cthahn

When shooting in manual, you have total control of the camera.
Today most people just want to take a picture and are not serious about photography and how the photo looks. If you do not ever have your photos judged by qualified judges, you have no idea what it takes to make the photo better. A photo will never be better when the computer decides how it is to be taken. Many photographers never know the real potentials of their camera because they are too lazy to read the manual, and th t goes for shooting in manual mode.

Dartmoor Walker Loc: Dartmoor, Devon. England.

I think it depends on what you are shooting!

I shoot mainly Landscapes and Military Aviation these days, and for me, when I shoot Military fast jets etc., I shoot in Shutter Priority or manual, and when I'm shooting Landscape, I shoot in Manual only.

I'm afraid that my hand/eye coordination has deteriorated over the years, so I find it difficult to keep up with a jet at low level and is doing 700mph and focus while adjusting for exposure at the same time. So, if its a nice clear day with good and fairly constant light conditions, I shoot Manual, but if the lighting conditions are changeable, or/and not as good as I would like, I use Shutter Priority and ALWAYS auto focus.

When shooting Landscapes, I shoot totally manual for creative reasons, and it slows me down to a crawl and that helps me see detail in a scene, compose and achieve that final image that I envisage.

bull drink water Loc: pontiac mi.

i would say that the majority here are not savy enough to take full advantage of manual shooting. unles our ranks are loaded with pros and advanced amateurs.i only use manual when i am useing a reflex or lenses from the 50's or 60's.

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

Hi Nightski, the camera does not know, you have to focus on the spot where you want the DOF to begin, this varies with the F number of course.
Cheers
John

Dartmoor Walker Loc: Dartmoor, Devon. England.

Yes, maybe, I'm old and was initiated into the photographic world when there was nothing else but manual, a battery powered the built in light meter (centre weighted meter only) and that was it, and that for me was fantastic, because, if the battery power failed, you can still shoot, using your own exposure experience.

IanD Loc: Northern Ireland

The simple answer is that your camera does not know. You have to tell it by selecting what aperture you want for the look you want e.g. isolation shot or storytelling shot which is in 1. isolation - is a small DOF large aperture f/2.8, f/4 or in 2. storytelling - is a large DOF small aperture f/16, f/22. Hope this helps.

steve03 Loc: long Lsland

Sometimes we photographers miss the obvious. It's not the dail you twirl but rather ther picture you get. I have hear many top professional photographers explain why they use the different modes, I even hear one admit he uses a point and shoot at times. The longer I am involved in photography the more I learn that there are different ways to do things and the result is what is important not the method.

wteffey Loc: Ocala, FL USA

Shooting in manual is really just a mathematical exercise. Starting from a base line of 1/250 sec, f8.0, ISO 200, for example, the photographer calculates "If I lower my f-stop to 4.0, how much do I raise the shutter speed or lower the ISO?"
Nothing is better than a computer for making mathematical calculations. Photo composition (including subject and camera placement, posing, lighting type, condition and strength etc), optimum focus and timing of the shutter release cannot be done by computer, and must be controlled by the photographer. I personally (and I am not trying to convince anyone of anything) prefer to concentrate on the functions the camera cannot do well, if at all, and whenever possible, let the camera handle the mathematical calculations.

Charmdragon Loc: Plymouth, Massachusetts

Lots of helpful responses. To get a bit technical... If you need to keep making adjustments due to changing light circumstances, Manual mode isn’t the right tool.

For a consistent exposure, the automatic and semi-automatic exposure modes will fit the bill.

The real advantage of Manual mode is that the aperture and shutter speed settings stay locked in. For example, with active subjects you can make your settings in Manual and have the exposure stay on target - even if the background changes.

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

I tend to use Shutter Priority and set it quite high, seldom less than 1/200 and frequently 1/000+, then let the camera take care of aperture. I do a lot of shooting out on the water and both the boat and the subject are generally moving. If I want a greater DOF obviously I have to back off on the speed, but as I get older, my hands are not as steady as they were when I was using a Voigtlander folding bellows camera. I also try to keep the ISO under 400 and very seldom let it go over 600; then it's PSE to the rescue!

Jamers Loc: Michigan

:thumbup:

BillyDuds Loc: North Carolina

The manual vs automatic arguments in this thread discuss two different things: Aperture Priority and its effects on depth of field, and methods of determining exposure. While these two obviously do interrelate, trying to discuss both in one thread causes major confusion. I therefore humbly suggest someone may want to start new threads limited to one or the other, but not both together.

Second, IMHO, a decision concerning exposure may relate more to the capabilities of the machine than to those of the shooter. I've taken thousands of photographs with my d800, always using matrix metering and auto white balance. I'm quite critical of my photos and adjust them as needed in Adobe Camera Raw. In all those photos, I've only had to tweak exposure in a few, and white balance never despite many being taken indoors under spooky lighting conditions. The d800's computer is amazingly good. First, can any of y'all setting your exposure and white balance manually match this record? Second, for those of y'all shooting with computers (which is what these are, after all) with capabilities equal to the d800's, why on earth would you want to hassle with setting exposure and white balance manually?

jgitomer Loc: Skippack Pennsylvania

Depth of field is a function of the aperture of the lens. The rule is the wider the aperture setting (lower f number) the greater the depth of field.

Look up the term "hyperfocal distance" for a good explanation.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

"Real photographers" used to shoot with huge cameras on huge tripods with black cloth over their heads.

Early SLRs were all manual. ISO was taken care of by the film. You would set the shutter speed and then match a needle and line in the viewfinder to get the aperture right. I think it was easier working manual in the old days.

With Auto and P modes on modern DSLRs, you can get a good shot almost every time. A, S, and M are good for getting special effects or overcoming a tough shooting situation.

kjay27

There are quite a few factors involved with obtaining a shorter --or longer DOF. For a shorter dof try for the longest focal length possible, the widest aperture, have the camera as close to the subject as possible, and have the subject as far away from the background as possible. For the longest depth of field, it's the opposite, generally speaking.