my thoughts on auto mode


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night86mare

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Aug 25, 2006
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have no idea why the poor ts got his thread hijacked to become a auto mode good/bad discussion here.. yet another piece of evidence as to the ways in which clubsnap can improve.

actually i'm quite bemused at the discussion going on in there. there are people who insist that auto mode has a big part to play even in a dslr. there are also people who insist that the auto mode is not supposed to be there.

i have met many people with dslrs. given the constant reporting and update as to the number of dslrs sold , due to many factors , like falling prices, smaller sizes, much more intuitive usage and widespread word-of-mouth.. i think dslrs are proliferating the market more than ever. not everyone has read up on the basics of photography before diving in.. and as we can see here sometimes, even if they dive in they do not bother to read up either.

one point i'd like to make - there is NOTHING wrong with using auto mode.

with the only qualifier being that you are new, or in photographic hell, i.e. changing lighting conditions with every passing second, no time to think, getting the shot being more important that getting what you want out of the picture.

i see some people in there advocating and soft touching ts that auto mode is absolutely number 1 ok mode to use, and i thought i'd correct this thinking. why? i have seen people who have used dslr for 3 years already (yar) and still using auto mode. i ask them, what is iso, they give me blank face, and proceed to complain about how sometimes at night their picture very noisy.

sure, one can drive a ferrari at 20km/h, but that doesn't mean it is fundamentally correct. it's like saying that i have 2 hands, 2 legs, 1 mouth, 1 brain, etc etc but i am entirely justified in sitting here and doing nothing and rotting. not knowing how to use something is very different from knowing how to use something and choosing not to do it, and i'm sure everyone and anyone can gain something from gaining a little more knowledge about how digital photography works, no matter where they come from.

thoughts? please be cordial, i will close the thread at any sign of flaming.
 

I think you remind me of one of my teachers last time. :bsmilie: Some people are happy with less or have other priorities. For a lot of us here, photographing well is very important to us personally. Sometimes we forget that not everyone places the same importance on it. Like those spiffy dressers to whom appearance is very important, they look at the ones who dress for comfort (to put it nicely, hehe) and think they dress like dunno what, but not like they agree right?

What's soft touching by the way?

Anyway, even though I know how to shoot on manual, I mostly use either shutter or aperture priority (this count as partly auto also right?), unless it doesn't work well, and I have all the time in the world to fiddle with settings. But if auto works well, why not? Sure a lot of photos would be better on manual mode, but I'd be missing a lot of the shots if I left it on manual.

Plus I find that most people aren't the most patient "posers" in the world. They keep going "why so long?????" or "faster leh!! I'm getting tired!!!". Sounds familiar to you guys also? (Or maybe I am really that slow.)
 

i know la, the premise is that everybody wants to improve eventually, and there is some amount of truth, no matter how small,

that using a dslr in auto 24/7 and never knowing what manual is like is just plain weird.

i mean, why else would you get a dslr? improved image quality only? because if you say better noise control then jialat, auto mode will anyhow whack iso for you also.. :(

soft touching means.. like someone lost his gf, you tell him sayang sayang tomorrow will better, if you don't get the idea then i donno how to explain it haha

i always do street shots on aperture priority.. not really sure how to use shutter speed priority, but then the sort of photos i take, dof is more important than whether there is motion or not :dunno:

remember, i'm not saying that auto is baddd and we shouldn't use it. i'm sure there'll be a time when i eventually use it, especially when i stop shooting landscapes - which never complain, like i always say.. i'm just saying that there is something intrinsically wrong with not learning how your camera works when you profess to be taking up photography.. and worse still, encouraging others that this idea is ok.
 

I guess it is pretty subjective. For me, I went into buying a dslr knowing I want to learn everything about it - hence the auto mode is almost never touched by me. Not saying that I'm good, but always leaving the comfort zone and exploring beyond it brings about new realms for exploration and that in itself is quite fun, imo.

However, it is very important for a reason - not everyone knows how to handle the cam. Normally I'd set to auto mode and auto focus so that it'd be trigger happy for them instead of trying to fiddle around with the controls if they want to play with my cam.
 

Ya I think I get what soft touching is, thanks.

I use shutter speed priority at night. Same as aperture priority, except it's shutter speed that's fixed. Rather have dark photos than blur photos since I know can still sort of save in photoshop.
 

I both agree and disagree. :)

I'm always on Aperture priority mode now. Previously, I was always on Program mode, which I always believe it semi-auto. I started learning from using Auto/P mode, then slowly, I moved on to learn about the rest of the modes, and eventually stuck with A mode. Auto mode is like a stepping stone for those who just started photography with a DSLR.

Yes, why get I DSLR when you only use Auto? Some people like my mum, only wishes to get photos of good image quality, for memory sake and snapshots. I believe she will eventually learn how to control Aperture and stuff, since I'm teaching her on the way.

There is really nothing wrong with using Auto or not. It's your own choice. But I always believe, start from auto, then venture out. :)

But my current camera has no Auto mode anymore, only Program Mode! ;p
 

@alteredvision: I've only been a SLR user for +/-2 years. When I first started, I seldom used anything but P and Av modes (Program, Aperture Priority, for non Canon users).

However, as part of a discipline building, I challenged myself to shoot on M during a 4-day event. I initially missed a lot of shots, but as I continued to train myself, I am where I am now. I seldom miss a shot, and seldom get complains of "why so slow" from the people I am shooting, due to making adjustments in M mode.

The idea is to pre-estimate exposure settings, based on your own experience, and having the discipline to scout out different shooting locations before an event begins.

Why I made the switch to M mode is due to the reason that all in-camera auto-exposure modes can and will be easily affected by less-than-straightforward lighting conditions.
 

