rfazzi Loc: San Jose, California

I am going more and more manual with the settings on my D7000 and I was wondering what most peoples approach is? Do most set their aperture first and then shutter speed using the meter in the viewfinder?

What I have been doing is exactly that. Opening the f stop all the way to let in as much light as possible (to freeze motion) and then rotating the dial until the meter shows that I am not under or over exposing.

Say the meter tells me I'm over exposed so I rotate the dial to the right until I get the meter to zero but I can keep going in the same direction rotating the dial many times before it shows me that I am now under exposing. It gives you a pretty big window of what is considered proper exposure before you go too far to one side or the other. Is it better to dial it so you are closer to over exposing or under exposing? Try to count the clicks and find the center between the two? I guess I could use aperture or shutter priority. Just wondering.

Sorry for my rambling.

Thanks,
Rich

Steinmetz Loc: Oregon based

Not sure I got your question correct... but manual is freedom.

I shoot primarily with fx cameras, but would still apply same principles:
If you are interested in depth of field as in landscapes or portraiture, I would set the Aperture first.

If you interested in stopping motion or blurring, set the shutter speed first...

If you are going to be using flash be careful not to go above your sych speed with shutter -
=< 250

Always try to use the lowest iso setting you are able..

Hoss Loc: Near Pittsburgh, Pa

Well I mostly shoot in manual. It depends what you are shooting. If shooting landscapes I shoot around f16, for depth of field. In the old days the sports photographers when asked how did they get the shot their reply was usually f8 and be there. When shooting wide open your focus has to be on the money so shooting f8 gave you some room to be off a little. If you shoot wide open your dof will be shallow good for portraits. You want the topic to be very sharp and the background to be out of focus. I tend to shoot 1/3 stop underexposed also. It is all on how you want your picture to look. I hope this helps.
Mike

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

I think you need to read this

http://www.worth1000.com/tutorials/161769/camera-skills-manual-exposure-photography-for-beginners

There is NO real answer as everyone has a different need, sports,nature, portrait, street, macro etc all need a 100% different approach.

I shoot sports so I concentrate mainly on 1/800th and above and 400asa (iso) so alter the ap, you can also not just "set an ap" as you do, as "letting enough light in" to freeze motion will mean an oof background and you may not want that either.

Each situation is diffrent, and I personally think everyone should learn to shoot manual before auto everything.

jimni2001 Loc: Sierra Vista, Arizona, USA

Your Aperture is going to affect your depth of field. For low light a wide open aperture is sometimes the only way to get the shot without using a flash but you are going to lose focus pretty quickly with a fast shutter speed. In other words the background is going to start to go out of focus pretty quickly. This is cool if you are trying to create a bokeh (blurry background) but if you are trying to photograph two or three rows of people it will be disastrous.

tramsey Loc: Texas

We have two masters of the D7000 that I know of on this forum, I'm sure there are others. But right off the top of my head, these two come to mind. You can PM either and they will help you.

haroldross Loc: Walthill, Nebraska

As you have already heard, it depends on your subject matter and the effect you are trying to achieve. This is why using the camera in Automatic Mode is not the preferred mode to use.

For portraits, I like to use a low ISO such as 100, an f-stop around f/2.8 to f/4.0 (depending on the depth of field I want), and a shutter speed of around 1/60th to 1/200th of a second. These will vary depending on the background and how I want the background to look.

For general photography I use a low ISO such as 100 to 200, an f-stop of f/8 to f/11, and shutter speed around 1/250th of a second. This allows for a wide depth of field and a medium amount of stop action.

For landscapes I prefer an f-stop of around f/16 which gives a broader depth of field.

These are just settings I start out with. The Sunny 16 rule is a great place to start from; the basic rule is, "On a sunny day set aperture to f/16 and shutter speed to the [reciprocal of the] ISO setting for a subject in direct sunlight."

bull drink water Loc: pontiac mi.

shooting in manual is not a "thing" with me, but some lenses i use require it.the sunny 16 works for me.with my 500mm reflex i like
f 8.0,
iso 400
1/800 sec
some ev adjustment as needed. i tend to shoot between f 6.3 and f 11 for the "sweet" spot.

sbesaw Loc: Boston

Sounds like you might have Auto ISO set. You get to a good exposure and the camera stays there as the ISO keeps changing till it gets out of range then the needle starts to move again.

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

I set the aperture first 90% of the time. First reason I need lots of light for birds in flight so F/5.6 works great, then set the shutter speed around the f/stop. When you shooting long distance/zooming, you DOF is a lot deeper than close up, so no need of the smaller f/stops/bigger numbers, unless you choose. Nikons always photograph on the bright side, I'm usually -.3 to -1.0 under exposed on my meter when shooting the D7000. I also set my aperture to f/22 for better DOF in Macro and set shutter speed around the f/stop. I recommend 'Understanding Exposure" edition3 by Brian Peterson, easy read and will get you to the next level in photography. Getting 50 different responses for your question may confuse you more then reading Brian's book.

Hoss Loc: Near Pittsburgh, Pa

I agree with JR1!!! I was just trying to give you a quick understanding of how manual works and why. Every situation is different and understanding how it works is best. That is what is great about digital it costs nothing to experiment! I feel everyone needs to shoot manual before going auto.I know some or most cameras offer a setting that you first focus on the closest thing you want to be in focus and then on the furthest thing you want to be in focus and the camera will select the best f stop to achieve this. Knowing and understanding your equipment helps when shooting in manual. The best thing I have ever done was way back when I bought a Canon F1 all manual film camera. You had no choice of auto modes ( there were none ). I would like to see a digital this way but they more than likely would not sell many. Everyone wants the camera to do everything for them. Everyone just wants to be a button pusher and get great results!!!!

Please note that my last couple of lines is only my opinion not intended towards anyone. It is how things are these days. I guess that is part of the digital age where things move so fast we forget the basics.

Mike

rebride

I would think anyone who has learned or is learning the finer points of photography has had the same ramblings to themselves if not some other person.
To use aperture, shutter speed, ISO as single unit in conjunction with what a light meter 'really' is informing to achieve the image you want, well....
Keep on shooting, keep on reading.

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

Hoss is right

it costs nothing to experiment

The days are long gone where we had to consider the cost of film, NOT just financially but if we had enough, having to change film mid roll to a faster/slower asa, slide or neg, mono or colour.

I STILL use film, mainly for nostalgia, photographers who have never used film and have gone straight into digital really, truly DON'T know how easy it is now.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

If the scene is not unusual in terms of lighting or movement of the subject, I aim for the middle ground - fast shutter and smallish aperture. If I want to achieve a certain effect, then I go for high or low shutter speed or small or large aperture. Basically, though, I want a fast enough shutter to prevent blurring and a good aperture.

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

Don't rule out shutter and or Ap priority modes though.

Shutter priority here would not use manual these days.

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad121/jser1/Img_0386.jpg

Though I could use manual, and have in days gone. ALSO remember the metering mode you chose is all important.

Here I use average, though for difficult subjects I use spot and or center weighted.

AND, I have never ever used anything other than theone centre AF point.

Oh and if in doubt "bracket" :) :) :)