Why "Full Manual"
May 24, 2018 07:06:21 #
For me, it depends. I shoot a lot, probably 60-70% full manual. The rest is divided between aperture priority, and the other controls. I even set my ISO higher on some shots with questionable lighting and let the camera decide.
As for my manual shots, I don't always agree with some engineer in Japan that sets the programing for what the camera claims is the best exposure. Sometimes, I'm not looking for an "everything correctly" exposed shot. Sometimes I want deep shadows etc.. and the camera wants to "average" everything. And sometimes, since I'm shooting Raw/Neff anyway, I let the camera do it's thing then work it in Lightroom/Photoshop.
For me, more than anything, it depends on my judgement, whether I'm shooting for me or if I'm shooting for a customer.
As for my manual shots, I don't always agree with some engineer in Japan that sets the programing for what the camera claims is the best exposure. Sometimes, I'm not looking for an "everything correctly" exposed shot. Sometimes I want deep shadows etc.. and the camera wants to "average" everything. And sometimes, since I'm shooting Raw/Neff anyway, I let the camera do it's thing then work it in Lightroom/Photoshop.
For me, more than anything, it depends on my judgement, whether I'm shooting for me or if I'm shooting for a customer.
May 24, 2018 07:14:39 #
cameraf4 wrote:
Now that Chaostrain's poll has been out there a f... (show quote)
Full manual is the way I learned, I did go to auto focus except for close-up/macro.
I found it frustrating trying to get what I wanted in any auto mode including auto ISO !!!! nothing more , nothing less.
Someone stated ego as a reason, it may be for some people but I'M betting there are more like me.
May 24, 2018 07:15:05 #
May 24, 2018 07:22:16 #
dcampbell52 wrote:
For me, it depends. I shoot a lot, probably 60-70... (show quote)
I'm thinking that when "some engineer in Japan" is "setting" the exposure, then the photographer is using Matrix/Evaluative Metering and is simply pointing the camera at the scene "as a whole." If that is the case, even if the shooter sets aperture and shutter speed manually, if s/he follows the meter recommendation it is really the same thing. Just sayin', if one really wants to "take control", then s/he has to set all controls manually AND use a spot meter to know exactly what the meter is metering on, IMHO.
May 24, 2018 07:28:09 #
If I shoot in Manual and make the settings myself, if I make a mistake I will learn from it and do better the next time. If I shoot in Auto and the camera doesn't get it right, it doesn't learn. It will keep making the same mistake time after time. While I use the cameras meter as a guide, I don't always set it exactly where the camera says. Many times there is a bright area or dark area in the scene that will fool the camera (snow scenes, backlit subjects, water scenes, etc.)
May 24, 2018 07:30:12 #
cameraf4 wrote:
I'm thinking that when "some engineer in Japa... (show quote)
True, but I bracket my shots and the reference the led on the back to look at the results. (this of course depends on time).
I also keep in mind those images that I've seen by Japanese photographer and their "colour" color seems just a tad off. However, photography is an art form and not (necessarily) an exact science so that there really is no EXACTLY right or wrong... it depends on what the photographer (or those paying the photographer) want in a shot. I've seen photos that sold for hundreds of dollars that I wouldn't have paid a dime for (many of these were because of the reputation of the photographer and not his skill) and some that I've thought were great and nobody wanted to buy. So, photography, like art, boils down to what the photographer wants or what the customer is willing to pay for. Everything else is bull fodder.
May 24, 2018 07:34:34 #
Manglesphoto wrote:
Full manual is the way I learned, I did go to auto focus except for close-up/macro.
I found it frustrating trying to get what I wanted in any auto mode including auto ISO !!!! nothing more , nothing less.
Someone stated ego as a reason, it may be for some people but I'M betting there are more like me.
I found it frustrating trying to get what I wanted in any auto mode including auto ISO !!!! nothing more , nothing less.
Someone stated ego as a reason, it may be for some people but I'M betting there are more like me.
Full Manual ONLY is also the way I learned (Remember, Nikon FM = my 1st camera). And I loved it. But in a camera store, I tried-out a Nikon FE in Manual Mode. In the viewfinder, I could see 2 moving needles, one showing me what Shutter Speed I had set and the second showing me what SS the camera would recommend. Most often, I could not "match" the needles using the SS available on the SS dial. BUT, if I switched over to Aperture Priority, the camera set the speed exactly at the in-between setting it was calibrated to give me middle gray.
