Is aperture and shutter priority obsolete? (Page 2): All of these modes can work, but it is difficult to find an advantage where aperture or shutter priority is better than ISO Auto...

John Gerlach Loc: Island Park, Idaho

Kmgw9v wrote:

Three words: No, No, No.

All of these modes can work, but it is difficult to find an advantage where aperture or shutter priority is better than ISO Auto and manual aperture and shutter speed. There is one I can think of. If you are doing HDR, and need to bracket the shutter speed, then aperture priority would be more suitable for that situation. But, I can't find an advantage to my beloved shutter priority, so I have moved on to a more useful method. If you see an advantage, pass it along.

Ltgk20 Loc: Salisbury, NC

I still use aperture and shutter priority but manual mode with auto ISO certainly has its place. It's very handy when I want specific shutter speeds and apertures but still need to be able to respond to changing lighting. My Sony a99ii also allows exposure compensation in this mode as well as more and max ISOs.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

JohnSwanda wrote:

If you use Auto ISO, you still need to keep an eye on the ISO to make sure it doesn't go too high, and you should have done ISO tests for your camera so you know how much noise you will get as the ISO goes up. It's the same as keeping an eye on the shutter speed when using aperture priority to make sure it doesn't get too low, or keeping an eye on the aperture when you are shooting shutter priority to make sure you have enough DOF.

John, I find worrying about high ISO is a but irrelevant and waste of time.
If you have the shutter wide open, and the speed is already borderline where even a little slower will ruin the shot, your ONLY choice is to go higher ISO and more noise or not take the shot at all because of ruining it with movement blur.
In that situation, you don't have any other choice, do you?
My Canon on Auto ISO will always keep opening the shutter until it's wide open, THEN start to jack up the ISO. Never any surprises, as many claim! It's always done that!
SS

crazydaddio Loc: Toronto Ontario Canada

Great discussion.
In my short journey into photography, I went from full auto to full manual in about 3months. I really never learned Av or Tv modes at all. I will sometimes set AutoISO after I set the shutter to ensure no blur and aperture for DOF/artistic reasons and then make sure that the composition will never need to go below 100iso and let the camera decide from there....trusting everthing will likely be no more than 1/1.5 stops off what I would like.

Generally though, I stick with full manual. What I DID do on my 5DmkIV was to re-map the little AFarea button to my ISO. When I pressed the button, my top rotary dial ranged the ISO up and down. I didnt have to take my finger off the rotary dial at the top! Allowed me to quickly switch from shutter speed to ISO simply by holding the AFarea button down while I rotated the top dial (ISO) or not hold the button down (shutter speed).
I rarely need to quickly change my aperature so moving my thumb from the aperature dial to the AFarea button was a small price. I can set exposure in any situation with either shutter or ISO quicker than any other method I have found.

I dont think Av Tv are going to disappear, for me, they never appeared...I just got good at figuring out the lighting and setting all 3 exposure triangle settings using the spot meter and ranging the composition live and getting good results....maybe I would get better results and more keepers if I tried Av and Tv modes....my 2nd shooter got caught exiting the church (dark to lght) and got all blown out photos of the B&G leaving....Av or Tv may have saved him in that situation. I have also experienced this a couple of times (you just forget to check your meter as you move around and the cameras auto settings will save you.)

I think I will try the OPs technique and see how it works (and finally, Av and Tv too :-)

crazydaddio Loc: Toronto Ontario Canada

...and I only do bracketing on a tripod as I believe bracketing is acheived via the camera playing with the shutter speed. Adjusting aperature would make no sense due to DOF changes and ISO adjust for an ISO invariant camera also makes no sense. (bumping ISO around just create more noise, whether in camera or in post ... am sure there are physics students out there who will correct me :-)

Does Av or Tv mode while bracketing change the technique or is bracekting mode independant?

