Aperture priority: I shoot on manual a lot and do well most of the time but I get the feeling that I'm working too hard sometimes and would like to shoot in Aperture Priority more. I...

ppage Loc: Pittsburg, (San Francisco area)

I shoot on manual a lot and do well most of the time but I get the feeling that I'm working too hard sometimes and would like to shoot in Aperture Priority more. I avoid it because I get burned by low shutter speeds sometimes leading to blurry photos. It seems in its effort to compensate for indoor conditions it will go too low on shutter.

I'm using a Canon 6DII and a 70-200 2.8 MIII. I am hoping the fast lens (at 2.8) and auto iso will keep the shutter up past 160. Anything else I should be doing? Exposure compensation fit in here? I am taking photos of a congressman town hall meeting in an elementary school multi use room.

Thanks!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Exposure compensation is a must for success outside Manual.

Quixdraw Loc: x

I shoot Aperture quite a lot - like so many things there are trade offs. You often have to kick the ISO up a good bit.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

quixdraw wrote:

I shoot Aperture quite a lot - like so many things there are trade offs. You often have to kick the ISO up a good bit.

Ditto. Take a test shot and adjust accordingly until you're satisfied. I switch back and forth between aperture priority and shutter priority depending on what I'm shooting and adjust ISO as needed. I prefer NOT to use auto ISO in order to maintain control over all three.

kmpankopf Loc: Mid-Michigan; SW Pennsylvania

I agree with Paul on EC. I can certainly be your friend. If you get there early, practice - chimp, practice, chimp. However with Aperture priority, you can get burned with lower speeds.
I've changed to Manual with AUTO ISO and love it. I have max ISO set up in camera and haven't looked back.

hassighedgehog Loc: Corona, CA

Check your manual. I know on my cameras you can set the ISO to a maximum in aperture mode, but not sure if you can set a minimum, which is what you might need.

ppage Loc: Pittsburg, (San Francisco area)

Thanks everyone. Just in time. Thing starts at 6:30 pacific...

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

kmpankopf wrote:

I agree with Paul on EC. I can certainly be your friend. If you get there early, practice - chimp, practice, chimp. However with Aperture priority, you can get burned with lower speeds.
I've changed to Manual with AUTO ISO and love it. I have max ISO set up in camera and haven't looked back.

Alas, I think the EOS 6DII does not offer Manual w/ Auto ISO. In the EOS world, that's a feature that arrived with the 5DIV, and maybe others since then.

I was Aperture Priority for years, but with static ISO settings. What I found was the difference between Manual and Aperture w/ EC what simply which wheel on the body controlled which setting. Auto ISO doesn't change the controls; rather, it just gives the camera more freedom in how it responds to your EC dial movement.

When I do change bodies again, I look forward to Manual w/ Auto ISO for a 'set it and forget it' approach to aperture and shutterspeed while keeping the exposure at a desired offset to the 0-mark.

kmpankopf Loc: Mid-Michigan; SW Pennsylvania

I still use EC with my Auto ISO set up. I know my camera does much better with a -0.7 all around if it is a sunny day. I start there. Some aircraft seem to think a polished skin looks good, but they don't think of us photographers.........

BebuLamar

ppage wrote:

I shoot on manual a lot and do well most of the ti... (show quote)

If you don't monitor the camera settings you will have problem. As you said you let the shutter speed goes too slow when using aperture priority. Now you enable Auto ISO that would prevent the shutter goes too slow but if you don't watch it the ISO could go too high.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

ppage wrote:

I shoot on manual a lot and do well most of the ti... (show quote)

Why not try shutter priority, with the speed you need, and the ISO set so you get the f-stop you want?

kmpankopf Loc: Mid-Michigan; SW Pennsylvania

BebuLamar wrote:

If you don't monitor the camera settings you will have problem. As you said you let the shutter speed goes too slow when using aperture priority. Now you enable Auto ISO that would prevent the shutter goes too slow but if you don't watch it the ISO could go too high.

It's always something! You would be correct. That being said, I've never run into an issue. When I get to a location, I would meter and set shutter speed, aperture and ISO to 100. I have limit set to 1000 ISO on D500 and ISO 800 on D7200. The camera will warn me if i stray too far. That covers a lot of environmental changes. And the sensors show little noise at those max settings.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

ppage wrote:

I shoot on manual a lot and do well most of the ti... (show quote)

In low light with your 2.8 lens, open that aperture all the way. Pick the slowest shutter speed you can use and still pull off the shot and then crank that ISO up to whatever is needed. In this scenario don’t even worry about noise. If the choice is noise or no picture go for the picture. The problem of noise is highly overrated here on UHH. Think TriX. You get grain but you get the shot.
...Cam

bleirer

ppage wrote:

I shoot on manual a lot and do well most of the ti... (show quote)

I would stick with manual. Second choice program mode so you can roll through every combo to quickly get a suitable shutter speed and aperture. Once you get a sense of the light the ISO should only need to be adjusted once indoors.

ppage Loc: Pittsburg, (San Francisco area)

Thanks everyone, such a great community!

I am going to go manual with auto iso which I just proved that camera supports it. I am watching the iso change according as I meter from darker to bright light in manual mode. It's how I shoot wildlife.

f/2.8
1/200
Auto iso

Turned out to be a dry run. Mark Desaulnier is coming tomorrow night, not tonight. Well at least I know right where the location is!