Full Manual?

[thunderkyss]

What do you consider full manual control of your camera?

WB? Do you set WB to auto?

ISO? Do you manually set your ISO?

Focus? Manual override? Full automatic?

Shutter Speed? Are you an Aperture (Av) priority guy/gal?

Aperture? Do you let the camera figure what's best?


If your answer is, "It depends." Please explain when & why you do what you do.

 

[Josh66]

Full Manual is exactly what it sounds like - you set everything. If you're letting the camera makes decisions, you're not in "full control over it".

Except for maybe focus. Manual exposure wouldn't have anything to do with your focus setting.



I usually have the dial on M or A.

 

[TCampbell]

I leave the lens in auto-focus mode. Apart from that, I control _everything_. I usually even pick the focus points I want it to use. That means manual ISO, shutter, aperture, I shoot RAW, and I don't use white balance (you can't use white balance if you shoot in RAW... it must be done on the computer in post processing.)

HOWEVER

There are only certain times I shoot in full manual. Often I shoot in aperture priority (Av) or shutter priority (Tv) mode.

 

[SCraig]

Most of the functions of a modern camera have a place. I use different modes when the situation requires it.

WB - Auto 99% of the time

ISO - Manual 100% of the time

Focus - Auto 99% of the time

Shutter Priority / Aperture Priority / Manual - Depends on the situation and what I need control of more. When shooting fast-moving subjects I want control of the shutter. When shooting static subjects I want control of the aperture and depth of field. Some situations I want to pick the balance of shutter and aperture I want, so I use manual.

 

[pixmedic]

I only go full manual when the wife is mad at me.

 

[Benco]

Full manual is where you control everything that your camera can let you control...on the whole life is just too short. On my current camera I have metering & AF pre-programmed how I like it and direct control over ISO, WB, flash, exposure compensation and either shutter speed or aperture. Manual focus can go hang.

 

[BrianV]

Full-Manual is easier with some cameras than others. Color-Digital cameras, usually do a good job with auto white balance in mixed lighting conditions.

Leica M Monochrom, Lock-out auto-ISO, set exposure manually by taking the shutter speed dial off of "A", using optical filters for in-camera "white balance" and contrast adjustment, manual focus lenses.

 

[MiFleur]

I leave the lens in auto-focus mode. Apart from that, I control _everything_. I usually even pick the focus points I want it to use. That means manual ISO, shutter, aperture, I shoot RAW, and I don't use white balance (you can't use white balance if you shoot in RAW... it must be done on the computer in post processing.)

HOWEVER

There are only certain times I shoot in full manual. Often I shoot in aperture priority (Av) or shutter priority (Tv) mode.

I shoot Aperture priority for landscape, shutter priority for action shots and full manual for most of the other scenarios.

I do manual presets on the white balance too, I use an expo disc or a white sheet of paper when I am inside, outside I leave it on auto.
Not adjusting the white balance in camera has resulted in some very bad shots for me, way too yellow or way too blue even when I was using the little dropper in camera raw, it would not bring back the true colors, it helped but it was never the same as getting the WB right at the beginning.

I shoot raw and I am not sure what you mean when you say that you can't use white balance if you shoot raw... You sure can.

 

[KmH]

You can set a white balance but your Raw file usually opens by default 'As Shot' for white balance.

That information is pulled by the Raw converter from the EXIF data and can be easily changed. It can't be as easily changed as a TIFF or JPEG file.

 

[Carlos_Gouveia]

Full Manual on everything except Focus on auto 99% of the time

 

[Mike_E]

What day is it?

Am I getting paid for it? Or am I likely to ever get paid for it? Do I really care about it or am I really just making the wife happy?

Is the light consistent? What is the ambient like? Am I shooting in the same direction? Are my subjects moving at the same speed?

Do I need to get more or less subject matter in focus to make the final result more interesting?

Is what I'm doing practically the same as what the camera would do? Are there any situations where the camera would be fooled?

Are there different types (colors) of light sources? Is the light source changing noticeably from the time you started shooting until now and are you through?




See, it does depend.

 

[sm4him]

Most of the functions of a modern camera have a place. I use different modes when the situation requires it.

WB - Auto 99% of the time

ISO - Manual 100% of the time

Focus - Auto 99% of the time

Shutter Priority / Aperture Priority / Manual - Depends on the situation and what I need control of more. When shooting fast-moving subjects I want control of the shutter. When shooting static subjects I want control of the aperture and depth of field. Some situations I want to pick the balance of shutter and aperture I want, so I use manual.

^ +1

Only thing I'd change about this response is how often I use manual focus--but that's because I do a lot of macro. My macro is probably 99% manual-focus; everything is 99% auto-focus.

 

[480sparky39 38]

When I let the camera run the show and when I want to go hands-on myself depends totally on what I'm shooting.

If I'm taking candids at a family git-together, then it Auto Everything all day long. If I'm shooting 48 frames for a focus stack from a tripod with a bellows, the subject is stationary, and using my monolights, focus rail and remote cords, then it's 100% me.

 

[Garbz]

It depends.

My camera right now is somewhere in the house. Not sure where, but I am certain it's set at ISO400 f/4.5 on aperture priority with autofocus on and the centre autofocus point selected. Why do I know this? Because that's what my camera is always set at. It's a great catch all mode that if I see something amazing I can pick it up and go click.

If I'm out and about and the lighting is perfectly consistent (think skiing or a sunny day at the beach) then I shoot full manual but I typically only shoot manual if I think my camera isn't up to the task of being able to select a sensible value itself.

 

[Patrice]

I go manual almost 100% of the time. See, when I want to take a photo I pick it up with my hands (manual) bring to my eye (manually) turn the various wheels and press the various buttons to set it up (I do this manually with my fingers), compose and press the shutter (I do this manually with my finger as well).

Oh, you mean do I set the camera to operate on "M" mode for everything? Depends.


Seriously? I paid good money for a camera with an incredible array of technology stuffed within its body. The trick is to learn how and when to use that technology. Different situations call for different combinations of enabled features.