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

John Gerlach wrote:

I just returned from leading about my 40th Kenya photo safari, and used an entirely different shooting mode that is much better than all other methods I have used previously. I have always urged clients not to use aperture priority to avoid the pitfall of letting the shutter speed drop too slow to produce sharp images. That happened a lot in previous trips when the animal must be photographed in seconds, or forget it. Shutter priority was my favorite method for several years, but I would have used ISO Auto if my older Canon cameras has let me compensate the exposure with this setup, but none did. I had devised a more complicated way to use aperture priority this year, and limit the shutter speed to no slower than 1/500 second, but that quickly fell away when I had to use slower shutter speeds due to really dim light. So I went to ISO Auto and manual aperture and shutter speed. By manually setting the aperture and shutter speed, I could lock those in to my desired values, and let the ISO adjust to produce the standard exposure. With the two cameras I had - Canon 1DX Mark II and 5D Mark IV - I could compensate the exposure by pressing the Q button and then adjusting the exposure with the EC control that appears on the LCD. But this was a bit too slow too. Fortunately, I soon discovered I could assign EC to the SET button using the Custom functions menu. That really worked well. Just press and hold the SET button in while rotating the main control dial on top of the camera to set the EC. Since aperture and shutter speed are manual, the EC adjusts the ISO Auto selection to accomplish lighter or darker images. Both the Set button and the main control dial are easy to reach, so it was fast to do it.

I used this system for most of the safari and it always worked fabulously well. Plus, I got most of my clients to use manual aperture and shutter speed, and ISO Auto for the first time in most cases and they loved it. Essentially, when this combination, you have both shutter priority and aperture priority built in to one shooting mode. Most Canon cameras cannot do EC with the combo, but the three being use on my trip certainly could. That includes the 1DX Mark II, 5D Mark IV, and 7D Mark II. Plus, I just checked a friend's Canon 80D camera today in northern Michigan and found that the EC scale would not work when using the Q button to get to it, but if the EC was assigned to the SET button, it did work. Don't know why that is the case, but good to know. I could not make it work with the 70D, however.

With the power Canon is now providing in their cameras for being able to use EC with manual aperture and shutter speed, but AUTO ISO, I now wonder if I will ever bother using Shutter priority or aperture priority again? By the way, to be clear, this exposure mode is an autoexposure mode as the ISO is auto to produce a standard exposure, unless compensated for. So it still has the problem of many situations where the brightness of the background or subject sizes throws the exposure off, so then I would just use manual exposure with no auto ISO. I have heard some find no use for Auto ISO, but I think they should reconsider. To me, at times ISO Auto is just as important as having a lens on my camera. Food for thought......

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John Gerlach

I just returned from leading about my 40th Kenya p... (show quote)

This might be a great idea for someone who can afford to go on a safari to Africa - I don't know, because I'm not that person. You have a Canon 1 DXii, which is reputed to have great high ISO performance, but costs a tad more than $1K {as of this moment I've never spent more than $700 on a camera kit}. At my price range I have to make compromises, and the setting where I'm least willing to compromise is ISO setting; I can often find situations where I can frame the picture so I don't need deep DOF or wait for the moment when motion all but stops, but beyond a point I'm simply not willing to deal with any more noise.

But I'm glad you enjoyed your experience.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I also like to set the shutter and aperture manually and use auto ISO. Unfortunately, unless I'm missing something, there's no way to use EC with manual mode on my 5D3, and I cannot assign it to the Q or set button when in manual. It is a pain, because if you need to adjust the EC, you have to take it out of auto ISO and then adjust in straight manual, or go to aperture or shutter priority and adjust - too many steps if you're time limited to get the shot. If anyone knows a work-around or I'm missing something, please let me know.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Nice photos...
I've tried the EC on the set button before, it is real convenient and I've been a believer in auto ISO for quite some time; also real convenient.
I don't have a 1D but I have the other cameras you mentioned. I'm with you as far as not using AV or TV as much as I use to, but they still come in handy from time to time.

peterg Loc: Santa Rosa, CA

Ltgk20 wrote:

I still use aperture and shutter priority but manual mode with auto ISO certainly has its place. It's very handy when I want specific shutter speeds and apertures but still need to be able to respond to changing lighting. My Sony a99ii also allows exposure compensation in this mode as well as more and max ISOs.

Use it often with my Nikon, mostly for wildlife. Fine tune with exposure compensation. Exposure compensation is great 'cause one knob to change exposure works for shutter, aperture or manual/auto ISO modes. Thus, less thinking when there's little time to think.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Very nice set! I couldn't get close enough to a guineafowl to get that good of a photo even at 400mm - but I did not really try - the group I was with was not interested in bird photos... The method you describe is pretty much the method I use. I only occasionally need the exposure compensation so do not have anything programmed for that.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Your topic and discussion is reliant to the every day safari to the grocery store or local zoo. humm was the skeleton in #5 any one you knew?

