ejones0310 Loc: Tulsa, OK

Raw and whatever the situation dictates. Manual if I think the camera is wrong, but usually either shutter or aperture priority. Sometimes I set shutter and aperture and let ISO float. It depends on the subject and the situation.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

Raw and Manual with a d500 for wildlife. I feel with this camera it is so fast and easy to change settings I want control. My opinion only. Everyone has something that works for them. It's sad that I feel I have to add the last 2 lines to advert an heated discussion. Lol

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I always save both raw and JPEG files, and I adjust the camera for best JPEG output, which also gives me a good starting point for post processing when I do it.

Exposure mode varies, depending on what I am doing. Casual shooting is usually in Program mode. Panoramas and night sky are always in Manual. Other things vary, depending on what I'm doing. I do not use Auto ISO or Auto White Balance. I have found that Auto ISO is a good way to get in trouble or be disappointed, and Auto White Balance too often gets the wrong answer if a frame contains a lot of one prevalent color.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

I used to get into trouble with auto iso. Then I limited it to 1600. My D500 doesn't handle noise very well and I'm a pixel peeper. Lol

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

I have not found much difference between P, A, and S - any of those three can be used to achieve the same setting quite easily. My auto ISO works well for me when limited to 800 (my base is 200).

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Too funny... Simply stating your file format is RAW is only half the equation... At least for some of Nikon's cameras. More specifically the Nikon D3x and D300 which when shot at 14-bit RAW cripples there frame rate...

On bright sunny days often I would shoot league soccer with my D3x which at the time had the highest resolution an amazing 24 mega pixels. However shooting 14 bit RAW limited CH (Continuous High) to a miserable 2 fps... While Nikon claimed 2.5 fps I was only getting 2! The version of Expeed the D3x used couldn't keep up with those "Huge" files however in D3x Manual they clearly state with 12 bit RAW you got the full 5 fps (and it does!). The exact same was true for the Nikon D300 with the MB-D10 Battery Grip... Strangely the D700 rocks 8 fps in 14-bit with the same MB-D10 Battery Grip... Totally LOVE my D700! it's a D3 in a richly featured package!

As for Auto ISO! it rocks in Manual Mode! That said I concur completely with Drbobcameraguy
"...I used to get into trouble with auto iso. Then I limited it to 1600. My D500 doesn't handle noise very well ..."

The difference between FX verses DX is HUGE! At so many levels... Case in point the D300 and D700 are identical in resolution and both come from the same era... However the high ISO IQ of the D700 is simple amazing compared to the D300 that I would never take above ISO 800... The D700 rocks all the way up to ISO 6400... and is absolutely stellar at ISO 3200.

Bottom Line? Read you manual folks and know what you tool can do and it's limitations...

I will say from my experience there is a nature progression in workflow as novice transition to enthusiast and finally there are a precious few actually become commercial photographers...

Food for thought... Photography is not a "Profession" it is instead a "Craft" there are no licensing bodies that govern this "Craft". While the Brooks Institute use to offer a Degree in Photography that train left the station years ago.... That said, Camera Vendors such as Sony, Canon, and Nikon use the term "Professional Photographer" in their market hype... For the longest time Nikon actually limited access to Nikon Professional Services to those who could validate that over 50 % of their income came from Photography!

Now they are more focused on selling this service to those with deep pockets...
2021 are hard times for Nikon... They are now seeking revenue stream (not so my industry recognition)
https://www.nikonpro.com/memberlevels.aspx
https://www.nikonpro.com/TermsAndConditions.aspx

So now to become a "Professional Nikon Photographer" deep pockets work :)
My Canon colleagues tell my that Canon does pretty much the same thing...

And they couldn't give a rat's butt on what mode you shoot in or what file format works for you... :)
All the best to everyone on the epic photographic journey!

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

I shoot in RAW. For everything else—it depends. I shoot for my own enjoyment and part of that enjoyment is manual focus and manual exposure. I have 5 MF lenses— 28mm, 40mm, 50mm, 58mm, 85mm. But that is not all the time, I use AF as much as MF. For exposure modes I never use scene modes, auto or program. I switch between Shutter priority and Aperture priority depending on what I want to accomplish. I only use auto ISO when I need to.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

RAW, manual with auto ISO.

Hip Coyote

Please ignore the tolls on this thread. I take this question as a an attempt at friendly conversation. At least, that is the way I chose to take it.

There is a well known photographer in our area that just was awarded the President's Choice by the Professional Photographer's of California. I attended a seminar she held and was surprised to learn she often shoots in jpeg and uses scene modes.

As for me, I default to Aperture and shoot in raw. But I use shutter priority or manual (for flash) as needed.

But, if a situation comes up where I need to take a quick shot and am not prepared for the quick mental math of the triangle, I will use program...such as at a family event where photography is not the object of the event. I also use raw + small jpgs when I travel because I share pics with my wife and/or upload to social media after a quick snapseed edit.

Happy shooting!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Raw, auto, Aperture priority.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Professional mode w/ auto ISO.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

raw only* mostly aperture mode, auto WB (not that it matters with raw). I adjust ISO depending on conditions.

*One mode on my cameras is jpg only: high speed frame rate in live view. I don't use it much because it only produces jpgs. When I take test shots to look for sensor dust I use jpg because they are temporary images not for postprocessing.

srt101fan

Short answer:
-- Go to mode: M (Manual) + Auto ISO
-- File format: sometimes RAW + JPEG, sometimes only JPEG

Why:
-- Being a shaky ole guy, I'd rather set the shutter speed myself than let the camera do it
-- I also prefer to set the lens aperture myself
-- Wanting to set shutter and aperture myself, leads to the Manual mode choice
-- I'm not as obsessed with low ISO as some here are. So I'm generally fine with the camera picking the ISO.
-- I adjust shutter speed and/or aperture and use Exposure Compensation in those cases were I don't agree with the camera's ISO selection.
-- I see the benefits of RAW but I don't think they apply to all of my picture-taking. Also, I haven't progressed much with my photo editing learning and I'm not sure where to go with this in the future. Hence the ambivalence on the RAW/JPEG issue.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I shoot raw only. It provides me with a consistent workflow, useful at my age.

I don’t worry about shake because my Nikon lenses have good VR.