I bought the FE and tested it against the FM using the same lens, same kind-and-batch of slide film, eliminating as many variables as I could. Sometimes the slides came out identical. On those times that there was a difference, I preferred the exposure on the slide from the FE over the one from the FM.
Does any of this matter in the computer age with "rampant" PP? Probably not. But I just feel more comfortable knowing that, if the meter thinks that 1/697 sec will get me closer to what I want to be middle gray than either 1/500 od 1/1000 sec, then that is what the camera will give me.
May 24, 2018 07:48:11 #
philo wrote:
ego
I doubt that. People use what they feel gives them the best chance of getting the shot they want. Most of us old folks know how to shoot in manual, 'cause that is all there was when we started. And before the advent of the internet and forums like this, nobody knew what anyone else was doing.
I do chuckle when people say manual is the only way to get the picture they want. They don't want to give up control. To me that just means they never learned how to use the modern features in todays cameras. Or, maybe better put, they failed to learn how to control those features to get the camera to do what they want.
But, it's all good.
--
May 24, 2018 08:07:08 #
1. I learned with fully manual cameras
2. I don't like how if I move a scene slightly to the right or left, the camera changes exposure, sometimes by a little, sometimes by a lot. I set my camera for the light in the scene, and leave it alone. I think it's actually easier than trying to guess exposure compensation based on someone wearing a white or black t shirt, or more or less trees in the background of that particular shot. I set it, and leave it alone until the light changes.... not the background.
3. I shoot weddings, and (see 2 above) nothing looks worse in an album than a bunch of different exposures, so it takes extra time, and time is money, trying to get everything to look the same in PP.
4. In the studio, my monolights aren't TTL (I have several flashes that I can use in TTL, but again, as above, my exposure isn't consistent when I let the camera decide.
After all that, I have nothing against anyone using any mode, even Auto, it just doesn't work as well for me. Ego has nothing to do with it. As soon as a camera will hook into my brain and know what I'm thinking, I want to control things.
2. I don't like how if I move a scene slightly to the right or left, the camera changes exposure, sometimes by a little, sometimes by a lot. I set my camera for the light in the scene, and leave it alone. I think it's actually easier than trying to guess exposure compensation based on someone wearing a white or black t shirt, or more or less trees in the background of that particular shot. I set it, and leave it alone until the light changes.... not the background.
3. I shoot weddings, and (see 2 above) nothing looks worse in an album than a bunch of different exposures, so it takes extra time, and time is money, trying to get everything to look the same in PP.
4. In the studio, my monolights aren't TTL (I have several flashes that I can use in TTL, but again, as above, my exposure isn't consistent when I let the camera decide.
After all that, I have nothing against anyone using any mode, even Auto, it just doesn't work as well for me. Ego has nothing to do with it. As soon as a camera will hook into my brain and know what I'm thinking, I want to control things.
May 24, 2018 08:08:34 #
Paraphrased, the questions were effectively:
A. Have you EVER used manual, even occasionally
B. Have you NEVER used manual.
The problem is that with question A you can shoot 99.9% of your photos using the various camera controlled automated features and you would have to select A as your choice because of that .1% occasional usage of manual however a large A count seems to be leading many to the conclusion that MANY people shot manual, foregoing the cameras automated features. I chose A because I am in that boat. The majority of the time I use A or S modes, very occasionally P. Once in a while I'll try something unique and go to M. So a high A count doesn't mean we don't make significant use of our camera capabilities.
If this poll were to be redone, it should provide selections to narrow down the percentage of manual use, just not a yes or no answer, then we might get a truer idea of the prevalence of manual usage. For example, in increments of 10% from 0% to 100%, approximately how much of your photography is done in manual mode.
A. Have you EVER used manual, even occasionally
B. Have you NEVER used manual.
The problem is that with question A you can shoot 99.9% of your photos using the various camera controlled automated features and you would have to select A as your choice because of that .1% occasional usage of manual however a large A count seems to be leading many to the conclusion that MANY people shot manual, foregoing the cameras automated features. I chose A because I am in that boat. The majority of the time I use A or S modes, very occasionally P. Once in a while I'll try something unique and go to M. So a high A count doesn't mean we don't make significant use of our camera capabilities.
