Do you manual all the time?

[480sparky41 41]

Ken Rockwell shoots Auto everything.

He also spews dribble Automatically.

 

[kundalini]

Manual shooting mode most of the time, but only because that's what I grew up on. With Nikon's finger and thumb wheels, it easy peasy to quickly change either aperture or shutter speed in a split second. I've been shooting some in Aperture mode lately though. I also shoot in Shutter Priority for certain situations. Oh, and with my little m4/3 Olympus, I don't have a problem shooting in iAuto mode.

 

[panblue]

Ken Rockwell shoots Auto everything.

He also spews dribble Automatically.

With a preference for Cloudy or Shade..likes it a bit warmer.

It must make life just that bit more exciting though, knowing that while you rest at night,
a dedicated PayPal donate button waits patiently. I'll have to get one of those!

 

[unpopular]

I'm probably on Derrels list of Manual Fanatics. But in reality, the single biggest reason I shoot manual is because I always have.

There are advantages to manual exposure, and really, it's not the exact same thing as AE with EC. With manual exposure I can compensate with any combination of both aperture and shutter speed, dynamically and quickly without changing modes. I get to choose what method to use, or any combination of methods. In AE you're stuck. Tv mode you change the shutter speed and the aperture follows by a determined amount of compensation. Av you change the aperture and the shutter speed follows. In manual mode I can I can adjust shutter speed or aperture to any portion of the required compensation. Say I need +3ev, I can increase time by +1.5EV and open the aperture by +1.5EV. I could increase time by +3ev. I could open the aperture by +3ev. I could say "hey, you know, I'd like to see more DOF" and stop down by -5ev and increase time by +8ev for a net gain of +3ev, all independent of the AE mode I find myself in.

Manual mode allows you to specifically choose how compensation is performed. On a Sony, anyway, if you want to simply transpose the exposure to a different aperture or shutter speed, you simply press the AEL button and make the adjustment, and the other parameter adjust accordingly. It's a really nice feature that I am unsure exists on any other camera, and essentially gives auto mode no real advantage.

 

[PixelRabbit]

I shoot in manual 99% of the time, but it's because when I first got my camera, a little over a year ago, I decided I would MAKE myself use manual until I got comfortable with using it. I got SO comfortable using it that I tend to forget there are other options.

There are times it WOULD be easier to use Shutter priority or Aperture priority, but I just forget that's an option. Maybe I'll start making a concerted effort to shoot those modes more, when appropriate.

This word for word.

 

[unpopular]

Anyone who shoots and completely understands manual will find AE easy.

I remember first learning more about AE and thinking "really? that's all it does?".

 

[Mach0]

Nikon's finger and thumb wheels, it easy peasy to quickly change either aperture or shutter speed in a split second. .

+1

 

[techniker]

I started shooting in full manual mode shortly after getting my Canon SX110 IS in 2008 because, after using my Mother's Canon 20D in auto for many years prior, I realized how much more character the shots have when they are properly exposed. Err, that's not to say the shots looked bad using the 20D, but they look so much better when I adjusted the exposure settings myself.

I now own a 60D now and don't think it has left "M" since I purchased it. I don't avoid the AV/TV/P for any particular reason, but I have no problem changing the aperture and shutter speed while looking through the viewfinder. White balance is generally on auto unless there is a static light source, in which case the pre-sets work great. Shooting in RAW allows me to change the wb after the fact. The auto focus works very well, and I have no problem using the focus ring, but I'm terrified of compensating for a diopter that's out-of-adjustment.

 

[Ysarex87 81]

I'm probably on Derrels list of Manual Fanatics. But in reality, the single biggest reason I shoot manual is because I always have.

There are advantages to manual exposure, and really, it's not the exact same thing as AE with EC. With manual exposure I can compensate with any combination of both aperture and shutter speed, dynamically and quickly without changing modes. I get to choose what method to use, or any combination of methods. In AE you're stuck. Tv mode you change the shutter speed and the aperture follows by a determined amount of compensation. Av you change the aperture and the shutter speed follows. In manual mode I can I can adjust shutter speed or aperture to any portion of the required compensation. Say I need +3ev, I can increase time by +1.5EV and open the aperture by +1.5EV. I could increase time by +3ev. I could open the aperture by +3ev. I could say "hey, you know, I'd like to see more DOF" and stop down by -5ev and increase time by +8ev for a net gain of +3ev, all independent of the AE mode I find myself in.

