dickwilber Loc: Indiana (currently)

My experience was with sports at the end of the film era and the beginning of the digital world. I had learned to shoot manual long before and that worked well in constant conditions or when there was sufficient adjustment time between shots. But in the heat of action with scattered clouds, or, worse, the action going from sun to shade and back indiscriminately, auto exposure was an absolute blessing. I shot ISO 400 film except for extreme conditions, and with those early digital cameras, ISO 400 was pretty much where you wanted to be. I learned to shoot my Nikons (N8008, F3, F100, D100, D70, D200) on Aperture preferred, keeping an eye out for unsustainable shutter speeds. It worked extremely well, particularly with my f/2.8 lenses which I could shoot wide open. In bright mid-day light, I'd close down the aperture one or two stops and have the best of all worlds.

Today, with the high ISO capability and Auto ISO variability of modern DSLR's, I would think setting both your optimum aperture and shutter speed and allowing the ISO to automatically adjust for the light variations would provide the best combination for most conditions. In any case, you must have a firm handle on what your comfort range is, and know how you will modify your settings when you exceed that range. (I have to admit that I have not yet explored the possibilities sufficiently to know what my Auto ISO comfort range is in all conditions.)

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

The only way to shoot, unless in a studio.

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Sometimes thaz true. Sometimes NOT ! Certainly IS true if the subject is not in motion ... and acoarst NOT true at all for fast action subjects. How speed or motion is rendered is more eye catching than any visible effects of aperture size. Be wary of blanket statements.

OTOH no problem with A-mode for action subjects. With analog controls I really prefer using the aperture ring on the lens to control shutter speed. It’s so much easier to use that ring on the lens barrel than to change my grip to twiddle the shutter dial on the top plate. (Nikomats and OMs has a good solution.)

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Anyone capable of doing their own thinking ought to try the different methods and decide for themselves which is best for what, rather than concerning themselves about, or trying to copy, what others do.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Most wildlife photographers want a blurred background, which is what you get when you set your aperture to its widest setting, in my case f/5.6 on a Nikon 200-500 lens. Wildlife photographers also want a fast shutter speed, and fast can vary from subject to subject, so again they set their aperture wide open or nearly so to obtain a fast shutter speed. The only caveat when using using auto-ISO is to remember that when you switch to a slow-moving subject you can actually use a lower ISO because you don't need that fast of a shutter speed, if you can remember this then using auto-ISO is great.