Personally, I believe that there is a time and place for everything, so I'll use whatever settings I need to get the shot. Period. None of my subjects want to look at my settings - I'll have to pay them if I want them to look at my settings; they only look at the pictures. :bsmilie:
 

Yes, why get I DSLR when you only use Auto? Some people like my mum, only wishes to get photos of good image quality, for memory sake and snapshots. I believe she will eventually learn how to control Aperture and stuff, since I'm teaching her on the way.

There is really nothing wrong with using Auto or not. It's your own choice. But I always believe, start from auto, then venture out. :)

But my current camera has no Auto mode anymore, only Program Mode! ;p

yuh, i knwo what you mean, which is why i did mention a premise - a lack of knowledge

just like how when anyone starts out in photoshop, auto levels and auto colour is their favourite tool at first.. i'm trying to ween a few friends off it after they discovered it.. was explaining shadow highlights halfway.. then

HEY THERE'S THESE COOL AUTO THINGS, CAN WE USE THEM?!

then i beat my head on the computer monitor and sighed, knowing that that conversation would never have existed in their minds ever again.
 

Why I made the switch to M mode is due to the reason that all in-camera auto-exposure modes can and will be easily affected by less-than-straightforward lighting conditions.

oh, i had to start on manual because once i got my prosumer i started doing ir photography :bsmilie: must do manual or get black black photo :bsmilie:

but i do agree, also with different lenses you get different quirks.. don't know if you get what i mean.. the metering all different leh.. which is why i want to get rid of some i use less often, always end up struggling with the exposure when i take them out from cold storage
 

yuh, i knwo what you mean, which is why i did mention a premise - a lack of knowledge

just like how when anyone starts out in photoshop, auto levels and auto colour is their favourite tool at first.. i'm trying to ween a few friends off it after they discovered it.. was explaining shadow highlights halfway.. then

HEY THERE'S THESE COOL AUTO THINGS, CAN WE USE THEM?!

then i beat my head on the computer monitor and sighed, knowing that that conversation would never have existed in their minds ever again.

Haha! Everything in this world now is automated, just a click of a button, and done!

When I started using PS, I somehow didn't use the auto stuff. I learnt about curves and started to experiment. Then after that, I went to play with Auto Levels/Colour etc.

Sometimes, auto can give you strange and even cool effects. So once in a while, I'll try out and see. I'm pretty lazy when it comes to PP at times. :bsmilie:
 

Haha! Everything in this world now is automated, just a click of a button, and done!

When I started using PS, I somehow didn't use the auto stuff. I learnt about curves and started to experiment. Then after that, I went to play with Auto Levels/Colour etc.

Sometimes, auto can give you strange and even cool effects. So once in a while, I'll try out and see. I'm pretty lazy when it comes to PP at times. :bsmilie:
ya, but even i do still use auto still

auto levels for ir, can never figure out to do it the way i like it

and that's how i did it when i was new, and that's the workflow given to me by the ir regulars

so.. auto levels it is :bsmilie:
 

I find it sadly amusing that people use auto focus. I know there are good reasons for it in some professional cases. Understanding correct exposure is a lot more difficult than focusing a lens, especially with flash, so I can forgive people who often (or always) use an auto exposure mode. The one thing I've noticed is how unlike my manual-only cameras to set exposure my dSLR works.

In either case, people are unwilling to further themselves in order to understand what they're doing. It seems sad that people are so dependent on technology that they can't do things on their own.
 

always remember the power of marketing.

with camera manufacturers advertising that it is so easy to take good photos - meaning just buy the equipment - in addition to the fact that prices are falling, many are finding dslrs a worthwhile deal compared to compacts since "it" - yes, the camera - takes great pictures.

isn't too hard to figure out that these people believe that all you need to do is point and shoot.
 

I find it sadly amusing that people use auto focus. I know there are good reasons for it in some professional cases. Understanding correct exposure is a lot more difficult than focusing a lens, especially with flash, so I can forgive people who often (or always) use an auto exposure mode. The one thing I've noticed is how unlike my manual-only cameras to set exposure my dSLR works.

bro, you type wrongly isit

if manually focus every photo can cry leh
 

I find it sadly amusing that people use auto focus. I know there are good reasons for it in some professional cases. Understanding correct exposure is a lot more difficult than focusing a lens, especially with flash, so I can forgive people who often (or always) use an auto exposure mode. The one thing I've noticed is how unlike my manual-only cameras to set exposure my dSLR works.

In either case, people are unwilling to further themselves in order to understand what they're doing. It seems sad that people are so dependent on technology that they can't do things on their own.

In this current age, where viewfinders on digital crop dSLRs are so small, I think it is easier to understand exposure than to accurately manual focus a lens.
 

Thanks for the advise, Calebk. Playing around with candid right now, but I'll keep it in mind for practice.

I sure do agree on the manual focus being harder than exposure. I can't tell if it's sharp till I upload on the comp, and by then too late already.
 

Can view on LCD after ur shots, just zoom in more :D
 

Can view on LCD after ur shots, just zoom in more :D

Shoot a group photo. Manual focus. Let's say it's not sharp. By the time you zoom in on your screen and check, the group will be gone already.

That is why accurate focus is of utmost importance to photographers, particularly event photographs. Also, do not rely on the LCD screen to judge sharpness. Never ever do that. If in doubt, keep the shot until you get onto your computer. Judge from there.
 

bro, you type wrongly isit

if manually focus every photo can cry leh

omg.. thats what I have to do! >< lols It isn't all that bad, just more work, or less picture.

Using auto mode is ok for a DSLR. I use them sometimes. When I shoot for events, esspecially paid ones, to cover up my lack of confidence. Well, not auto, P mode rather.
 

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