Manual Mode on a Nikon D7100 (Page 4): Rather than recommend manual mode, it may be well to explain why you use it, and hope the reader is intelligent enough to understand.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

BebuLamar wrote:

But every time I recommend people to use manual mode it seemed that I always got flamed.

Rather than recommend manual mode, it may be well to explain why you use it, and hope the reader is intelligent enough to understand.

BebuLamar

RWR wrote:

Rather than recommend manual mode, it may be well to explain why you use it, and hope the reader is intelligent enough to understand.

I already said it. It's the easiest mode to use. One can easily understand it.

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

BebuLamar wrote:

Because for me the manual exposure mode is the eas... (show quote)

well, don't give up promoting the benefit of learning and shooting in manual. Those of us that do understand the value of it. And getting "flamed," as you put it, is no surprise here on UHH! You can put up some very well tested and solid information to try to help someone with a question they may have, and you'l get 100 people that will disagree with you! Hell, I've been shooting for over 50 years, still shoot professionally with my wife, also a photographer, and have done some commercial work, and I don't profess to know everything. In fact, I will often say that I'm still learning, but after 50 years of doing this I've certainly learned some things. Now don't get me wrong, there can be a time when the other modes can be good to use, but the best way to learn is by shooting manual.

BebuLamar

autofocus wrote:

well, don't give up promoting the benefit of learn... (show quote)

One can use any mode that works well for him/her. Many people would say that P is easiest but let me ask those people this question. Under the "sunny 16 condition" and if one set the ISO to 100 what aperture and shutter speed the camera will set? I wouldn't use the P mode unless I know the answer to that question.

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

BebuLamar wrote:

One can use any mode that works well for him/her. Many people would say that P is easiest but let me ask those people this question. Under the "sunny 16 condition" and if one set the ISO to 100 what aperture and shutter speed the camera will set? I wouldn't use the P mode unless I know the answer to that question.

being that I hardly ever shoot in the program mode you probably don't want me to comment on your question, but just understand, the sunny sixteen rule is nothing more than a guide. You can get the identical results by opening up the lens one stop to f/11 and adjusting the shutter to 1/200 (assuming the starting point was f/16 at 1/100 with 100 ISO) And you can continue doing that with other settings like f/8 @ 1/400 sec. But the sunny 16 rule will not always be right, but it was more or less good enough when we didn't have meters to help us.

BebuLamar

autofocus wrote:

being that I hardly ever shoot in the program mode... (show quote)

Let me rephrase my question. First if you put the camera in M and you found that when you set the shutter speed to 1/100, ISO 100, and the aperture of f/16 then and meter indicates a 0. Now if you switch the camera to P which aperture and shutter speed would it pick?

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

BebuLamar wrote:

Let me rephrase my question. First if you put the camera in M and you found that when you set the shutter speed to 1/100, ISO 100, and the aperture of f/16 then and meter indicates a 0. Now if you switch the camera to P which aperture and shutter speed would it pick?

theoretically, if nothing changes with the position of the camera and the light "P mode" should pick a shutter and aperture setting they would yield the same overall exposure, but probably with different settings than f/16 @ 1/100, more likely f/8 @ 1/400. Again, this will be a setting that the camera is averaging all the light in order to get to 18% gray. And knowing that, and as I've already said above, one needs to be smarter than the meter, and know when, and why to over or underexpose the shot. A centered meter regardless of the mode will not guarantee a perfect shot every time. And that is the reason why P mode, or any mode for that matter, and including the sunny 16 rule may not always be right for the circumstances. And of course there are other reasons why you want to choose the settings yourself, and DOF is certainly one of them, or another if you want to stop action with flash.

Elmerviking

autofocus wrote:

theoretically, if nothing changes with the positio... (show quote)

On my camera,Nikon D7100, if yo set a specific shutter speed in M mode and switch over to A or P the shutter speed changes according to focal length on the zoom...i.e longer zoom-faster speed and vice versa! If you change from M to S mode the shutter speed will remain the same. In other words.. you can’t tell what the setting will be if you change from M mode to P mode!

