Here is a question I am very curious about. For those of you who own a DSLR, SLR, or a point and shoot with full manual setting control.
DO you prefer to shoot in the manual mode and adjusts your own settings or do you prefer to let the camera set for you in auto mode?
I can say I have been fully manual for about 4 years. I own a DSLR and to me the photo quality in auto mode is no better than my fuji point and shoot in auto mode. I get deeper richer tones and colors and a much better exposure with the manual settings. I feel the auto mode lacks depth and color saturation.
@miley89 Good answer. This is a good point, and I have heard this before not necessarily lazy but the auto settings work quicker and sometime a proper manual setting can take some time to get just right, and I have had people say they miss their shot while trying to set the camera.
I started in manual mode on my fuji point and shoot and it took me the better part of that summer to get it down where I could adjust quickly and easily but the results were much better. Instead of deleting more than half my shoot due to exposure and clarity problems I was getting more and more keepers using manual setting.
I have not long come out of auto, but usually shoot most of the time in S priority ~ I don't like A prority as I havent managed to master it yet, in A mode my S is always always too slow for what I want, so i find S suits me better ~ I am wandering slowly into full M mode though, but like you say I have missed shots because I have been fiddling about with the camera ~ I guess its all about practice and one day I will be able to know what setting I need in full M mode a lot quicker than it is taking me right now
For the kind of photography I do I shoot in "P" mode. Most of the time I'm doing street photography and quick "in the moment" shots, so I don't have time to adjust the setting. My creedo is: One can always fix or tweek a shot in editing, but one can never recover a perfect Kodak moment once its gone.
@alisonp A is not auto mode it is Aperture priority and it controls the amount of light let into the sensor by how much area is exposed. That is why your shutter is setting too low at higher apertures you get more depth but a lot less light. Think of it as an O. At 3.5 - 2.8 your O is larger but you have a shallow DOF only closer objects are in clear focus (great for bokeh shots) and when you are at 10 your O is closer to the size it is on this page so not much light getting to the sensor, so in A mode you camera will compensates by lowering the shutter to let in more light. You can also let in more light yourself by setting your ISO higher, be careful with this though too high an ISO and you will get a lot of noise or grain in your image. I hope this helps some and will help you adjust settings more in you manual mode.
@cromwell Very good philosophy. I try hard not to tweek after only because in the photo market A pure or unedited photo has a better chance of selling. I guess it comes down to practice and lots of trial and error when it comes to manual shoot mode. I can say that once you have a good handle on it you can defiantly get bolder and better shots without any post or very minimal post processing.
@alisonp Sorry for the mix up. I have been helping a lot of novice photographers lately and have had to answer the difference between A and Auto a lot. So I guess it was force of habit by the way you mentioned the shutter.
@shuterfly no problem - your explanation was good ~perhaps I did not explain myself well originally :-) ... I am far from being an expert only having had the DSLR just over a year and just coming out of Auto mode LOL ...
I never use the auto mode, I really hate it! I'm usually using the AV-Mode and sometimes TV-mode (which is S in Nikon cameras, I think). On rare occasions, if I want a specific brightness in my pictures which AV or TV are not delivering, I'd use M.
I'm working with the manual settings of ISO and White Balance also.
I use Auto all the time.....when I had my camera to someone else to take a picture of me or my family. :) But this year so far with 365 has been about learning my DSLR which has included full M mode. I force myself to stay there to get more comfortable with changing the settings based on the situation and the light. It means that often I'll miss the shot that I wanted but I have come to accept that collateral damage while in this learning process. And I do find myself now changing settings as I walk up to a photo op. just to get a baseline down even if I need to tweak it a bit as I go.
I do miss fewer and fewer shots now but nowhere near as fast or intuitive as I'd like to be. :)
@shadowdancer Very nice. I avoid the A and S mode only because in those setting aperture or shutter is still being set by camera. In diverse lighting conditions this is hard to compensate for in these modes, that is why I am full on manual at this point. I have had my DSLR for 2 years and have only used this mode, like I said above I tried the auto out just the once and was not impressed at all. I was shooting manual long before the DSLR though. I had upgraded from a Kodak easyshare to a Fuji s700. I had full manual control of everything but focus. So when I upgraded to the DSLR manual use was a breeze, just needed time to adjust to the new location of buttons and dial.
