Does anyone use modes other than P,Av,Tv,M on Canon DSLRs?

[PhotoHobbyist]

It seems everyone only uses P,Av,Tv,M modes on Canon DSLRs. Why are the other modes ignored?
I just discovered a possible very useful option on my T6i in SCN mode that does HDR of three shots in camera. If it works, it would be awesome.

What other interesting things are hidden in these lesser used modes? Do you use any of them regularly?

 

[RBL QLD]

I think the custom modes are pretty cool.

 

[KJ_North]

I guess it what works for you. I have always shot in Manual.

 

[smoke665]

I have a lot of money invested in my "tools", why would I want to limit myself to only using one. Knowing when and where to use shooting modes and sub menu options is the key.

I've used HDR in camera, but prefer to combine post for greater control of the final image. The exception to that is when wind or other movement between shots might be an issue. In the case of in Camera HDR the rapid fire shots are less likely to be affected by small movements.

 

[Overread]

So in general the more automatic a mode the more you are giving control to the camera.

Now this isn't inherently bad but it means one of two things for most people;

1) The user has less skill/awareness of how the camera operates and thus is more willing to allow the camera to make choices for them

2) The user has a more advanced understanding of how the camera works and thus needs to understand how the camera thinks to judge if how the camera thinks is how they want it to think in the given situation.


This is why you might often see beginners or the less keen/experienced using more automatic heavy modes whilst those with more experience will often shy away from them. It's not that they are inherently bad; and honestly there's a LOT of really smart auto-stuff in cameras these days; its just that sometimes the user knows what they want to achieve and the camera just doesn't.

This is even more true if you want to take photos of a style that isn't "standard". A camera aims to achieve the "standard" but creativity doesn't have to follow that convention. You might want an action scene with lots of motion blur; you might want over/under exposure in a scene etc...


Personally I tend to use AV (aperture priority) or Manual mode the most; then TV (shutter priority) and Bulb (rare but it has specific uses). With those modes I can basically do anything I want with the camera. I will also use Custom modes since those are just allowing me to use a pre-set configuration of camera settings for very specific common situations, esp for different menu options where I either need to be able to change to them very quickly or where I don't want to have to go into the menus to change lots of things for a very different shot.

That said I make use of a lot of automatic aids now - auto ISO can be great in manual mode when you want a certain creative effect of aperture and shutter speed; I use a double back-button AF system now (one button set to engage eye detection AF the other to single point AF) and many of my lenses are EF so have fulltime manual that I can use just without using either backbutton AF options.
There's a whole bunch of automatic AF systems in play as well and other stuff that I'm likely forgetting.

 

[Ysarex]

I insist on maintaining total control over exposure with all of my cameras and to that end I typically use them in Program mode with the ISO set by me.

 

[smoke665]

I insist on maintaining total control over exposure with all of my cameras and to that end I typically use them in Program mode with the ISO set by me.

I'm confused here, did you mean to say "Program"? In camera settings, program mode (P mode) allows the camera to "automatically" select the shutter speed and aperture for the exposure. While you can use EV adjustment, the camera takes away most of your control. Mine will automatically shift to AV mode if I try to change the aperture, TV if I touch the shutter. Pentax Hyper Mode will allow you to adjust ISO manually, but the camera still chooses shutter/aperture. This is counter intuitive to your "total control" statement.

The user has a more advanced understanding of how the camera works and thus needs to understand how the camera thinks to judge if how the camera thinks is how they want it to think in the given situation.

In studio it's full manual, but outside, even with supplemental lighting I'm usually on one program mode or another due to changing lighting. PTTL is faster at recalculating exposure in changing light, plus hitting the EV adjustment gives quick on the fly control. The same applies to submenu options for highlight, shadow, and noise control. As I said earlier the key is knowing how and when to use the tools. People tend to shy away from things they don't understand rather than learning to use them properly. Anything I can do "in camera" that limits my time spent post is a winner in my book.

 

[Overread]

In studio it's full manual, but outside, even with supplemental lighting I'm usually on one program mode or another due to changing lighting. PTTL is faster at recalculating exposure in changing light, plus hitting the EV adjustment gives quick on the fly control. The same applies to submenu options for highlight, shadow, and noise control. As I said earlier the key is knowing how and when to use the tools. People tend to shy away from things they don't understand rather than learning to use them properly. Anything I can do "in camera" that limits my time spent post is a winner in my book.

For me challenging lighting varies. Sometimes its less that the lighting is challenging and more that the subject colour might shift around whilst the lighting remains if not the same then within a set range. So I find manual actually works out better because it gets around the issue that the camera might over or under-expose because my main subject changed and its colours changed.

Of course you can also handle this with program modes and exposure compensation too.

Which is the other consideration - even if you understand things well there are still often a couple of ways to get to the same end result. As you say if you want that superfast reaction time then yep the camera can make many changes WAY faster than the user can and it won't forget to make a change because its tired after a whole day of doing things.

 

[smoke665]

challenging lighting varies

Yup! Not all options work in all circumstances. Same as not all options work when saving RAW vs JPEG. Experience most of the time dictates choice.

 

[Ysarex]

I'm confused here, did you mean to say "Program"? In camera settings, program mode (P mode) allows the camera to "automatically" select the shutter speed and aperture for the exposure. While you can use EV adjustment, the camera takes away most of your control. Mine will automatically shift to AV mode if I try to change the aperture, TV if I touch the shutter. Pentax Hyper Mode will allow you to adjust ISO manually, but the camera still chooses shutter/aperture. This is counter intuitive to your "total control" statement.

Yes, Program mode. On nearly all modern cameras (all my cameras) Program mode includes a shift function so that you can select any shutter speed & f/stop pair for the metered exposure -- makes me feel comfortable as it's just like my old Hasselblads that EV locked. Along with that on our modern cameras is an EC adjustment typically spanning a range of -5 to +5 stops, sufficient beyond reason. Put it together and I'm able then to select both the exposure I want as well as the shutter speed & f/stop combination I want for that exposure keeping the camera in Program mode and it's actually very fast.