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

Elmerviking wrote:

On my camera,Nikon D7100, if yo set a specific shutter speed in M mode and switch over to A or P the shutter speed changes according to focal length on the zoom...i.e longer zoom-faster speed and vice versa! If you change from M to S mode the shutter speed will remain the same. In other words.. you can’t tell what the setting will be if you change from M mode to P mode!

I kind of eluded to that above in my comment when I said the settings will change, but the overall exposure will be the same. So, if f/16 at 1/100 is centering the meter, a setting of f/8 at 1/400 will yield the same exposure and also center the meter. So although the numbers are changing the exposure is not changing. In this example the lens opened up by two stops from f/16 to f/8 and the shutter adjusted from 1/100 to 1/400, also two stops faster in the other direction to compensate for the aperture adjustment...the final exposure is the same between both. Remember, in the modes A, P, and S the camera will always try to achieve what it thinks the settings should be based on the light it is seeing, and it will be centering the meter. And zoom lenses with variable f/stops will also be a factor. If your setting of say 1/2000 on the shutter calls for an aperture of f/2.8, but your lens will only open to f/3.5 the only solution to that is to add more light or adjust your ISO, or change your shutter to slower speed settings.

Elmerviking

autofocus wrote:

I kind of eluded to that above in my comment when ... (show quote)

I agree. I was actually referring to the guy that said that if you can’t tell what shutter speed and aperture the camera will choose in P mode, you shouldn’t use it. As I said it all depends, but the exposure will be correct.

Bubbee Loc: Aventura, Florida

You are so right, Elmer! I just did a test with my 7100 from my very sunny terrace here in very sunny Aventura, Florida. I set manually, iso 100, f16, 1/100. The meter was perfect at 140mm, and changed slightly when I zoomed down to 18mm. Still at 100 iso, I switched to P. At 140mm, it registered f5.6 and 1/800! At 18mm, P gave me f9 and 1/320. So, the answer to the question as to the similarity of the settings between the 'sunny 16' rule used manually, and the totally automatic 'P' setting, is absolutely....NO!!! However, I think I'll stick with the majority of you with manual, where you can set your desired aperture and/or shutter, depending on the situation. And I think it's time to put this matter to rest!

BebuLamar

Bubbee wrote:

You are so right, Elmer! I just did a test with m... (show quote)

Learn something new about your camera. My camera the Nikon Df always uses f/9 1/320 regardless of focal length. I just confirm it with the 24-85 lens and then the 70-300 lens. At all focal length it picks f/9 1/320.

Bubbee Loc: Aventura, Florida

Well.....Thanks!
Have a nice sunny day!

Bubbee Loc: Aventura, Florida

Sorry....I couldn't leave it at that! I checked my 7100 at 140MM again, and the P setting was f5.6 1/1000 (It's a little sunnier now, than two hours ago). I then checked both my D80 and D7100 at 135mm and both P results were f9 1/1250, iso 100. There must be some variables between your camera and lenses and mine. I have no problem reading the numbers on both of my Nikons and both zoom lenses, and they definitely are what they are!
Bottom line is that the P settings do not always agree with the 'sunny 16' rule! And I love my cameras and I'll stick with Manual!

Elmerviking

Bubbee wrote:

Sorry....I couldn't leave it at that! I checked m... (show quote)

It also depends on which metering mode you select....matrix, center weighted or spot metering. When you zoom out you will measure a wider field...that could include bright spots that affect the exposure. I checked mine with spot metering chosen on the same spot and found that the shutter time varied with different focal length. Note: I always shoot M with auto ISO and centerweighted metering, which works best for me.
You also have to go to settings and set ISO to be viewable in the viewfinder. To lock exposure I have programmed the DOF button to AE-L and the normal AE-L to back button focus with continuous 9 points chosen.
Well worth a try!