While I have a back pack with a Sony A65 and a stable of lenses, most of my shooting [typically unplanned] is done with my pocket Superzoom Sony HX50. While I do have a sunshield with added close to eye lens, I often chose to use the shoot from the hip auto mode, manual [pulls up last setting] or the custom button preset. Much is done with auto and comes out well. Our cameras get more intelligent every year and their computing power increases. Defencies in my IQ are taken care of with post processing. Of course capture and composition are the real key, not IQ.

In a fast paced world, time is of the essence, events are "now you see them now you don't. "

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Interesting idea. Thanks.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

When I was down at the Chobe with CNP Safari I learned to use Manual with a shutter speed of at least 1/1250 or Higher, Auto ISO to max 1250 + EC of -1 worked great (Using Nikon)

Mary Kate Loc: NYC

John Gerlach wrote:

I just returned from leading about my 40th Kenya photo safari, and used an entirely different shooting mode that is much better than all other methods I have used previously. I have always urged clients not to use aperture priority to avoid the pitfall of letting the shutter speed drop too slow to produce sharp images. That happened a lot in previous trips when the animal must be photographed in seconds, or forget it. Shutter priority was my favorite method for several years, but I would have used ISO Auto if my older Canon cameras has let me compensate the exposure with this setup, but none did. I had devised a more complicated way to use aperture priority this year, and limit the shutter speed to no slower than 1/500 second, but that quickly fell away when I had to use slower shutter speeds due to really dim light. So I went to ISO Auto and manual aperture and shutter speed. By manually setting the aperture and shutter speed, I could lock those in to my desired values, and let the ISO adjust to produce the standard exposure. With the two cameras I had - Canon 1DX Mark II and 5D Mark IV - I could compensate the exposure by pressing the Q button and then adjusting the exposure with the EC control that appears on the LCD. But this was a bit too slow too. Fortunately, I soon discovered I could assign EC to the SET button using the Custom functions menu. That really worked well. Just press and hold the SET button in while rotating the main control dial on top of the camera to set the EC. Since aperture and shutter speed are manual, the EC adjusts the ISO Auto selection to accomplish lighter or darker images. Both the Set button and the main control dial are easy to reach, so it was fast to do it.

I used this system for most of the safari and it always worked fabulously well. Plus, I got most of my clients to use manual aperture and shutter speed, and ISO Auto for the first time in most cases and they loved it. Essentially, when this combination, you have both shutter priority and aperture priority built in to one shooting mode. Most Canon cameras cannot do EC with the combo, but the three being use on my trip certainly could. That includes the 1DX Mark II, 5D Mark IV, and 7D Mark II. Plus, I just checked a friend's Canon 80D camera today in northern Michigan and found that the EC scale would not work when using the Q button to get to it, but if the EC was assigned to the SET button, it did work. Don't know why that is the case, but good to know. I could not make it work with the 70D, however.

With the power Canon is now providing in their cameras for being able to use EC with manual aperture and shutter speed, but AUTO ISO, I now wonder if I will ever bother using Shutter priority or aperture priority again? By the way, to be clear, this exposure mode is an autoexposure mode as the ISO is auto to produce a standard exposure, unless compensated for. So it still has the problem of many situations where the brightness of the background or subject sizes throws the exposure off, so then I would just use manual exposure with no auto ISO. I have heard some find no use for Auto ISO, but I think they should reconsider. To me, at times ISO Auto is just as important as having a lens on my camera. Food for thought......

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John Gerlach

I just returned from leading about my 40th Kenya p... (show quote)

Without adding to all the retorts. Let me just say, these are great pictures. The sunset is amazing.

John Gerlach Loc: Island Park, Idaho

Ltgk20 wrote:

I still use aperture and shutter priority but manual mode with auto ISO certainly has its place. It's very handy when I want specific shutter speeds and apertures but still need to be able to respond to changing lighting. My Sony a99ii also allows exposure compensation in this mode as well as more and max ISOs.

Keep in mind that manual aperture and shutter speed with ISO Auto does ensure specific shutter speeds and f/stops if you want that. That is one of its huge advantages and both can be specific, but do be aware of what ISO the camera must use to use those specific settings.