question for you all here ! (Page 2): I usually start with my camera set to 200 iso and f5.6 to start. I always check the color space, since I shoot in a lot of varied situations. The...

barry.lapoint Loc: Colorado

lol whittingham wrote:

hi, lol the novice here, very new to photography,pretty good on the theory ,know how it all works n that.
can you tell me...when you get your camera out the bag, what is the first thing you do as regards settings.... i mean let's say sunny day in a field.
do you consider shutter speed first ?, and if so, what next, appature ? f'stop
whats your starting point
look foreward to your views and answers, and thanks
Lol (not laf out loud )

I usually start with my camera set to 200 iso and f5.6 to start. I always check the color space, since I shoot in a lot of varied situations. The reason I keep the initial setting of 200 iso and f5.6 is because my camera has the least amount of grain @ 200 iso (even though it goes down to 50 iso) and the sharpest f-stop on all my lenses is f5.6 (I did exhaustive tests). I can't afford to make too many mistakes so I always check those three things first...its my living.

Wanda Krack Loc: Tennessee, USA

Some good responses here for sure! I check to see how many shots are left on the current card, and see how much juice I have on the current battery. Next, comes ISO......set it to the lowest I think the conditions will allow. After that, it's subject specific as far as whether or not I'll use manual, speed or amp. priorities. Last, I check to make sure I have the focus and metering on the settings I'll be using (matrix spot or middle). A given, is that I already know which lens I'll be using......that is decided up with the first two items.

JoeV Loc: Wisconsin

Interesting question. Made me think.

As someone pointed out, the first thing is to ask...what do I want my picture to look like. But I think you are looking for the first considerations after that.

My first question, I think, is "Which lens?"

My usual starting point after that is Aperture priority to control depth of field.

bayly Loc: Ajax, Ontario

lol whittingham wrote:

hi, lol the novice here, very new to photography,pretty good on the theory ,know how it all works n that.
can you tell me...when you get your camera out the bag, what is the first thing you do as regards settings.... i mean let's say sunny day in a field.
do you consider shutter speed first ?, and if so, what next, appature ? f'stop
whats your starting point
look foreward to your views and answers, and thanks
Lol (not laf out loud )

I need to preface my reply by saying that I believe in mostly manual setting on my 7D. Why? Because I all I have read in this site and other tutorials is that a good image must first be properly exposed to give create acurate colours and the sharpest possible image. Manual mode is the best way to achieve this.
My first thoughts are regarding the image I want to produce. Is the object moving or still. Do I want motion? How much? ie: bird wingtips. This tells me what I should consider for shutter speed. Then I consider how much DOF. Do I want detail front to back? A blurred background etc. A soft portrait image? etc.There are many factors to consider.
There some constraints regarding the desired shutter speed. The type of lens being used will dictate the lowest speed possible depending if I am hand held or using a tripod. When hand held with a non IS lens I do not go below 60. With my IS lens I will go down to 30. Keeping this in mind with the aperature and shutter constraints the only thing left is ISO. I then adjust the ISO up 1600 without appreciative noise always trying to keep it as low as possible.