Shoot in P or M mode?


FalconSG

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Feb 5, 2012
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Sengkang
I am using a 60D. The problem I have is deciding which mode to shoot with.

When using the P mode, sometimes I get good pic and sometimes not. Same thing for the M mode.

Which mode do most people normally use for their shooting? There was a video I watched that says P mode is usually used even by the professionals for general shooting.

Can anyone enlighten me?
 

Don't copy others. Shoot the mode you are most comfortable with, and the mode you need FOR THE TASK. There is a time when P is handy, M is handy, A is handy, S is handy.

Most of the time, I shoot in A mode, as my style of shooting is to control the aperture and keep the ISO fixed.
 

TS, when use use the dSLR, what is your expectation of what the camera is capable of doing? Is there in any way expecting the camera to have very intelligent capturing AI that will make the things not possible on point n shoot camera become possible on a dSLR. Let me know what your answer is and I will know which mode is good for you.
 

Hi,I am using 60D too...IMO,most of my shots are in AV mode,tats wat i m being taught.But of course if u were to set to the progam mode & let the camera do the settings for you,you will not be able to learn anything.Might as well you go & get a compact better right?Anyway,try to shoot in AV & Manual to generate more creativity into your picture.Personally,i feel that if you want to improve faster,shoot in manual whereby you are in control of the aperture & shutter speed.Shoot more & compare your shots.If you are not happy then do the necessary adjustment till you get the shot that you want.But still,it is up to which mode you want to shoot in.Cheers!
 

I am using a 60D. The problem I have is deciding which mode to shoot with.

When using the P mode, sometimes I get good pic and sometimes not. Same thing for the M mode.

Which mode do most people normally use for their shooting? There was a video I watched that says P mode is usually used even by the professionals for general shooting.

Can anyone enlighten me?

Why do you care what professionals use? You use the mode according to what you need at the moment.

Read this to find out when to use what... Know your camera, and you will getting better pics.

What are all those camera modes for, anyway? | Crave - CNET
 

Hi,I am using 60D too...IMO,most of my shots are in AV mode,tats wat i m being taught.But of course if u were to set to the progam mode & let the camera do the settings for you,you will not be able to learn anything.Might as well you go & get a compact better right?Anyway,try to shoot in AV & Manual to generate more creativity into your picture.Personally,i feel that if you want to improve faster,shoot in manual whereby you are in control of the aperture & shutter speed.Shoot more & compare your shots.If you are not happy then do the necessary adjustment till you get the shot that you want.But still,it is up to which mode you want to shoot in.Cheers!

Creativity cannot be generated by using different modes...
Creativity starts in your head.
Even some people shooting with iphone can be super creative, and make awesome pictures.
 

Hi, Generally it's about how much control you want in creating a photograph.P mode selects aperture and shutter speed for you in relation to ISO setting while M or manual mode does not which allows greater choice.I think most photographers would choose Av or aperture priority or Tv for shutter priority depending upon whether depth of field or stopping motion is important in the picture's
composition,not to mention EV or exposure compensation of meter reading for lighting.There are also specific optimisation in SCN (scene) modes.It depends very much if there is time to be selective or just need to get the picture in a hurry,circumstances vary.
Hope this answers your question.
 

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It doesn't matter which mode.....It's the end result that matters most.
 

You cannot be a pro or shoot like a pro by copying a pro. There is no magic formula for you.
 

the camera in your hand, you are like a manager, you assign a right staff (exposure mode) to do the task right. if you don't know your staffs well, you may not always get the job done well.

so in simple word,
find out what is metering,
what is exposure mode and how do they work?
 

I am using a 60D. The problem I have is deciding which mode to shoot with.

When using the P mode, sometimes I get good pic and sometimes not. Same thing for the M mode.

Which mode do most people normally use for their shooting? There was a video I watched that says P mode is usually used even by the professionals for general shooting.

Can anyone enlighten me?

I would say you have to know what you wanted to shoot and under what kind of situation, environment etc and what type of modes that your camera have to offer.

Then decide what kind of mode suits you best.

Personally, I would shoot in M if I am shooting stills because I know the object that I wanted to shoot will not be running about so I got time to adjust the settings and I shoot in A mode when I was hitting the streets.

Last but not least, I shoot in Auto mode, Jpeg in birthdays.....
 

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The same mode can make u or break u at different times. Knowing what each mode does, how do shoot in each mode and why change to other mode is the way to learn your PASM.

A short summary, but I do encourage you to read up more:
P - Camera handles most stuff for you, you have little controls but ur shots tends to be very safe and ok
A - You have absolute control over the Depth of field.
S - You are the master of speed, you can choose to blur the motion or freeze the moment
M - You are a control freak. But you have to do most of the work yourself but everything will be executed by your precise order, the outcome, however, depends on how good you are.
 