I am very content and happy in manual mode and get my best photos there.
I almost always use manual, as it gives me greater control to create the feeling and light I want. When I struggle to get a good light in a darker scene but don't want to use flash, then I switch to Aperture Priority, as it seems to control light very well.
@victorypuzzle I will have to remember the Aperture priority part on my darker scenes. I know exactly what your talking about. A tip in case you didn't know, you can defuse your on camera flash with a plastic spoon,coffee filter or any other translucent white object, to get a more subtle lighting effect without the harshness of the flash. I prefer the coffee filter because I can make it stronger or weaker by simple folding it so it is doubled or quadrupled. That and I can secure it with a rubber band verses the spoon you have to hold in front of the flash.
@shuterfly Sondra, I find it varies with the situation. I shoot in all three M, A and S depending on time of day, lighting and desired effect. Shutter mode (S) allows for long exposures for night and low-light, manual (M) lets me control everything and then adjust in post processing if desired and usually is preferred, and aperture (A) mode for me is usually daily and good lighting. However I'm constantly watching the shutter speed in A mode since camera blur starts happening if I'm handheld without a tripod or fixture to assist around 1/80sec.
yeah manuals fun.
But Cromwell's point is not that he hasn't worked out the settings yet on his camera. he's shooting street photography, and quick reaction photography often works better with auto because there's no delay to react to light. I shoot manual on my DSLR, manual on my Olympus SLR, and on my cameras which are older and have no meter built in I am lazy, I usually stick it on f5.6 125th of a second and leave it there, since it works so well for lots of point and shoots.
@geocacheking You sound like you are getting better at the settings and the fact that you start setting before a photo op is great, best way to learn to get faster at it. I still often if I'm going to be working the same light condition for a while will do the test shot, no subject, no focus, just a random shot to test the lighting and make my adjustments so only minor adjustments are needed during shooting.
You will love the freedom manual give you over creative expression and once you get better at the setting it will come as easy as breathing.
@mikegifford Still a nice handheld shoot speed. on a good day resting my elbow on my knee in a squatted down position I can sometimes get down to 1/25sec. This speed also works well for motion blurs of slower moving objects such as a child running. I am able to keep the child clear and get enough pan in to make my background blur nicely.
@chewyteeth Lol you made me laugh with the comment about point and shoots it hits home for me because I worked with them for so long. I do understand about the quick reactions and how they relate to the mode chosen to shoot in. I do a lot of nature photography and some of those suckers are fast critters. I have found with my DSLR I can track and focus on a moving object faster with manual focus than the camera can in any of the auto focus modes. But when I use a program setting I just am not happy with the color saturation and depth in the image produced and then it's off to post processing that I don't like. Here is an example of fast reaction to lighting in manual mode using manual focus of the 5 shots that I popped off 4 were in focus with good lighting. I adjusted most of my settings while crossing the road and once more while shooting cause I noticed on the first the meter was a bit too dark one quick slip of the dial and shot the rest. This photo was number 2 in my set and made National Geographic's Daily dozen.
The only thing I wish I could change but could not due to environmental factors is the composition. I would have liked the deer more to the left of frame but as you can see in the top right there was a big tree in the way and I still managed to get part of one of the branches in this shot.
@victorypuzzle@shuterfly I'll have to try that with the coffee filter, always have them around the house with my wife's addiction, I mean affinity to coffee. :)
I have also found that using a small mirror at about 45 degrees to bounce the flash has possitive results in some indoor situations, but is harder to carry around and hold into position. I am currently working on a DIY holder to help keep it in place when I need it. :)
@jsw0109 I suppose this would depend on where you are selling and submitting and the type of customer. As a for instance above I am trying to get published in National Geographic, getting closer and closer I am getting more daily dozen shots now. (daily dozen is selected by the editors) and NG prefers raw or unedited photos or photos with minimal editing. HDR is becoming increasingly popular and I am even seeing more and more of it on NG site. Also another site is Pixoto photo competition. They allow any and all editing but are going to be launching a stock photo buying option. With that new feature "Pure" photos will sell for a higher price. I believe the reason behind this dates back to film where there was no editing either you got it good or you didn't. I think this is where this is based from to separate the digital art from the photographs.
