R.G. Loc: Scotland

I think the problem is that most people see the "auto" part of "M + Auto ISO" and assume that

a) It's leaving the camera to make decisions for them, and

b) They have to blindly accept what the camera proposes.

Both of those assumptions are wrong. Firstly, the camera offers suggestions based on what it determines to be an appropriate exposure level. Secondly, if you think that the camera's suggestions aren't appropriate, you can use exposure compensation (EC) to tell the camera to target another level of exposure.

Whether you dial in an EC value or not, at no point is the camera forcing you to accept a specific value. The user can start off by choosing whatever value of aperture he/she thinks is appropriate, then he/she can use one adjustment wheel to play off shutter speed against ISO. As the user changes the shutter speed setting, the camera automatically provides an appropriate value of ISO, based on whatever the targeted** level of exposure happens to be. By this process the user is in full control of the exposure.

**The targeted level of exposure is determined by the camera itself plus whatever EC value is dialled in by the user.

My suggested procedure is to choose aperture and EC first, because in most situations there will not be a sudden or urgent need to alter them, and the exceptions to that would be fairly obvious and easy to identify.

Where aperture is concerned, you can select what you consider to be the widest aperture that still gives sufficient DOF (depth of field). Being able to estimate that is one of the most useful skills a photographer can have. Going wider than that is something that would be done only in very demanding circumstances, and in a situation where a sufficiently fast shutter speed was more of a priority than sufficient DOF (and where ISO was maxed out). Again, those circumstances would be easy to identify.

The good thing about the above procedure is that it's logical and intuitive, and it doesn't require any skills beyond those which you acquire in order to do basic photography. (OK, knowing when EC will be required is probably a step up from being a basic skill, but it's not rocket science, and it's definitely a skill that's worth acquiring if you don't have it already).

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Part of the misunderstanding arises from that big M on the Mode dial. It means "Manual," so people automatically think they are not shooting automatically. : ) I generally set my cameras at ISO 100.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

The point I was making is that M+AutoISO+EC puts the user in full control of the exposure. The "Auto" part of that merely refers to the assistance that the camera offers.

srt101fan

Makes a lot of sense to me, RG.

As I said in another thread, I still think that M+Auto ISO is a good shooting mode for beginners who are ready to move beyond full Auto. To me it seems like a very good "walking around" shooting mode!

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

With my current bodies, OLYMPUS OM-D E-M5 MARK II (M4/3), auto ISO is not available in manual exposure mode.
It can be in P,A, and S modes (that is a menu choice).

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I agree. I've tried to think of situations where a different approach would be better and I haven't been able to think of any.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Hopefully you have quick and easy access to ISO adjustments. That would be a fair alternative to what I suggested.

BebuLamar

It's no more manual than any other modes like P, S or A. In any of those modes you can alter the exposure suggested by the meter by using EC, AE-Lock etc.. You can also alter the combination of aperture and shutter speed by using Program shift when in P, Changing the shutter speed when in S and changing the aperture when in A.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I'm not quite sure what all of the implications are as far as your suggested alternatives go. I would say that in most cases the priorities would be 1) aperture, 2) shutter speed and 3) ISO in that order, where ISO is the one that you would be happiest having to compromise. With my suggested method, ISO can be delegated to the position of being the variable that's determined by the other two settings. In other words ISO would be the default setting. And for the most part, the exposure settings are determined using one adjustment wheel (after aperture and EC have been decided on, which in a typical situation would be one-off adjustments and not prone to sudden or unexpected change).

In other words my suggested method fits in with what the priorities are most likely to be in a typical situation. The exceptions would be obvious and easy to identify.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

This makes me think about the automatic transmission in some vehicles that allow for a "manual" mode. It allows the operator to make some decisions...

hammond

Well, one could make the point that M+auto-ISO is less manual than M-without-auto-ISO.

I was shooting the Buj Khalifa at night and in M+aISO the ISO would get bumped up to where it was too grainy and made the entire image much lighter than desired. The auto-ISO just wanted to too bright no matter what other adjustments I made. Finally I turned off auto-ISO and pulled down the ISO levels a little and got the shot how I envisioned it.

(sorry, don't have the pics handy but will try to edit this post later with examples)

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

That's interesting to know because it is a feature of my EM-10 and I use it extensively.

My routine is to set both aperture and shutter speed and use auto-ISO unless I need to compensate. As R.G. mentions, it takes a bit of experience to understand when to use EC, but that is an important part of learning how to work with the light.

There is no EC in M mode in either the Oly EM-10 nor my Panasonic G7, so having live exposure view with my EVF is very handy. If I want to adjust my exposure, I simply change from auto-ISO to my desired via a shortcut button on the camera.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

M+AutoISO+EC allows the user to make ALL of the relevant decisions. The camera's input is relegated to the level of assistance.

Bill_de Loc: US

Why would selecting auto in any of the three elements of the 'exposure triangle' be any different. You allow the camera to maintain the same exposure as light changes.

As mentioned above, EC is available in almost all the auto modes. What I have often disagreed with is that selecting any auto (aside from full auto) mode is giving control to the camera. Whether in A, S, or P you can get any exposure combination you want by introducing EC. To me it is one of the most important controls to the point that on my Z6 24-70 F/4.0 I have the control ring set to EC. I can change it without touching a any buttons.

In short, auto is auto and if you don't want to be thrown out of the 'manual shooters club' you need to set everything manually.

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R.G. Loc: Scotland

With M+AutoISO+EC there isn't anything that the user hasn't got full control over. And once the primary settings (aperture and EC) have been made, one adjustment wheel gives you full control over the exposure.