AV or M
- Thread starter canonmono
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Try out Av, if you still prefer M, then stick with it. If you find that Av is easier, then use it. There are some cases where each mode has its advantages over the other. If you find that one mode does not work for what you are doing, then switch to another mode.
I only stepped into using A or Av recently. Here's my thoughts:
In places where lighting can vary much at different times, Aperture Priority would be your best friend. It will automatically adjust to an appropriate shutter speed based on the amount of light that your camera meters at focus point(s). You will need it even more if you only have very short moments to shoot.
e.g.:
Street photography (vary lights from sun, shop lights, under shade, etc etc...)
Birding (bird move fast! really fast! You won't have much chance to adjust your shutter speed, unless you need to take hand held or birds in flight, which i think shuttle priority might help too)
For landscape and macro, I will, almost always, use M mode to shoot. For landscape, I have almost all the time in the world to compose, align and wait for sun or clouds to move as I please. And why macro? Isn't that the same as birding? The main differences is depth of field. In such a small area, which you would only have less than 1 mm of focused area even when you stop down to F/11 to F/16. You will definitely need an pair of steady hands and body plus enough shutter speed (min. 1/125) to capture at the right moment of focus as your body moves involuntarily. You can't do this in Av mode because the camera will not allow you to shoot at F/11 to F/16 as such high shutter speed even if you had attach your speedlight on your hotshoe.
In places where lighting can vary much at different times, Aperture Priority would be your best friend. It will automatically adjust to an appropriate shutter speed based on the amount of light that your camera meters at focus point(s). You will need it even more if you only have very short moments to shoot.
e.g.:
Street photography (vary lights from sun, shop lights, under shade, etc etc...)
Birding (bird move fast! really fast! You won't have much chance to adjust your shutter speed, unless you need to take hand held or birds in flight, which i think shuttle priority might help too)
For landscape and macro, I will, almost always, use M mode to shoot. For landscape, I have almost all the time in the world to compose, align and wait for sun or clouds to move as I please. And why macro? Isn't that the same as birding? The main differences is depth of field. In such a small area, which you would only have less than 1 mm of focused area even when you stop down to F/11 to F/16. You will definitely need an pair of steady hands and body plus enough shutter speed (min. 1/125) to capture at the right moment of focus as your body moves involuntarily. You can't do this in Av mode because the camera will not allow you to shoot at F/11 to F/16 as such high shutter speed even if you had attach your speedlight on your hotshoe.
I personally feel that one should not use Manual Mode until they fully understand the relationship between Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO.
Suggest you watch these video first
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQw28-3LEU4&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUYuUs1aaCU&feature=channel
Suggest you watch these video first
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQw28-3LEU4&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUYuUs1aaCU&feature=channel
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There is no more appropriate mode... It depend on what you need.
For landscapes,
I use Av mode and manual mode. sometime Tv mode too. So it depends.
Using Av mode, you decide the aperture f/stop you need so that the dof is deep enough to get the whole scene in focus, the rest is up to the camera to decide.
For landscapes,
I use Av mode and manual mode. sometime Tv mode too. So it depends.
Using Av mode, you decide the aperture f/stop you need so that the dof is deep enough to get the whole scene in focus, the rest is up to the camera to decide.
For me, i feel that only when my subject has alot of time to spare, i use Manual. Example, product shots, studio portraits, night photography.
Aperture mode is very convenient if you have fast moving subjects or inconsistent movements such as Events, pets, or street. I really feel that manual is for experienced photographers and should not be used if you don't understand it's full power well. I have a friend who just bought his camera recently. He used manual since he bought his camera. I told him to use Program or Aperture mode for some time but he wouldn't listen. Just today the school had an event, all his pictures are either massively overexposed or underexposed. So my advice to beginners, manual is for experienced photographers. Don't act like you already know everything and pretend to be Pro using manual.
Aperture mode is very convenient if you have fast moving subjects or inconsistent movements such as Events, pets, or street. I really feel that manual is for experienced photographers and should not be used if you don't understand it's full power well. I have a friend who just bought his camera recently. He used manual since he bought his camera. I told him to use Program or Aperture mode for some time but he wouldn't listen. Just today the school had an event, all his pictures are either massively overexposed or underexposed. So my advice to beginners, manual is for experienced photographers. Don't act like you already know everything and pretend to be Pro using manual.
i typically use Av and under-compensate exposure by 2/3 to 1 stop. i shoot fast so can't afford to use M. composition & action needs to be spot on, exposure-wise, can always correct in post-processing (under compensating helps a bit by preventing blown highlights)/
hope that helps.
I personally think that the best mode for beginner is Program Mode.
You can either leave the adjustment to the camera or you can adjust Aperture and Speed simultaneously by turning the Control Dial. This is call Program Shift.
http://www.digicamhelp.com/taking-photos/advanced-techniques/pshift/
http://www.completedigitalphotography.com/?p=510
You can either leave the adjustment to the camera or you can adjust Aperture and Speed simultaneously by turning the Control Dial. This is call Program Shift.
http://www.digicamhelp.com/taking-photos/advanced-techniques/pshift/
http://www.completedigitalphotography.com/?p=510
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Seriously, you don't need to be an expert to know how to use manual mode. There's an exposure meter bar at the bottom of your viewfinder in manual mode for a reason....
If you want a proper exposure, just keep that little arrow in the middle, over and underexpose accordingly and you will nvr go wrong.
If you want a proper exposure, just keep that little arrow in the middle, over and underexpose accordingly and you will nvr go wrong.
It's useful for learning, but if you're going to do that all the time, you might as well just use aperture priority, as it's the same thing, except faster. That bar relies on the camera's metering system anyway.
Depends on what you shoot mah. When you need full control of both aperture and shutter speed, M mode is the only way to go.
As a newbie:
Hmm in strong light outdoors I just put A and "minimum" ISO. Like what Cowseye said lightning can vary alot. Shutter speed should always be comfortably fast (faster than 1/100 at least) and slower shutter is usually not desirable
Poor light I put M, higher ISO, and try the best to compromise sufficient DOF with a shutter speed with acceptable risk. i.e. Slower speed increase the risk of handshake blur.
Hmm in strong light outdoors I just put A and "minimum" ISO. Like what Cowseye said lightning can vary alot. Shutter speed should always be comfortably fast (faster than 1/100 at least) and slower shutter is usually not desirable
Poor light I put M, higher ISO, and try the best to compromise sufficient DOF with a shutter speed with acceptable risk. i.e. Slower speed increase the risk of handshake blur.
With poor lighting, you can still use Aperture Priority but push up your ISO. You don't need to switch to manual.
The only time I use M mode is when I'm using flash or studio strobes. Seriously for shooting street or available light, no need to waste time adjusting 3 variables: ISO, aperture and shutter. I use Av most of the time because depth of field is important to me. I let the camera figure out the shutter speed. When using flash and Av, shutter may drag too long. So that's when I use M mode...to prevent camera shake and movement blur.
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