scratch-I don't care how it works and just pop my bag in and hit start...

And you can be a better photographer, but that doesn't automatically mean that your pictures are better.

I disagree with your microwave reverse engineer analogy. A camera and a microwave are both tools. They both have automatic and manual settings. You just stated that the automatic setting on your microwave gave you an undesirable result so you used a manual setting of ten minutes.

I don't know exaxtly how my digital camera or microwave works but I know how to set them up to get the desired result if the automatic settings fail.

That's what most people have been saying. People that can't understand what is going wrong (for whatever reason) and then adjust their tools accordingly can't get decent popcorn or pictures.

True, better photographers don't always take better pictures but 99% of the time they do.

 

[uplander]

I'm a guy who is on the fence here. I find I use many of the creative zone modes ( which includes M) . I usually shoot in Ap of Tv and I have some custom settings set up (C1,C2,C3 on a 40D). I shoot a lot of field trials( hunting dog competitions) the action at times is very fast. I also do a lot of wildlife photography and time is of the essence many times.

When the action is fast paced and it takes all you have to just to look through the view finder and acquire the subject, I use Tv, but more often than not I use the sport mode in the basic (auto) zone.

When it comes done to it, I sell photos and how I get the best ones has little to do with my ego. the truth is (at field trials I probably shoot and sell more photos shot in the sport mode than any other mode) I simply cannot change settings ( shutter speed , aperture, ISO, and so forth ) and still get the shot in time allowed to get the shot!

A good photographer will do what it takes to get the best shot no matter mode he/she has to rely on. If time permits, full manuel gives the photographer complete creative control over his work. Yet technology has given all of us the benifit to help us get the shot we need.

Sometimes using the basic modes is nothing more different than us relying on are cameras techno advances in being able to use higher iso's, better ccd's and cmos's, light sensors, AF points and such.

If someone says point blank that using a camera in manuel mode alone is the only way to take a shot and do it right, well that person has missed the boat completely and if he expects photography to be his/her livlihood than he/she will be living on beans and macaroni and cheese while the rest of us who use what technology has given us can have that nice dinner and bottle of wine once and awhile

 

[jordan!]

I hold respect for shots I find impressive (for many reasons) however mode used is not one I list as a reason. Infact were I to list it I would say that a good shot in auto mode might impress me more than if the same shot were taken in manual mode - it takes a bit of skill to shoot really well when you are not in full control of the camera (and might have to resort to tricks to get the shot right).

I guess I never really thought of it like that. I feel like knowing how to trick the camera into taking a picture a certain way in auto and getting there yourself in manual are two different skills though. A good photograph is a good photograph, regardless of how it was achieved. If someone takes an awesome auto shot, I'll like it. The mode a photograph is taken in certainly does not have any effect on it's legitimacy.

But are we talking about the end result, or the process that gets us there? If we are talking about photography as an art, everyone should at least have an understanding of how to shoot in manual. If you can achieve the same shot in auto mode, great! It's not like auto mode composes the picture or picks the subject for you.

So to sum it up, is one mode better than the other? Probably not. A great photograph can be taken with any camera by any means. Does manual offer more creative control? For a photographer who understands each element of exposure, I think it does.

EDIT: My initial comment in my first post was that I had more respect for a photograph taken in manual. I should have said I have more interest in the photographic process of a manual shot. As I said above, I don't particularly care how a picture was taken. If it's good it's good.