noob question regarding shutter priority/aperture priority:

[atrac7]

Hello all...so some of you may have checked out my thread regarding me wishing to become more technical with my photography, and subsequently I purchased a Lumix G2. That was in the welcome forum.

Pretty much I am asking in this thread some general questions such as:

What is the best way to start getting used to manual mode controls? At the time being I am struggling a bit. I have been trying to play with Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority, but have been getting extremely dark images, even with adequate light present. Am I doing something wrong here? I tried setting shutter to 1/250, ISO to 400-800, took a snapshot of my desk where there is a lamp emitting light on, and the image, as said, was real real dark. I'll post up a sample when I can. Question is, am I doing something completely wrong here?

The same goes when I switch over to Aperture Priority....of course when I switch to fully auto (Intelligent Auto), the pictures are full of light and vibrant detail.

Thanks

 

[nonamexx]

1/250 is probably too low for even ISO 400 or 800 in low light conditions.

Also check the light metering mode if it is adjustable. This has an effect too on the final image. When there is a bright lamp and the surrounding areas are dark it can either over-compensate or under-compensate depending on the situation.

Best is to try out the full manual mode in low light conditions to get the best tradeoff between shutter speed, aperture and ISO value.

 

[enzodm]

I have been trying to play with Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority, but have been getting extremely dark images, even with adequate light present.

this is not usual, because in both modes the camera should calculate the other parameter basing on metering, except in particular scenes where metering fails. By the way, I agree with Hari that 1/250 and ISO400 indoors could be too few light, so that aperture is at its limit. But in aperture priority, shutter speed can be increased up to many seconds if needed. However, if you meter on the light lamp, of course light is overestimated thus the rest becomes dark. Please post some example to understand what do you mean for dark.