Do you manual all the time?

[Hickeydog]

Take pictures responsibly. Always make sure of the shot before pressing the shutter. Never shoot drunk. Never shoot while tired. Wait one hour after meals before shooting! Always shoot with a buddy! Always wear your neckstrap. Always adjust the diopter before backing out of the driveway or parking space. Always check the CF storage pressure and have the CF card contacts aligned, balanced, and rotated every six months. Always change the oil in the camera at least once each season! Never overfill the oil!. Never exceed the frames per second limit, nor exceed the buffer. Shoot responsibly. Always be sure of your target. Never shoot at a sound in the brush--it might be another shooter and not your quarry! Always keep the lens pointed in a safe direction! Never point the lens at anything you do not intend to shoot! When you go out to shoot, leave a plan and a return ETA with a responsible party. In the event of an accident, have a plan!

Oops. Looks like I violated every rule listed...

 

[bentcountershaft]

I'm late to this one, but I've posted my thoughts in at least ten other threads of this nature in the last few years, so I'm going to keep it short this time. I shoot manual pretty well all the time. The only time I move out of that mode is if I hand my camera to my wife to take a picture of something. Now, having said that, I'm rarely in situations where the lighting action is changing so inconsistently that I am unable to easily keep up with it. The few exceptions I've experienced has definitely proved to me that shutter priority and aperture priority certainly have their uses.

 

[runnah]

It's really about how long I have to shoot. At work I am shooting people doing a dangerous job and don't have time to ask them to pose or do something again, so I normally shoot Aperture Priority. If I have time or am doing it for fun I use manual.

 

[panblue]

I've really been getting into using programme, the last couple of days
The little K-m does ok! I just steer now..the camera changes the gears!

 

[XxTheZombiezxX]

I use full manual on my Nikon D3100 and Nikon N90s. As for my Nikon EM... It's a Apature priority film camera. I still use it because it was my first slr.

 

[skieur]

Heaven forbid! If I shot manual all the time, I would miss one heck of a lot of shots.

skieur

 

[double5]

I shoot manual a lot of the time with my Canon 40D and all the time with my Nikon FM

 

[johncam]

Yes, I always shoot in manual.

 

[StandingBear1983]

It depends on the situation, if i have time to really perfect a shot i use manual, if i need to act fast i use Aperture priority mostly...I never use Auto ISO, i want to be as much in control of the camera i can be, but if you shoot manual all the time, your more likely to miss shots unless manual is really second nature, it depends on one's level of skill and what is the target one is shooting.

 

[Solarflare]

All this talk about needing to have state of the art auto focus and auto exposure in order to get a shot makes me wonder how anyone was able to take a decent shot before the technology was available.

Oh, I dont need it ... except fast autofocus for action, of course.

But its convenient and I dont get why I shouldnt do it. Why not leave the work to the automatic which will do exactly the same thing as I would ?

I used to know a photographer who could follow focus a 400mm lens on a running deer...after 10 years of practice.

So what ? That deer is running in quite a distance and its running in a straight line. Not much to do there.

Doesnt mean the same guy stands any chance to focus on two martial artists punching each other just 5 or even less meters away from the photographer.

 

[LisaCadwell]

As a newbie I use either A/P or T/P. Manual still scares me! "I SEE BAD PHOTOS..." ale: I figure that is at least a step up from using full auto.

 

[SCraig]

I recently went to a wedding and I couldn't imagine the photographer shooting manual all the time due to the fast pace of like her walking down the isle, throwing bouquet, etc. Maybe its just my inexperience but I imagine this could be hard in manual mode.

let me throw you another scenario, I was watching a football game the other day and after a touchdown I noticed the photographers with the nice long lenses and it made me think. In such a fast action shot where you don't really know whats going to happen can you really shot in manual? Im not saying you cant Im sure you pros might be able to but I guess is it really worth shooting in manual in these situations? meaning is the hassle worth the results?.

Let me answer your question with a question. Actually two questions:
1) How long ago were cameras with automatic exposure capabilities invented?
2) What do you think wedding and sports photographers did in the 100 years before that happened?

 

[rexbobcat]

Oh, I dont need it ... except fast autofocus for action, of course.

But its convenient and I dont get why I shouldnt do it. Why not leave the work to the automatic which will do exactly the same thing as I would ?

So what ? That deer is running in quite a distance and its running in a straight line. Not much to do there.

Doesnt mean the same guy stands any chance to focus on two martial artists punching each other just 5 or even less meters away from the photographer.

You seem to misunderstand. He could focus on a deer running in any direction.

I assume you most likely can't do that.

Martial artists /=/ wild life.

You just proved my point. Manual focus is something that people practiced constantly to get good and even then autofocus systems are just better (not in some situations but just generally). Unless they're some sort of cyborg I can't imagine a digital-only photographer very easily picking up a Leica and just having at it very effectively.

I can just as easily focus on martial arts with my 1D as I can on a deer. The same cannot be said for the person who's manual follow focus skills are attuned to a certain type of motion/action.

 

[fmw]

I shoot with manual exposure in the studio because of the strobe lighting. Outdoors, I normally shoot with AE. I use Nikon's P or program mode most often. It allows me to step through the various exposure combinations with a wheel and see them in the viewfider. If I need exposure comp, I normally meter the part of the composition I need to meter to get the result I want and then lock the setting with a half shutter push. I do focus compensation the same way. I don't want to spend a lot of time fussing with dials. Today's digital SLR's have way too many features for me. I use them about the same way I used film cameras in the day.

 

[amolitor]

Let me answer your question with a question. Actually two questions:
1) How long ago were cameras with automatic exposure capabilities invented?
2) What do you think wedding and sports photographers did in the 100 years before that happened?

1) Long enough ago that "sports photography" and "wedding photography" didn't really exist as businesses.
2) see #1