@shuterfly well, even in the film world, there is post processing in the dark room. I did it in college. Ansel Adams did it too. So I don't think that's it... I can see NG wanting straight up photography, but a lot of advertisers like digital and film art. I know someone that does only lomo photography and has a ton of images on one of the stock photo sites (Shutterstock and one other if I remember right) and is actually making good money because they're constantly being downloaded. I think people should do the type of photography that they find fun and enjoy and have a passion for, and then find the market if they want to sell photos, because there is a market for all styles of photography.
@jsw0109 I couldn't agree more, I know a few that do amazing work with photoshop and I'm not talking filtering the crap out of something but more working a solid image into a breathtaking piece of art. There is a good market for all sorts. I myself like being able to create inside the camera where what you see is what you get. I have played with a few images and done some selective coloring and even did layers where I softened and brightened saturation of different colors for an interesting and unique effect. I am just more in my element if I don't have to edit. It's timely and I will admit I get lazy quick.
@shuterfly I process my photos because its what I do. Its "my thing" and it makes it so that people recognize my work when its not on my page. Nearly every photo in the last 4-5 months that I have uploaded to my 365 project needed almost no processing (unless you have one of those super expensive DSLR camera's that cost upwards of $2k you have to tweak contrast or saturation in nearly every photo because of limitations within the camera, which is why its best to shoot in RAW, so that you have to only barely tweak them)... I processed nearly all of the photos uploaded anyway - doing more than minor contrast and/or saturation tweaks - its part of making the shots "mine". For me, when I get lazy, I upload SOOC. Like my shot on 8/9 - totally SOOC. I was also lazy with my shots on the 19th and 20th because I barely did anything to them...just edits in RAW on the hummingbird moth (brightness and contrast), and then the shot on the 20th got softened a bit. For me its very important to spend 2 mins or less making sure I have the right settings for what I want in camera because it saves loads of time in post proc, that way its all stylized edits rather than corrections and fixes.
@jsw0109 Well put. The less correction you have to do the more time for better things. I guess I myself don't have much of a style which is something for me to consider more as i progress as an artist. Right now I still consider myself a learner in that I am still shooting many different subjects and styles using different effects in camera such as bokeh shaping is one of my favs. So I really don't have a particular brand of style that would make me stand out, I usually hope that my diversity can speak for my talents., but as far as someone recognizing my work without my name attached or on my site I don't think they would be able to. So this conversation really leaves me some to think about.
I shoot in Aperature priority most of the time but switch to Shutter priority or manual if I need to. I regularly change ISO too.
An instructor I had recently reminded us all that a digital camera always processes the RAW data, otherwise it's just a digital file. So you can choose your processing settings in the camera or you can choose them in a program out of the camera. In other words, you can let the camera develop the negative or you can do it yourself. There's really no difference as far as the integrity of the image is concerned. I found that to be a useful point when thinking about processing photos.
Aperture priority most of the time for me. The manual mode on the Lumix is cumbersome and the buttons are tiny ...
My film cameras are manual only but quick to use, especially the Olympus with the shutter speed ring on the lens mount. That seemed strange at first, but it's a superb system when you get used to it because you can adjust aperture and speed simultaneously, focus as well.
Auto whenever I can. The way I look at it Sony know the best combinations. Then I can get on with taking the picture. But there are times when I will go for shutter or aperture priority.
There is another way other than manual?? lol I keep trying to go to aperture or shutter priority and it makes me feel like i'm walking with two left feet. So my camera stays in manual.
I only shot in manual, I do not like auto at all...it takes my photos all wrong. I much prefer having total control over how my shot turns out. I am changing my settings as the situation changes and I toggle my focus point for each shot for exact focus here I want it (I am a little bit of a control freak lol)
I mostly use manual as I like it. However there were different settings on my camera which I tried last month as it is a new camera and I wanted to try out the different settings. I would use auto if someone is taking a photo of me.
