amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Manual mode with Auto ISO is not manual mode. It's just a fourth type of auto exposure (in addition to shutter priority, aperture priority and program).

Actual manual mode (no Auto ISO) allows you to lock down exposure settings and is useful in consistent lighting conditions.

However, there's a great deal of misunderstanding about the various modes. Some people think "manual is best" or that it's the "only" mode that should be used, that it's somehow better than the other modes. That's bunk. Each of the different exposure modes have their uses and skillful photographers should learn how, when and where to use all of them.

For more info, get a copy of Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" and read it, learn it!

Flash Falasca Loc: Beverly Hills, Florida

there is on my D7100 and D600 !!

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

Auto ISO only makes real sense in the automatic modes (P, A, S) ; but even there you can get an idea of the optimum ISO to use and set it manually, especially if you want to control noise. Sure we all want to shoot at ISO 100-200 but the lighting and weather conditions may not allow it with the lens available (not to mention if we are trying to freeze a fast moving subject). See what the auto ISO is giving you and select an average value manually - that should get you in the ballpark. Usually on a sunny day with a reasonably fast lens you can use 100-200. For cloudier/late afternoon 800-1600 might be optimal.

Flash Falasca Loc: Beverly Hills, Florida

what is the difference if in manual you match the needle you are doing the same as auto would do only slower , NO ??

ralphfr Loc: Long Island, NY

I disagree with your 1st sentence. It IS Manual Mode. It's just not a manual exposure any more.

Laura72568 Loc: Anderson TX

That's how I work as well.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

No idea which Pentax camera(s) you have. But on my K-5 at least it has two strange mode dial settings in addition to the normal ones, Sv, and TAv. They both seem to be some sort of "auto-ISO" modes. I never use them. One is probably like the Nikon all auto auto-ISO and the other like the Nikon manual ISO that is being argued about. How is Auto-ISO handled on Canons? I'd wonder also since Pentax and Canon both use the terms Av, Tv, M, X, [Green] Auto, P modes to all mean the same things. Whereas Nikon uses "S" to mean Shutter Priority. Pentax uses "Sv" for Sensitivity (Variable) Priority.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

I was about to say something similliar. It's the photo that matters. How you got the Image doesn't really matter. A viewer doesn't know what the settings were, nor deos he/she even care. Here on the forum we may be interested in EXIF date so that we might learn something that we may use in the future. But the average viewer never cares. I gaurantee that a viewer of a S.I. swimsuit issue never asks, What was the ISO of that shoot.?

johnala

All this talk about shooting in manual but letting the camera set ISO!!! Assuming outdoors and sunny, try this: Iso 100,set whatever is used in digital cameras as shutter speed to 125, set F to 16, and firing, then bracket by setting F to 22 and firing and then set F to 11 and firing; in other words the 'sunny F16 rule augmented'. This works for film; it oughta work for digital.

rplain1 Loc: Dayton, Oh.

There is in my camera (Canon 5DSR)

bull drink water Loc: pontiac mi.

people keep referring to total control. in shooting in manual you have to start with a reference point. in the 1800's when it was just the lens with maybe no diaphragm and the lens cap. you either had to develop a system from trial and error or rely on someone else's chart. meters came along and we used them as a starting point. todays meters and in camera computers are really good. it will take getting to know your camera it's meter and doing a lot or trial and error shooting to get the full benefits of manual shooting.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

I do think we all (many of us anyway) may be over generalizing and not aware of what every camera model on the market can do. I certainly do not know every detail of every digital camera out there, just the ones I have and a few specific other ones. Also our understandings of terms seem to differ from UHH'er to UHH'er. Not really sure why that is. Had not noticed that so much in the film days.

"However, there's a great deal of misunderstanding about the various modes. Some people think "manual is best" or that it's the "only" mode that should be used, that it's somehow better than the other modes. That's bunk. Each of the different exposure modes have their uses and skillful photographers should learn how, when and where to use all of them."

I do fully agree with amfoto1 there. A Photographer (with some study and practice) should be able to use all available modes or at least the ones tried. I can make the same exposure successfully in Manual, Aperture Priority, and Shutter Priority. I always am aware of the exposure triangle even when I'm in an Auto-mode; both selected and used (I set my ISO first manually). That being said I don't use Auto-ISO, Fully Automatic or Program Mode. Also with a longer lens when using Spot-metering mode on my cameras I can pretty much get it to match my handheld Minolta Spotmeter.

duane klipping Loc: Bristow iowa

Man so many here love to fight and argue over how they shoot. Aperture. Manual. Shutter. Auto. Jpeg. Raw. Nikon. Cannon. Tripod. Hand held. The list goes on and on.

To the OP experiment and find out what you personally like. Not what every differing opinion here says you should like or do. Work on your own style not someone else's.

HarryBinNC Loc: Blue Ridge Mtns, No.Carolina, USA

There is if you have a Fuji XT2 - and it is a wonderful thing to have when shooting events in dark and/or variable lighting when you are tracking performers all over the stage!

HarryB

HarryBinNC Loc: Blue Ridge Mtns, No.Carolina, USA

I used to think that auto ISO was a silly feature - after all, manual mode means you want to control everything, right? Well, I changed my tune when I moved to New Orleans where we know a bunch of musicians, and I started doing a lot of event photography in places with poor/variable lighting and was trying to track performers all over the stage or trying to deal with constantly changing light. And before you say it, having the camera in one of the usual Auto modes (A,S,P) doesn't work for me - all of my older cameras with no Auto ISO would be constantly choosing Apertures and/or shutter speeds that I didn't like under the conditions I have to shoot in.

Enter the Fuji XT2 and a huge firmware update that was not the usual bug fix, but mostly adding a bunch of free new features - one of which was Auto ISO in Manual Mode. Wow! I would have paid full price for another of the same body if that was required to get the Auto ISO feature. Now, I can set my Aperture, usually close to wide open, and pick a shutter speed that will be fast enough to avoid most motion blur, and with those two critical settings locked in, let the ISO be wherever it wants to be, all the way up to ISO 6400. And the stills and movies are great even at 6400 - I love this camera!!

I can see Auto ISO to be a huge advantage in wildlife/bird or any kind of action photography too, when you are following a moving subject that is going through variable light as you are tracking (alligators, birds, etc). I can't wait for our next foray into the swamp!

Just my 2 cents -

HarryB