Do most people end up shooting in manual?

[hovis]

Depends - I spend a fair bit of time using shutter priority - but I do a bit of motorsport shooting... use manual as and when I feel I need to / will get better results...

 

[West_Berliner]

i use manual if i have the time or i know exactly what I want to see on a photo in a situation. Night shots for exampls are always manual for me. otherwise i stay in P mode most of the time, (when im moving around a city for example and dont have the time to adjust shutter speeds and settings constantly)

 

[boclcown]

What about if you are on the go? I was shooting in New York this summer, and I barely had time to shoot using auto. It's just too fast paced. Is it just that people who use manual just get the settings right on the first time, every time?

 

[Irminsul]

I work with manual exposure and manual focus (Pentax ZX-M), which I use 50% of the time. The rest, I used a Canon Elan 7ne, which I use in manual mode half the time that I use that camera, the other half is Av, or P if I'm in a real hurry. You learn best with manual.

 

[Digital Matt]

What about if you are on the go? I was shooting in New York this summer, and I barely had time to shoot using auto. It's just too fast paced. Is it just that people who use manual just get the settings right on the first time, every time?

Even if you are on the go, in a city, how often is the light channging that dramatically? It could sure, but for the most part, when you are shooting a scene, you do some quick metering, with a concept in mind, and choose a combination of settings that will work. Those settings won't change much, if at all, when shooting that scene, unless the sun is moving in and out of clouds, or you are shooting in direct sun, and then shade. The most you have to do is turn a dial a few clicks in either direction. It's not like every 2 seconds you are going from f/11 at 1/125 to f/2.8 at 1/2.

 

[Dark Mower]

I learned on manual cameras. 90% of the time I’m using manual- rarely aperture or shutter priority. The more unusual the photo image, the more you will use manual control. And the more you want to capture the mood- then you’ll find manual controls useful. Personally, with manual control, I think you get more of a feel for the lighting situation and a lot more thought goes into making a picture. When I need more of a picture rather then a photograph, I’ll use automatic.

When I use an automatic camera I’m surprised that the ‘manual thoughts’ pop in my head. The little brain cells starting thinking of the mood of the scene and exposure deviations.

 

[Funky]

Using auto focus takes 99.9% of the fun out of taking pictures..for me anyway, i like to sit there and really get the perfect shot by tweaking things little by little.....i hear about alot of people that only take 2 pictures of something but honestly ill sit there for as long as the subject lasts and tweak things untill its perfect. but if the subjects fast and doesnt stick around that long ill use my best judgement.
And af is a huge no no in my books xD, infact i havnt switched it from mf to af since i took my first picture.

 

[blooper]

ive only have the luxury of av tv and full auto functions for about 2 months now since my purchase of an slr. but i find most suitable for me is manual mode anyway. i like to be able to control my settings on my own, esp as im learning them as i go.

 

[fmw]

For me it depends on the lighting, I think. With a medium contrast front lit outdoor subject, I'll just put it in program mode. I can then spin the dial back and forth to see different combinations of aperture and shutter speeds that amount to the same exposure. I can settle on the one I want and then shoot.

If the result is going to require a change from the meter's exposure recommendation, then I think manual is an easier mode to use than fooling with exposure compensation. It's easy to forget to dial the exposure compensation back when you're finished.

Manual is a necessity in the studio with external flash heads, of course.

If the technology produces good results with less work, then I'm all for it. For me it is the result that counts, not the methodology.

 

[markc]

I personally find this to be another "it depends" case. I shoot 90% in AV and I'm pretty darn serious about photography. I might spend time in the same environment for a bit, but a simple move of a foot can completely change the lighting requirements, so simply being in the same "scene" doesn't always track. Following kids can be hard enough without messing with the shutter for every shot. If things are slower paced or I see that things are heavily backlit or whatever, I'll compensate, but for the most part I've had good results. When shooting autocross, I use TV, because again, there usually isn't time to mess with the aperture when panning.

When I shoot using my medium format cameras, I always use manual, because I'm in a much more even-paced mindset, and of course using an external meter dictates that anyway.