AS LONG AS YOU GET THE SHOT. DOESNT MATTER WHAT MODE YOU USE.
 

Hi Guys, thank you very much for the valuable advice!

I tried using M mode so to learn better photography. It's not easy but I think such grilling is essential for me to become a better photographer. But I always have a problem with under/over exposure and I resort to cranking up/down the aperture/shutter/iso speed. So I ended up taking too long to take a good shot. The subject might not stay there long enough for me to get it right! To sum up, I have no problem with composition but I am struggling with getting the correct exposure.

I think it's probably better to use Av mode as some of you have suggested?
 

Hi Guys, thank you very much for the valuable advice!

I tried using M mode so to learn better photography. It's not easy but I think such grilling is essential for me to become a better photographer. But I always have a problem with under/over exposure and I resort to cranking up/down the aperture/shutter/iso speed. So I ended up taking too long to take a good shot. The subject might not stay there long enough for me to get it right! To sum up, I have no problem with composition but I am struggling with getting the correct exposure.

I think it's probably better to use Av mode as some of you have suggested?

It was as said, it depends on the situation. You likely won't be using AV for sports photography... But for landscape, I would go either AV or M.
 

You still need to read up all the technical and creative aspects of photography and consciously apply them when you are hitting the shutter. Today's digital cameras allow you to review your photos immediately and that should help you learn much faster, provided you know how to analyse a good photo from a bad one. Take your time to learn and don't forget to enjoy yourself.
 

Hi Guys, thank you very much for the valuable advice!

I tried using M mode so to learn better photography. It's not easy but I think such grilling is essential for me to become a better photographer. But I always have a problem with under/over exposure and I resort to cranking up/down the aperture/shutter/iso speed. So I ended up taking too long to take a good shot. The subject might not stay there long enough for me to get it right! To sum up, I have no problem with composition but I am struggling with getting the correct exposure.

I think it's probably better to use Av mode as some of you have suggested?
apparently you still don't really get it,

you need to understand what is exposure first, and how camera metering works

whatever mode you use, is base on this, so whenever the P, A, S modes failed you, you know how to override it,

if you don't understand exposure and camera metering, do you think switch to M mode or any other modes will have better luck?


Please find this book and read it.

understanding+exposure.jpg
 

As the others have said, use the mode you are most comfortable with. The end result is what matters. Auto mode can get you the results you want if you know what it does. Most of the time I'm shooting in Aperture Priority or Manual, or Manual with Auto ISO. Different situations warrant different modes, but you can get the results you want with any mode as long as you know what it does.
 

Sorry for causing so much frustrations here. As a newbie, we sometimes don't know what we don't know. But I get what you all are saying and the advice is great! Thanks!
 

Hi Guys, thank you very much for the valuable advice!

I tried using M mode so to learn better photography. It's not easy but I think such grilling is essential for me to become a better photographer. But I always have a problem with under/over exposure and I resort to cranking up/down the aperture/shutter/iso speed. So I ended up taking too long to take a good shot. The subject might not stay there long enough for me to get it right! To sum up, I have no problem with composition but I am struggling with getting the correct exposure.

I think it's probably better to use Av mode as some of you have suggested?

With digital photography it is more convenient as auto focusing is taken care for you subject to the effectiveness depending on lighting situations.All you need to do is point and shoot if you were on P mode.I think you need to understand the basics of exposure because
it is reciprocal in nature between aperture and shutter speed in relation to ISO sensitivity.When you do it becomes automatic and your thought process can be integrated to your composition.Then just click and you've got the picture ,almost intuitive.

Exposure is another matter as you need to know how your camera's metering system is designed.Most metering is of the averaging
type,meaning if you read the marketing blurp like matrix metering where the sensor is divided into a tic tac toe pattern but with more
squares or sections and each square's light reading is all added up and averaged over the entire grid which then becomes the aperture or shutter speed in relation to ISO speed/sensitivy.Of course you have spot metering where a certain area of the scene mostly center
as you tend to put important subject and the eye normally concentrates to get a more accurate reading rather than average to emphasize the tone/texure or highlights.In essence you would select an exposure between average and spot.Lastly there is centerweighted metering where a larger area is selected.This in turn is related to white balance/colour as average metering is calibrated to give a neutral grey for film technology but for digital it is the white tone or shade which determine the colour or shade of colour of different light sources like daylight and artificial lighting.Learn about the nature,properties and colour of light,it's interesting.

In photography "half the battle is won" if you get the most accurate exposure as that will mean optimum colour and contrast.
The rest is art or creativity or sometimes plain trial and error ( bracketing your shots) or luck ( time of day or circumstance).So you need to do your homework to be a better photographer.

Sorry for causing so much frustrations here. As a newbie, we sometimes don't know what we don't know. But I get what you all are saying and the advice is great! Thanks!

That's your perception don't take it personally although some could have put it across in a more pedagogical manner. :)
 

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