Why use M when you have A?

[florenceinitaly]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but I have a question about using aperture priority mode vs. manual mode - Currently, I shoot most of my photos in aperture priority, and wondered why ppl suggest using manual mode when ap.priority seems to much easier?

For example, say I set f/4.5 for a shallow DOF at my subject, the camera automatically determines the correct shutter speed for me to give me the "correct" exposure. If i want to over or under expose I can just adjust that by using the dial, and the camera will spit out a faster or slower shutter speed.

Isn't this essentially giving you the flexibility that you can get in manual mode? So then what's the advantage of using manual mode over other modes?

 

[AlexColeman]

Manual for flash exposure, custom effects, times when you don't have metering, or metering is useless.

 

[DScience]

It's just different.

I use A mode ONLY in situations where I need a quick shot; street photography of people, for instance. Manual simply gives you more creative options. It's not ALWAYS about getting only the correct exposure, it's also getting a creative exposure.

 

[Josh66]

or metering is useless.

Or when what you want to meter on isn't dead center, where the 'spot' for spot metering is.

(I realize that some cameras attach the spot to the active focus point, but those cameras are in the minority.)

 

[Dominantly]

Your meter doesn't always pick the best shutter speed for you in A, so if you know how you want the photo to look, you need to dial in the shutter speed yourself.
It's also helpful when you meter off a subject, and then recompose your shot. For example metering off a bright blue sky on a sunny afternoon.

 

[AlexColeman]

Your meter doesn't always pick the best shutter speed for you in A, so if you know how you want the photo to look, you need to dial in the shutter speed yourself.
It's also helpful when you meter off a subject, and then recompose your shot. For example metering off a bright blue sky on a sunny afternoon.

Why wouldn't you just spot off the sky and exposure lock?

 

[djacobox372]

Because people are still smarter then their camera when it comes to choosing exposure.

 

[AlexColeman]

Can the camera really mess up the metering of the sky, if you have a good camera that is?

 

[Overread]

I use A (aperture priority mode) for the majority of my work and will continue to use it if I am using flash for fill light (ie its just lifting a bit from the shadows and is not the dominant light source). I will also use exposure compensation for those times when the meter is giving me results a little to bright or dim (I review using the histogram as often as I get the chance to).

Manual mode though is there for when I don't want the shutter speed that the camera meter wants to give me - a good example is for shooting the moon, when the camera meter will read the light wrong and give me a blownout shot; or for when flash is the dominant light source (since the camera cannot meter for the inclusion of flash light).

Each mode has its purpose and use and its best to always use the mode that will get you the shot you want (or at least hte best possible shot) rather than try to limit ones self to using only the "proper mode" by convention. A shot taken in full auto can be just as good and impressive as a shot taken in full manual mode.

 

[florenceinitaly]

Regarding metering somewhere else - there's an exposure lock button so I could point my camera away to another point, lock the exposure, go back to the original composition and take my shot.

Hmm I understand the creative exposure point too, but in aperture mode you can also adjust the exposure, I guess that's similar to manual mode where you control the aperture + shutter speed to give a certain exposure, and in aperture mode you control the aperture + exposure to result in a certain shutter speed?

 

[Dominantly]

Your meter doesn't always pick the best shutter speed for you in A, so if you know how you want the photo to look, you need to dial in the shutter speed yourself.
It's also helpful when you meter off a subject, and then recompose your shot. For example metering off a bright blue sky on a sunny afternoon.

Why wouldn't you just spot off the sky and exposure lock?

Why wouldn't you just point the camera at the sky and take a second to adjust your shutter, and compose your shot?

 

[florenceinitaly]

I use A (aperture priority mode) for the majority of my work and will continue to use it if I am using flash for fill light (ie its just lifting a bit from the shadows and is not the dominant light source). I will also use exposure compensation for those times when the meter is giving me results a little to bright or dim (I review using the histogram as often as I get the chance to).

Manual mode though is there for when I don't want the shutter speed that the camera meter wants to give me - a good example is for shooting the moon, when the camera meter will read the light wrong and give me a blownout shot; or for when flash is the dominant light source (since the camera cannot meter for the inclusion of flash light).

Each mode has its purpose and use and its best to always use the mode that will get you the shot you want (or at least hte best possible shot) rather than try to limit ones self to using only the "proper mode" by convention. A shot taken in full auto can be just as good and impressive as a shot taken in full manual mode.

Hmm thanks that's actually quite insightful

 

[Overread]

Your meter doesn't always pick the best shutter speed for you in A, so if you know how you want the photo to look, you need to dial in the shutter speed yourself.
It's also helpful when you meter off a subject, and then recompose your shot. For example metering off a bright blue sky on a sunny afternoon.

Why wouldn't you just spot off the sky and exposure lock?

The sky might be too bright and the subject too dark for the camera to give an exposure value of either that would give a pleasing final image (meter of the ground and the sky blows out - meter off the sky and the ground is underexposed) Thus read the sky - read the ground and then dial in an exposure value that will merge the two for the desired result.

 

[Dominantly]

Regarding metering somewhere else - there's an exposure lock button so I could point my camera away to another point, lock the exposure, go back to the original composition and take my shot.

Hmm I understand the creative exposure point too, but in aperture mode you can also adjust the exposure, I guess that's similar to manual mode where you control the aperture + shutter speed to give a certain exposure, and in aperture mode you control the aperture + exposure to result in a certain shutter speed?

My first suggestion is pick up a book, and read through it so you can understand the relationship between Aperture, Shutter S., and ISO.

It's not similar.

 

[NateWagner]

Well, in a sense it is though, or at least it can be. I would hypothesize that most photographers (typically) would know a range of Aperture they want to be in (or shutter speed) and then change the other to make a proper exposure.

If the photographer decides that they want to shoot at an aperture of 3.5 and they trust their lighting meter they will set their shutter speed to the same as if it were on AV and they had the 3.5 set. And they can effectively modify the shutter speed with their exposure (the same as if they were doing it on M).

Anyway, I agree with the above posters that the primary place I use M is when I am using strobes, or I want a certain effect. While not useless, the lighting meter is really pretty unusable (to me) when I am providing the majority of the lighting rather than relying on ambient light.

Really the only limiting factor (in my eyes) to using the A or T is when you want to adjust the image more than +-2 stops off what the camera suggests.