What MODE are you shooting?

[Jacki]

I use M all of the time. I've taken so few pictures with Av and Tv modes that I'm not comfortable with them, though I plan on getting better acquainted, since shooting M can take a little too much time to set up shots.

 

[Village Idiot]

God mode.

 

[o hey tyler]

God mode.

I prefer noclip.

 

[Derrel]

I shoot in Fun mode most of the time.

At times, I spin the dial into Semi-Serious mode.

When everything just simply HAS to be right, I go to Paranoid mode.

 

[BuS_RiDeR]

I use M all of the time. I've taken so few pictures with Av and Tv modes that I'm not comfortable with them, though I plan on getting better acquainted, since shooting M can take a little too much time to set up shots.

I haven't used M very often... I am WAY more comfortable in Av or Tv. Although I think I'll be heading down that road soon.

Generally Av (Aperture value) or Tv (Time value... shutter...), it really depends what I am doing.

Portraits and landscapes generally warrant Av, while Sports and action generally warrant Tv.

In rare situations I will use one of the Automatic modes, if I am just taking snaps for someting or am in a hurry or to rushed to think about it..

 

[o hey tyler]

When everything just simply HAS to be right, I go to Paranoid mode.

Or when you're tokin' on the doobage, right?

 

[Derrel]

SNL: Ask President Carter Video

 

[Neil S.]

I shoot in Fun mode most of the time.

Fun mode lol...

This sounds like something that the Japanese would come up with.

 

[supraman215]

That being said, if your camera has auto-Iso Manual is given additional flexibility and can be used effectively for almost all types of shooting.

I have a question about this. This may be a Canon thing. In my camera I have auto ISO option but it doesn't function in M mode since M means manual exposure. Meaning the camera is going to function without using the light meter to determine settings. Is that what you were talking about or something else. Or does the M mode in Canons actually do some exposure for you? Thanks.

 

[Neil S.]

That being said, if your camera has auto-Iso Manual is given additional flexibility and can be used effectively for almost all types of shooting.

I have a question about this. This may be a Canon thing. In my camera I have auto ISO option but it doesn't function in M mode since M means manual exposure. Meaning the camera is going to function without using the light meter to determine settings. Is that what you were talking about or something else. Or does the M mode in Canons actually do some exposure for you? Thanks.

For my 7D at least auto-Iso works in M/Av/Tv/P modes. You basically just set it to auto and then it adjusts as needed from 100-3200.

I dont really know much about other cameras Iso settings, including Nikon.

My 30D didnt have it at all, and let me tell you that was a pain in the a$$ sometimes. I got real good at changing it quickly on the fly because of this.

 

[Neil S.]

To expand on the above…

In manual (for Canon) the shutter and aperture are still locked at their settings the same as with Nikon. Its only the Iso that will scale when you set auto-Iso.

As I mentioned before this can cause the image to be overexposed if you are not careful, because the Iso can increase past 100 (to prevent underexposure) but cant decrease below 100 (to prevent overexposure).

It takes some skill to do this correctly, and you still may need to tweak the shutter and/or aperture to prevent overexposure in certain situations (especially daylight outdoors).

I find it very useful though, and I think auto-Iso should be standard on all bodies from this point on. There is really no downside to it as far as I can tell.

It can provide an additional layer of protection against underexposure which is the most common type of exposure problem that we usually face as photographers.

You need to be careful with it though, because the camera does not know anything but what Iso needs to be set based on the lighting conditions and your shutter+aperture.

For example (with the 7D at least) if you were to set the aperture to f/8 and the shutter to 1/250th with auto-Iso enabled, the camera will probably set the Iso really high (like 3200). This would be especially true if you were shooting in less than descent daylight.

Clearly for the 7D at least 3200 isnt ideal. Also when you hit 3200 it will max out and likely be underexposed. You just need to have some knowledge of the exposure triangle and pay attention and then everything will be fine.

This took me some time to learn because I was new to the feature.

So although its a very powerful and useful feature, care needs to be taken to ensure that you are not only getting the aperture and shutter that you want but also the Iso (for clean images).

 

[MohaimenK]

My 5D 2 works in auto ISO in all around

 

[robbie_vlad]

M in studio, Av pretty much everywhere else.

 

[Neil S.]

My 5D 2 works in auto ISO in all around

Maybe this is just a Canon/Nikon thing then...

I would have to say that the Canon approach is better, and Nikon needs to get in step on this one.

I see no advantage to not allowing it to work in Manual. This is the mode that I actually find it to be the most useful in as well.

In fact a simple firmware update seems like it would be enough to make the change, I am just guessing on this though.

Can anyone say for sure what Nikons approach to auto-Iso is, because I have no idea?

Derrel?

 

[supraman215]

Oh wow that's interesting. so I would assume you could do some kind of EV+- to get different levels of exposure? This kind of sounds like P* mode on Nikon where you can be in P mode but use the dial to select different aperture and shutter speed combinations that will result in the same EV. Except that you can set any aperture and shutter and it will just dial the ISO till it runs out. Interesting. I'll have to check my manual to see if my camera has that feature.