Manual mode allows you to specifically choose how compensation is performed. On a Sony, anyway, if you want to simply transpose the exposure to a different aperture or shutter speed, you simply press the AEL button and make the adjustment, and the other parameter adjust accordingly. It's a really nice feature that I am unsure exists on any other camera, and essentially gives auto mode no real advantage.

You're showing your age and you may be younger than me. There's another auto mode you missed: P(program). I keep my camera set to P unless I need manual. Then I keep my thumb on the EC control and my index finger over the wheel right behind the shutter release. That wheel under my index finger will rotate through the entire EV set for the metered exposure. In other words I'm in Av and Tv modes simultaneously while my thumb can simultaneously dial in +/- as needed. It's the same physical motion whether I want to prioritize shutter speed or aperture. Ultimately there's an efficiency edge that gets me to the exposure I want faster than someone using manual -- it's slight enough that it'll only matter for that once in a lifetime shot in that split second where I'll get there first and so it's not a big deal but I am practicing for when the time comes. I shoot in P to get maximum creative control over my camera.

Joe

 

[unpopular]

I don't quite see how P would be any better, at least not on my camera. EC adjusts both aperture and time, so if I meter off something that is +2EV, and compensate, i'd then have to scroll through the combinations to return to the shutter speed or aperture I wanted, whereas in manual mode I'd just open up by two stops or increase time with one movement, or a combination of both.

 

[480sparky41 41]

I don't quite see how P would be any better, at least not on my camera. EC adjusts both aperture and time, so if I meter off something that is +2EV, and compensate, i'd then have to scroll through the combinations to return to the shutter speed or aperture I wanted, whereas in manual mode I'd just open up by two stops or increase time with one movement, or a combination of both.

With Nikons, you can adjust the shutter speed/aperture combination with the rear command dial when shooting in P. If you don't like the 1/250 @ f/8 the camera chooses, spin the dial to 1/125 @ f/11, or 1/500 @ f/5.6. They're all the same EV.

However, if you want to change the EV, use the front command dial. This will start you down the + or - EV path. Lo-end bodies that only have the rear dial use the +/- button in conjunction with the rear command dial.

 

[Ysarex87 81]

I don't quite see how P would be any better, at least not on my camera. EC adjusts both aperture and time, so if I meter off something that is +2EV, and compensate, i'd then have to scroll through the combinations to return to the shutter speed or aperture I wanted, whereas in manual mode I'd just open up by two stops or increase time with one movement, or a combination of both.

Depending on whether we judge an EC correction is needed, it often isn't, whether circumstances have changed, maybe maybe not, there can be no difference. You could get to the same place I do as fast as I do. Don't think of it as one case in point. We're going to go out and shoot 1000 different photos. With your camera on M you'll be as fast as me in many cases but never faster. I will for some percentage of those 1000 photos be just slightly faster than you. It's about how many physical motions you have to make over that 1000 photos -- I'll make slightly fewer.

Joe

 

[unpopular]

With Nikons, you can adjust the shutter speed/aperture combination with the rear command dial when shooting in P. If you don't like the 1/250 @ f/8 the camera chooses, spin the dial to 1/125 @ f/11, or 1/500 @ f/5.6. They're all the same EV.

However, if you want to change the EV, use the front command dial. This will start you down the + or - EV path. Lo-end bodies that only have the rear dial use the +/- button in conjunction with the rear command dial.

I thought that this is how it works on my a700, but it's not. One wheel dials through the EV combinations, one wheel offsets time, while the EC button+either wheel will offset the aperture.

What changes when you press the EC button in program mode on Nikon?

Either way, Sony's manual mode is easier than program mode. If you want to scroll through the equivalent values you just press the AE lock button and turn either wheel, the shutter and aperture will correlate based on the EV locked in.

ETA - no, joe, its' all good. I don't mean to make this into a big competition. like I said, 90% of the reason I shoot manual is just because I always have. One big thing we're also running into is that every camera brand does things a little different.

 

[paigew]

Yes, I always shoot in manual. I have never once used the priority modes. Once you get used to it, it becomes second nature

 

[480sparky41 41]

........What changes when you press the EC button in program mode on Nikon?........

Nothing, when pressed by itself. I need to turn the rear dial to affect any change in the exposure. The display will then read out the EV change (plus or minus and either 1/2 or 1/3 stops depending on my settings). When I release the button, I'm shown the selected aperture and shutter speed.