General Settings (Page 4): As my standard setting, I have ISO at 100.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

As my standard setting, I have ISO at 100.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

IMO, Poor standard setting unless you have film in the camera.

leftj Loc: Texas

jeep_daddy wrote:

Because if the last time you used your camera and ... (show quote)

Scratching my head. You just made my point. If the last time I used my camera was on bulb I wouldn't have the disaster you just described if I had a policy of my preferred general setting being in place when I leave the house.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

jeep_daddy wrote:

Because if the last time you used your camera and ... (show quote)

Of course you have to cognizant of your settings, but I do all that when I get where I'm going.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

leftj wrote:

Scratching my head. You just made my point. If the last time I used my camera was on bulb I wouldn't have the disaster you just described if I had a policy of my preferred general setting being in place when I leave the house.

Yes, but I don't do that at home and have never had a disaster because of it. Maybe it's just me, but I check my cameras settings when I take it out of the case for a shoot. It only takes a few seconds to confirm the shooting mode. In addition, my 7D Mark II also has an intelligent viewfinder which displays the status of all the current shooting parameters.

canon Lee

mr spock wrote:

I'm sure this has been asked before but what are the recommended "standard" settings for your camera when leaving the house with no specific photographic purpose in mind.
Aperture or Shutter priority? Or simply set the camera on Auto?
Aperture setting/Shutter speed?
ISO setting?
Focusing mode?

Any info will be appreciated
Mr Spock

I would suggest to set the mode to "P" as this is a "semi" automatic "adjustable " mode. The camera guesses for the first shot and then you can tweak to correct. However in reality I would pretty much know what would be a "ball park" setting as I have been shooting indoors as well as out doors for a long time.. Experience is so valuable. So this question is more for the novice shooter..

repleo Loc: Boston

mr spock wrote:

I'm sure this has been asked before but what are the recommended "standard" settings for your camera when leaving the house with no specific photographic purpose in mind.
Aperture or Shutter priority? Or simply set the camera on Auto?
Aperture setting/Shutter speed?
ISO setting?
Focusing mode?

Any info will be appreciated
Mr Spock

If you have to ask which settings, you are probably not ready to walk around in anything other than Auto. There is nothing 'wrong' with Auto. All camera makers invest a lot of money and brain power into designing their cameras to give great, reliable results in Auto mode. Just leave your camera set on Auto, or iAuto if you have it, for use in normal daylight conditions. Use one of the scene modes for anything a bit more difficult like fast action or backlit night portraits. Your shots will be somewhere between good and very good.

However, to progress as a photographer, read some of the excellent books on exposure recommended here and practice, practice , practice. When you have a special vision or think you know more about exposure than the camera engineers, graduate to one of the priority modes or full manual. Deciding which priority mode to use makes you think about what you want to achieve with your shot. Just thinking about what you want to achieve is what makes the photo special.

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

As I posted above, set a memory mode with all of your preferred defaults. When you pick up your camera after several days you won't need to remember which settings might have been changed on your last shoot. Personally, I've chosen at least 20 settings that are different from my camera defaults. Now, I simply rotate the mode dial on my Sonys to any mode then back to my memory mode to restore all my settings where I know they should be, on [i]my ]/i]defaults. After that nearly instant reset, I can adjust whatever I need to adjust for the scene at hand.

No longer will I need to turn IS back on after having shot some stars using a tripod the night before. I won't forget that I had changed my ISO from auto with a 1600 limit to ISO 6400 for shooting the Milky Way. I won't forget I changed metering mode, or whatever. This is a simple failsafe that works so well!

leftj Loc: Texas

mwsilvers wrote:

Yes, but I don't do that at home and have never had a disaster because of it. Maybe it's just me, but I check my cameras settings when I take it out of the case for a shoot. It only takes a few seconds to confirm the shooting mode. In addition, my 7D Mark II also has an intelligent viewfinder which displays the status of all the current shooting parameters.

In those few seconds the shot opportunity may be gone. At least with some preferred default setting you have a better chance than if you had left your camera on some crazy setting like bulb.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

Since every image is different, and we know nothing about your interests, it would seem AUTO should be your selection.

leftj Loc: Texas

mwsilvers wrote:

Yes, but I don't do that at home and have never had a disaster because of it. Maybe it's just me, but I check my cameras settings when I take it out of the case for a shoot. It only takes a few seconds to confirm the shooting mode. In addition, my 7D Mark II also has an intelligent viewfinder which displays the status of all the current shooting parameters.

And if you check your camera settings and they are still on bulb what do you do right then?

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

leftj wrote:

And if you check your camera settings and they are still on bulb what do you do right then?

If my camera is in the case I'm not taking any photos at that moment anyway. I would potentially miss opportunities before and during taking it out of the case and turning it on, not to mention changing to a more appropriate lens than may be mounted. Making sure I'm not in bulb mode or some other setting would be the least amount of effort. I do all this when I get out of my car and sometimes before. I've never missed a shot because of a setting issue. I've have missed many because my camera is still in its case, handing on my shoulder, or at home.

Jkcolumbia1933 Loc: Columbia, SC

I sense that you are either new to photography or, are stepping up with a better camera. In that case set the camera on "P" for program or "Automatic" until you have greater knowledge.

BebuLamar

AF on,all focus point enabled, Automatic focus point selection, Matrix metering, P exposure mode, Auto ISO with low limit of 100 and high limit of 12800. It would work pretty well as a P&S but I actually never did that.

leftj Loc: Texas

mwsilvers wrote:

If my camera is in the case I'm not taking any pho... (show quote)

Who besides you said anything about walking around with their camera in a case. Most people I know who want to be ready to capture a shot are not walking around with their camera in a case. They have it out and ready. Besides, when you said you do all this before you get of your car shows you do in fact have a be prepared process which probably involves some general settings on your camera.