What does "auto" and "manual" mean to you?

molested_cow · Aug 9, 2012

I've always used a SLR/DSLR with no scene mode, so manual vs auto has always meant full manual vs priority modes.
Then I realized that many cameras have scene modes, and those users may think manual vs auto as scene vs everything else.
Obviously there's the green "auto" and P modes.

So what does auto vs manual mean to you? I know this is pointless, I am just quite damn bored.

MLeeK · Aug 9, 2012

Auto is any mode that is supposed to be idiot proof. The square box, P, scene modes.
Shutter and Aperture priority are assisted modes that require the shooter to have more than just a clue.
Manual is manual.

480sparky · Aug 9, 2012

Manual = I have all the time in the world to make all the choices..... ISO, shutter speed, aperture, white balance, flash (or not), focus point.....

Auto = I don't have the time to mess with that stuff.... it's happening too fast.

That said, I rarely shoot in totally Auto mode. I usually shoot in Progam, Aperture or Shutter priority modes. I may let the camera choose the focus point and turn off the pop-up flash. But P, S or A modes gives my a lot of control over aperture and shutter speed.

Ysarex · Aug 9, 2012

Auto means you use an exposure meter and manual means you do it yourself.

Since you're bored I'll tell you a story. Back in the 1970s I used to hang out at St. Louis Photo where I eventually met Bob Arteaga. Mr. Arteaga was hired to photograph the construction of the Gateway Arch: St. Louis Arch Prints and St. Louis Arch Photographs One day I saw Mr. Arteaga on the street and he was taking a photo for St. Louis University. He was using an old Graflex 4x5 on a tripod and was working off the ground glass. I said, "Hi Mr. Arteaga I met you at the camera store. Mind if I watch?" So he gets the shot set up and inserts a film holder, pulls the slide and takes the photo. Then he flips the holder and takes a backup.

I say, "Hey Mr. Arteaga, I never saw you take a meter reading. How'd you know to set the exposure?" He points up at the sky and says, "Bleep! the bleep bleepin' sun is shining! I was doing this before they invented bleep bleepin' exposure meters. I didn't need one then and I don't need one now!"

That was manual.

Joe

wsetser · Aug 9, 2012

To me, Auto means turning a great deal of creative control over to whoever programed the camera. Manual means making all the creative decisions myself.

KmH · Aug 9, 2012

Amen to that. ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑

There is auto, there is semi-auto, and there is manual.

Tuffythepug · Aug 9, 2012

Ysarex said:
Auto means you use an exposure meter and manual means you do it yourself.

Since you're bored I'll tell you a story. Back in the 1970s I used to hang out at St. Louis Photo where I eventually met Bob Arteaga. Mr. Arteaga was hired to photograph the construction of the Gateway Arch: St. Louis Arch Prints and St. Louis Arch Photographs One day I saw Mr. Arteaga on the street and he was taking a photo for St. Louis University. He was using an old Graflex 4x5 on a tripod and was working off the ground glass. I said, "Hi Mr. Arteaga I met you at the camera store. Mind if I watch?" So he gets the shot set up and inserts a film holder, pulls the slide and takes the photo. Then he flips the holder and takes a backup.

I say, "Hey Mr. Arteaga, I never saw you take a meter reading. How'd you know to set the exposure?" He points up at the sky and says, "Bleep! the bleep bleepin' sun is shining! I was doing this before they invented bleep bleepin' exposure meters. I didn't need one then and I don't need one now!"

That was manual.

Joe

Joe, Mr. Arteaga was using the same method I had to use back when I shot with a mid-50's model Rolleiflex. In the absence of a built-in or hand-held meter I had to rely on the old "sunny 16" or basic Daylight exposure rule. It will get you very close to correct exposure on a sunny day. Also, if you are doing your own developing and printing it's fairly easy to compensate for any minor exposure problems in the darkroom. I'm sure Mr. Arteaga was more than competent in that department.

To me auto is really point and shoot territory while manual forces you to make creative decisions which may or may not work out. But at least you are part of the process and not just an extension of the camera; a flesh and blood tripod so-to-speak

MLeeK · Aug 9, 2012

Ysarex said:
Auto means you use an exposure meter and manual means you do it yourself.