@la_photographic It's funny you mention someone taking a photo of you. In this situation I still set my settings manually before handing over the camera, the only thing I leave in auto mode is the focus when someone else is taking my photo. I get my photo taken often so when I do I want it to be right.
There is defiantly more people using the manual setting and taking full control of their images. From what I have read here this is based on learning curve and for some the type of shots they are after. I myself have been fully manual even before I got my DSLR. Being fully manual before getting the DSLR really helped my transition between the 2 cameras almost effortlessly. If anyone is using a point and shoot and planning on upgrading I would highly recommend getting your manual settings under your full control before upgrading. If your point and shoot doesn't have full manual settings then upgrade to a point and shoot that does instead of a DSLR. I say this because I have seen it many times, someone gets a big expensive camera and has no idea how to use it, this does not make the camera owner look bad but rather the camera, most people who do not photograph are under the impression that a good camera will take good photos regardless of who is behind the shutter, well I can tell you not true. I love music and guitars and they sell some really nice expensive guitars but that doesn't mean I will be able to make it play beautiful music, why, cause I don't know how to play the guitar, that's why and unless I learn even a $5,000 guitar isn't going to sound too good.
Funny you bring guitars into this discussion as similar discussions are going on on guitar forums, should one learn to play on nylon, steel or electric guitar. Most people have already decided and don't really listen to the arguments of others. Why aren't there more non-"all manual" photographers in this thread? Well, they are met with you don't know what you're doing, you're not there yet on your learning curve, if you don't mind how your pictures look and other "know it all" stuff. Sure, there are situations where manual is the only way to get the right exposure, but to extrapolate from there to say you cannot creatively control your camera in A or S mode is just silly, when you know your tool you know which mode to use when and when to go manual.
@primitiveprobe That is the point I was trying to convey with the guitar reference, when you know your equipment you know what kind to use and when to use it. For the ones that don't that is just fine we all started there every one of us.Most people learn to swim before they jump into deep water that's all I'm saying. I was mostly trying to figure out where the ones who have been working at it longer are at. That really seems to depend on the situation and type of shot people are after for which mode works better for them. My personal feeling of any auto settings is that they do not get the desired feel that I like my photos to have.I find manual works best for me when trying to get the camera to see it how I see it. I have learned a few things in this discussion that I would like to try at some point, and for those just getting started I want to say I am not discouraging anyone, in fact if you are using auto settings and would like to venture out of them, check your Exif data on your file and then set camera manually to those settings and play from there to see what difference different settings make. Playing is always a great way to learn. And I don't believe there have ever been any discouraging words about anyone's images on here only positive feedback and a little advice on some other options to try.
@shuterfly Sondra, I'm not pointing my finger at you but if you read some of the comments with different glasses on you might read some of the comments differently. However, going back to your original question you do ask whether people shoot in manual mode and adjusts their own settings OR do they prefer to let the camera set for them in auto mode. Then later you say that you don't like A or S mode either as the camera then does selections for you, and also that you have tried the auto mode one time and didn't like it. What I'm saying is that it is possible to play around with the settings using A and S modes as well. That's also getting to know your equipment. I've found I come a long way using spot metering and exposure compensation (+/- 3EV) to get the exposures I want in tricky sitations. That being said, I have been using manual mode for a few shots in my project.
@primitiveprobe Love my spot metering. This is one of my favorite metering modes. Love it in macro situations regardless of lighting. Some comments may be more bias to manual shooting, but they are also peoples personal preferences. Everyone here encourages learning and sharing tips. Hearing how other people operate can generate new ideas for others.
I shoot RAW in fully manual almost all the time. I'd rather make the decisions about exposure, etc, myself instead of letting the camera do it for me. I just use a P&S right now, but I learned in the "old days" before we had auto focus/auto exposure cameras. I take the time to make sure I'm getting what I want by choosing my own settings, and in the end I find that I need less post-processing, rather than more. Any tweaking that's done is usually just minor adjustments to contrast or exposure. The one thing that I DO leave on auto is white balance, because when you shoot in RAW, you can adjust that in post-processing pretty easily.
@ronah I agree with the white balance. I shoot in RAW as well, the only time I don't use auto white balance is with my studio lights I set the white balance for that and have it programmed in and can access it easily.
