Is there a time when aperture-priority is the optimum exposure mode?
Mar 24, 2017 01:40:31 #
As a hold over from shooting landscapes with ASA 25 slide film, which required deep depth of field and a tripod, A is my "go-to" mode. I like to have control of the ISO so I seldom use auto ISO. I use A mode and keep an eye on the shutter speed when shooting hand held. When on a tripod I really don't care what the shutter speed is. When shutter speed is critical (birds in flight or deliberate motion blur) I use Shutter priority or manual. Never P or Auto.
Mar 24, 2017 06:20:08 #
Av is my default. Usually around F8, because that's where my go to lens (EFS 15 - 85) supposedly performs best. I'll change other factors, if necessary, to suit the conditions at the time or when I change lenses.
Mar 24, 2017 06:21:34 #
John Gerlach wrote:
Hi Hogs, br br I am about to begin the second rev... (show quote)
I use it almost 100% of the time. I dial it in for DOF and adjust ISO if shutter speed is needed.
Mar 24, 2017 06:23:37 #
repleo wrote:
I use aperture-priority most of the time, either for control of depth of field or to try to stay within the 'sweet spot' of the lens. Have I been missing something? Maybe I should read your book to learn a better way.
I agree with this. Lenses are generally the sharpest when stopped down a couple of stops from their maximum aperture. You also want to avoid very small apertures since diffraction can start to soften the image. Aperture priority lets you control that and the depth of field. Here is an image resolution chart for my Tamron 45mm f/1.8 lens. I try to shoot in the f/4 to f/5.6 range where it's the sharpest. It's resolves about 45 line pairs per millimeter at those apertures.
Mar 24, 2017 06:31:52 #
Pablo8
Loc: Nottingham UK.
A lot of my 'Press Work' was in film days, often using flash. So, perhaps manual was how I worked/set-up the camera. But the aperture was often the first consideration for A. DOF....B. open/closed enough, for the power of the flash. The flash did not always have TTL option and was set to Full or a fraction, or % power.
Mar 24, 2017 06:33:11 #
rjaywallace wrote:
John, speaking with the most serious and humble respect: please buy a copy of Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure", read it cover to cover, memorizing the salient points and then re-phrase the question posed in your topic heading. It is very hard to believe that someone with your background is asking such a question unless it was meant entirely tongue in cheek. /Ralph Wallace
I think that you are on the right track with the tongue and cheek! It is producing quite an array good answers!
Mar 24, 2017 06:43:48 #
How about shooting ducks on water in Changing Light Conditions. I want my lens wide open to render the background as creamy as possible. With a fixed aperture, ISO and using spot metering I'm guarantee to get the shoot with the Right Exposure. Birds in flight in Changing Light also comes to mind. I'd rather Float the shutter speed to control the DOF and or the Background. Changing light conditions and my desire to use low ISO settings coupled with controlling backgrounds would be my main reasons. In a Fixed light condition Manual would be the way to shoot. Just to Note you mention Floating your ISO. This works great if your shooting with top of the line equipment, not everyone can afford this. Slip into my shoes for a minute and imagine not shooting above ISO 800 for birding, would this change the way you shoot???
Mar 24, 2017 06:45:45 #
Mar 24, 2017 07:08:08 #
The only time I use manual is for portraits in controlled lighting situations or for tripod mounted landscape shots. The rest of the time is AV due to DOF control. Even when shooting sports, I prefer AV. That's because I use a fast enough lens (f2.8) and crank up the ISO enough to shoot twice as fast as the focal length. Isolating action, in a basketball game, is tough. I'm usually at 2.8 or 3.5. The results are isolation of a player, or players, in a tightly knit throng of other players. Using manual, or SS priority, won't always result in that.
Mar 24, 2017 07:14:28 #
Wanderer2
Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains
The great majority of my FF DSLR shooting is landscapes on a tripod. As others have stated for that specific situation I almost exclusively use aperture priority. The control of DOF and using the lens sweet spot are more important to me than shutter speed, and although obviously the same result can be accomplished using manual I find it quicker and simpler to use AP.
Mar 24, 2017 07:25:00 #
fetzler
Loc: North West PA
I use aperture priority quite often. It is essential for HDR and focus stacking. It is also necessary for controlling DOF or using the sweet spot of the lens. Shutter priority is used when shutter speed (either slow or fast) is absolutely essential.
Mar 24, 2017 07:26:41 #
John Gerlach wrote:
Hi Hogs, br br I am about to begin the second rev... (show quote)
I generally shoot in Aperture priority. I like being able to control DoF. If I have to stop the action or let it blur a bit, I 'll use Shutter priority. I limit ISO to 100 as much as I can.
Mar 24, 2017 07:35:51 #
Perhaps your choice would be aperture-priority when you need maximum depth-of-field; the range of distances in the subject area in front of and behind the point of primary focus that are rendered sharply.
Mar 24, 2017 07:37:11 #
I too am hoping that you asked this question to provoke a discussion, unless you are revising your book because of lagging sales and no photographer worth his salt is purchasing it. In today's digital world, lens diffraction is such a degrading factor, that I always have my camera set up to shoot aperture priority. The only time I ever change is when I know for certain that I will need a high shutter speed, like for instance, for grab shots from a moving vehicle.
Hope that you receive the discussion that you asked for. I will do the Amazon review of your pages before I even consider purchasing this book and even then I probably won't. I would have left the first few sentences out of your inquiry and not alerted folks that I was a published author.
Hope that you receive the discussion that you asked for. I will do the Amazon review of your pages before I even consider purchasing this book and even then I probably won't. I would have left the first few sentences out of your inquiry and not alerted folks that I was a published author.
Mar 24, 2017 07:40:26 #
I'm in aperture priority mode about 99% of the time. Essentially it is the only choice using manual lenses (other than manual mode of course). I like to take a test shot in A mode and then check for exposure, fine tuning using exposure compensation. It is faster than M, gets you right in the ballpark, and you can work from there. I use S only when I am looking for a specific effect, like diaphanous water with a slow speed. Even then I'll usually use A mode and adjust my aperture manually to get to the speed I want. It is Absolutely Essential when you want to control DOF, which I do about 99.9% of the time, or to hit the sweet spot of a lens' sharpness at a specific aperture. I never use Auto ISO, because I will always go for the lowest ISO possible. It is easy enough to change it if I am not in range using aperture priority.
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