Scenic shooting

[paynetrain90]

I just bought my first SLR, a K2, and will be taking a lot of scenic pictures during the day, some with people in them. We are taking a trip to Boston/D.C. this summer as well so I will be taking a lot of daytime shots. My question is am I better off just leaving my camera in P mode? Or should I be changing my aperture or shutter settings with each shot? Any help is appreciated,

Thanks,
-Nick

 

[DigiJay]

I would suggest doing some basic reading... check out "understanding exposure"

 

[Harmony]

By "P mode" you are referring to aperture priority mode or something along that line? Not automatic?

If you are planning on shooting only landscapes, aperture priority is probably your best bet. Manual works too, though. It all depends on how much time you want to spend setting up each shot.

But you also mentioned that you just bought your SLR? I suggest practicing with it before you go fully manual, so that it will be easier for you to choose shutterspeeds and etc without having to guess.

 

[Crosby]

I have the same camera and it takes great pictures in auto mode. But if your like me, they just don't seem right or maybe they could be a little better. I highly recommend "Understanding Exposure" and then start tinkering with the camera. Its only film, you can buy more...

Crosby

 

[Mav]

For scenic photos you generally want a large depth of field, so you'd probably want to shoot in aperture priority mode at say f/8 or so. The DSLR & Lenses 101 link in my sig would be a good read. It's geared towards DSLRs obviously (ignore the ISO section, it'll be fixed based on what kind of film you put in the camera), but the principles are all the same.

 

[paynetrain90]

Thank you for the link to that post, I did a search for it but nothing came up, although I spent a great deal of time reading the "Exposure compensation" post, which was definitely above my knowledge level, but still it was interesting.