Shooting in one of the manual or semi-manual modes gives you far more creative control over your DSLR than using Auto Mode, which makes every decision for you. Since I primarily shoot landscapes, I use Aperture Priority 99% of the time. This has been described as semi-manual as I still have control over everything (including the shutter speed by simply changing the aperture) in this mode. If you are still using Auto mode, give the Aperture Priority mode a try!
I shoot mostly in manual, but use aperture priority when I need to shoot quickly. I feel that this gives the control I seek in my photography. I am also starting to tend to focus manually as well to get complete control over this as well. I also shoot in raw. I am also manually setting the white balance.
For focussing I normally use autofocus, except for macro where focus is very tricky, I use manual.
For the program, most of the times I have P(anic), but while looking through the viewfinder I very often use my scrollwheel to get the desired combination of aperture/exposure. When I intent to make lots of similar shots of e.g. flowers, I switch to A(perture).
Just a few times I use T(ime) in case it's rather dark and I still need a short exposure or when I need a long exposure to get the sea flattened.
@djepie Very nice work. Really like the long exposed sea shot. Your focus is really good too. I will agree macro is hard to focus for. Your so close just a little bit of movement can make you have to refocus. Tell if this rings any bells for macro shooting, It is a very calm beautiful day. You get your subject all lined up in focus and composed the way you want it your ready to click the shutter and ...... a very tiny breeze that would not be enough to say so otherwise blows in and moves your subject less than half and inch but that is just enough to have to line everything up again. :)
I use many different modes depending on camera. Many of my vintage cameras are only manual so it is a great skill to develop along with using a hand held light meter. In digital I sometimes use auto, but for set shots of landscapes particularly using slow shutter and filters I go totally manual.
I use manual settings on my DSLR and shoot in RAW. I use manual focus for most of my shots, but go to autofocus when photographing my kids when they are moving around a lot.
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I started in manual mode on my fuji point and shoot and it took me the better part of that summer to get it down where I could adjust quickly and easily but the results were much better. Instead of deleting more than half my shoot due to exposure and clarity problems I was getting more and more keepers using manual setting.
I'm working with the manual settings of ISO and White Balance also.
I do miss fewer and fewer shots now but nowhere near as fast or intuitive as I'd like to be. :)
I am very content and happy in manual mode and get my best photos there.
yeah manuals fun.
But Cromwell's point is not that he hasn't worked out the settings yet on his camera. he's shooting street photography, and quick reaction photography often works better with auto because there's no delay to react to light. I shoot manual on my DSLR, manual on my Olympus SLR, and on my cameras which are older and have no meter built in I am lazy, I usually stick it on f5.6 125th of a second and leave it there, since it works so well for lots of point and shoots.
You will love the freedom manual give you over creative expression and once you get better at the setting it will come as easy as breathing.
The only thing I wish I could change but could not due to environmental factors is the composition. I would have liked the deer more to the left of frame but as you can see in the top right there was a big tree in the way and I still managed to get part of one of the branches in this shot.
I have also found that using a small mirror at about 45 degrees to bounce the flash has possitive results in some indoor situations, but is harder to carry around and hold into position. I am currently working on a DIY holder to help keep it in place when I need it. :)
An instructor I had recently reminded us all that a digital camera always processes the RAW data, otherwise it's just a digital file. So you can choose your processing settings in the camera or you can choose them in a program out of the camera. In other words, you can let the camera develop the negative or you can do it yourself. There's really no difference as far as the integrity of the image is concerned. I found that to be a useful point when thinking about processing photos.
My film cameras are manual only but quick to use, especially the Olympus with the shutter speed ring on the lens mount. That seemed strange at first, but it's a superb system when you get used to it because you can adjust aperture and speed simultaneously, focus as well.
For the program, most of the times I have P(anic), but while looking through the viewfinder I very often use my scrollwheel to get the desired combination of aperture/exposure. When I intent to make lots of similar shots of e.g. flowers, I switch to A(perture).
Just a few times I use T(ime) in case it's rather dark and I still need a short exposure or when I need a long exposure to get the sea flattened.