what mode to use..

In past, was in Av most of the time.

Today indoor with flash, I find "M" mode give better results - for me at least.

Outside, without flash, I go back to Av mode. Have not tried "fill flash" outdoors so will have to play around with that to see what works best, for me.
 
Comment about the "P" mode. This is program shift mode. It is an automatic mode as it preselects your shutter and aperture for exposure dependent on what ISO you have set. You (normally) have full control over ISO whether you set it at 100, 200, or I can set mine at either auto limited to 400 max even.

Then, Program shift mode allows you to shift through various combinations of shutter and aperture, though still keeping the same exposure according to the camera's light meter. This means, you can look and see it set at 1/200 and f/5.6. Shifting it 1/3 stop may net you 1/250 and f/5.0 (random numbers, my best guess at whether those are 1/3 stop or not). Meaning, if you shift it to get a faster shutter, it will automatically open the aperture farther to keep the same exposure.

Want something to read for a few days? Here is a copy of my bookmark list that I uploaded specifically for threads such as this. Plenty to read with the first two listed as the first two I found when starting and my favorites for the basics......

http://www.geocities.com/mrodg88/Photography_Links.html

Have fun with that.

ChrisP said:
Buy a book like Peterson's "Understanding Exposure".....
I started to read this book after reading many sites online such as those I link to above. I made it through only the first few chapters before I was able to turn my dial to manual. I have yet to turn the dial off of manual since then. I probably have 1% of my shots taken in another mode other than manual since starting to read that book. I still have to pick it up again and finish reading.

One main reason I now leave it in manual is because I don't have a separate exposure lock on my camera. It locks along with the focus with the shutter button. That means, if I want to expose on the grass to get good exposure then focus on my subject with the focus lock, it is impossible to do in aperture or shutter priority mode. Thus, I now shoot exclusively manual because I can meter anywhere to set the exposure with full manual control and it stays there. Then focus on the point I want to focus, recompose the shot, and shoot the photo.

9 times out of 10, I am in the backyard with the kids or I am walking around taking landscape shots. I generally set the exposure to the grass or the sky (learned about that here) and leave it the entire time I am using the camera.
 
thanks everyone im still doing a lot of reading and research on stuff.. like i said the most ill be doing now is portraits and cars.. and my friend racing motorcross
 
I use M, Av, Tv(sometimes). Av is actually what I use the most when I am out and about taking shots of many different things. I use M when I am doing close ups or stock photography or landscapes. I also use M for when i take pics using the flash.
 
I used M for quite a while, then switched to P because I needed the added speed. The reason I like P is it's fast and I can still control anything. Sure, the camera program shifts to what it thinks is proper exposure, but there is also exposure compensation to cover that. The thing with M is sometimes you will get to carried away with getting the settings a certain way, and it will distract you from the actual photo, which is what's most important. You want your concentration going to things like composition, not the settings.

(with P, the camera gives you a foundation for you settings and you can change them without thinking much. You really only have to set exposure compensation once when you find out if your camera exposes too high or too low for your tastes)
 

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