If this poll were to be redone, it should provide selections to narrow down the percentage of manual use, just not a yes or no answer, then we might get a truer idea of the prevalence of manual usage. For example, in increments of 10% from 0% to 100%, approximately how much of your photography is done in manual mode.
May 24, 2018 08:12:29 #
I do a lot of bird photography, where there is a huge difference in lighting in any given scene. There may be a bald eagle against a bright sky. Getting the white of the eagles crest against the blue of the sky or the treeline he/she may be flying through makes auto settings worthless. Setting the exposure for the white feathers - which is what I want to capture in detail - is the only rational way to get an exposure, as far as I am concerned. Exposing for the part of the photo can be done if they are still and I am using a spot setting, but when they are moving, that is not practical. Manual settings are my best bet, with a lot of those kinds of situations.
May 24, 2018 08:23:53 #
I shoot a lot of macros and with life-size macro, AF and vibration reduction are mostly useless. I shoot in manual modes as I am using an older manual focus macro lens and the camera only allows for manual and aperture priority modes. Plus I'm using a ring light ( in the manual mode of course) with adjustable power levels thus I set my shutter at the sync speed and leave it there. I set my ISO as low as possible as well. I can check the exposure on the LCD after taking a shot and adjust the exposure as needed. Mostly, I'm shooting as I had pretty much for years with film cameras. Old habits die hard. Now on my non-macro shooting, I use what's best for the situation at hand...
May 24, 2018 08:27:44 #
Bill_de wrote:
I am an "old folk" and of course learned to shoot the only way cameras back then worked. But I want to maintain control because it works better. I have learned to use the modern features. I go into the menu and set the entire camera up the way I want it to work. So it does a lot of things automatically for me. But the most critical settings - shutter speed and aperature - I want to set for each shot, not just accept what my camera thinks I should use. I use auto-focus because the camera and lens can do that quicker and better than my 75 year old eyes. But even there I tell the camera how I want it to focus - center spot or grid, etc.I doubt that. People use what they feel gives them... (show quote)
May 24, 2018 08:28:06 #
Face the fact that cameras only need a lens and some way to control exposure. That is, some way to control shutter speed and, similarly, a way to control aperture. Next, we have to have some photo sensitive material to record the scene. This material has a sensitivity connected with it which we refer to as ISO. That's it.
To determine the correct combination of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture for a given scene one needs a light meter. This can be a separate piece of equipment, or incorporated in the camera for convenience.
Camera manufacturers want, and need, to sell cameras. So, the easier they can make it for the average person to consider themselves a photographer is to add a lot of features that will produce photographs that the average person will accept as good work. The easier they make it the more cameras they sell.
If one wants to completely control and create the photograph they are taking, that person needs to rely on their skills with measuring light and making the appropriate adjustments to those three settings on the camera.
Additionally, processing comes into play as the final step of the creation of a photograph. Processing should be used to enhance a photograph and bring it to the photographer's vision of the scene. It should not be used to "fix" erroneous settings of the camera at the time of exposure.
--Bob
To determine the correct combination of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture for a given scene one needs a light meter. This can be a separate piece of equipment, or incorporated in the camera for convenience.
Camera manufacturers want, and need, to sell cameras. So, the easier they can make it for the average person to consider themselves a photographer is to add a lot of features that will produce photographs that the average person will accept as good work. The easier they make it the more cameras they sell.
If one wants to completely control and create the photograph they are taking, that person needs to rely on their skills with measuring light and making the appropriate adjustments to those three settings on the camera.
Additionally, processing comes into play as the final step of the creation of a photograph. Processing should be used to enhance a photograph and bring it to the photographer's vision of the scene. It should not be used to "fix" erroneous settings of the camera at the time of exposure.
--Bob
cameraf4 wrote:
Now that Chaostrain's poll has been out there a f... (show quote)
May 24, 2018 08:30:25 #
d2b2 wrote:
I do a lot of bird photography, where there is a h... (show quote)
But there is another option (I use Nikon) that is seldom mentioned --- an exposure lock button. Just one more thing to be aware of, not better or worse.
--
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