Since you're bored I'll tell you a story. Back in the 1970s I used to hang out at St. Louis Photo where I eventually met Bob Arteaga. Mr. Arteaga was hired to photograph the construction of the Gateway Arch: St. Louis Arch Prints and St. Louis Arch Photographs One day I saw Mr. Arteaga on the street and he was taking a photo for St. Louis University. He was using an old Graflex 4x5 on a tripod and was working off the ground glass. I said, "Hi Mr. Arteaga I met you at the camera store. Mind if I watch?" So he gets the shot set up and inserts a film holder, pulls the slide and takes the photo. Then he flips the holder and takes a backup.

I say, "Hey Mr. Arteaga, I never saw you take a meter reading. How'd you know to set the exposure?" He points up at the sky and says, "Bleep! the bleep bleepin' sun is shining! I was doing this before they invented bleep bleepin' exposure meters. I didn't need one then and I don't need one now!"

That was manual.

Joe

Ya know... I have been thinking about your answer and not only do I 'get it,' I REALLY get it. I have been doing this so long that I can look at the surroundings and I know what my settings are going to be before I ever put the camera's meter to my eye. Maybe that's why I can't shoot in aperture or shutter priority-totally inept.
I think there are A LOT of us who can do it. I think some of us can do it and don't really trust themselves enough.

Derrel · Aug 9, 2012

"AUTO" to me means Aperture Priority automatic, where I pick the f/stop I need for the situation, and allow the camera to set the shutter. Manual means match-diode metering, OR in the case of flash, me just setting an f/stop that's appropriate, and then setting the shutter to get the right balance of ambient (if I am "dragging the shutter, that speed is often 1/20 to 1/50 second), and if it's flash-as-main-light, usually 1/160 or 1/200, depending.

Garbz · Aug 9, 2012

Manual is manual, auto is everything else. Do I shoot in auto? Of course. Just like I use cruise control on the highway, or use a paddle shifter in a sports car that doesn't mean I'm not still in full control of the results I get.

Fred Berg · Aug 10, 2012

For me auto means having the camera ready and the least amount of delay between seeing and shooting, manual means making a new set of decisions for each exposure and taking my time over the process.

You can choose to use what tools your camera has to offer or you can do it all yourself; some people are okay with using the props and some are purists. However, missing a nice opportunity because you weren't ready is a bit like being knocked out in a TV quiz when you had jokers left but didn't use them.

I like to keep my camera ready just in case, but very often find myself taking the time anyway.

LizardKing · Aug 10, 2012

Well... I have the opinion that it doesn't really matter how you take the photo, as long as you get what you envisioned. That means you took the time to actually 'envision' the picture before pressing the shutter.

There are times, in street photography for instance, where in order to 'get the shot' you need to rely in P mode, and there's nothing wrong with that. Same happens with A and S modes, and for these you can add that sometimes you only care about one of the 2 values and the other is unimportant given the situation. And finally, when you have the time and/or need, you have manual mode to have full creative control over the image.

Basically, it doesn't really matter as long as you understand HOW they work and WHY you're choosing one or the other. This doesn't justify all those fakers out there shooting P mode and thinking they're Ansel Adams or Henri Cartier-Bresson... I'm just saying that these modes are there and sometimes you can rely on them to get shots you'd otherwise miss.

It's the same with the metering mode for example... If you think you're great for shooting manual but always use matrix metering mode, then you better think again. It's all about choosing what's best for EACH shot and situation.

Derrel · Aug 10, 2012

I like to go on the internet and brag to everybody that I drive my very own car EVERYWHERE I go--but ONLY IN THIRD GEAR!!!!!!!! I also use only a steak knife as my single,sole eating utensil....forks and spoons are for wussies! Even though some people think it's weird, I like to wear athletic shorts every day of the year, everywhere I go, no matter what; if it's a wedding, I will wear light-colored shorts, and if it's a funeral, of course, I wear my black Nike or Rawlings shorts. I have ONE approach to life's problems, and it works for every single problem I encounter. Life is so much simpler when a person commits, and I mean when a perspn totally commits, to doing everything he does the same way,over and over and over and over, every single, stinking time, in all facets of life!