bennetphoto Loc: Knoxville, TN

Landscape - Aperture or Manual priority, Portrait - Manual priority, Action - Shutter priority.

MtnMan Loc: ID

IMHO the three main modes on a Nikon (A, S, P) do pretty much the same thing. My D800 doesn't have Auto or Scene modes so reduces confusion. It has M but I only use it when necessary such as with the camera on a telescope. I think it usually dumb to forgo the camera's features you paid for.

I used to use P most of the time: flexible program mode on a Nikon. It lets you rotate the thumbwheel and see all the combinations of shutter speed and f-stop that make the meter happy for how you have set it. So if you are doing a landscape and want maximum f-stop you rotate one way. If you are doing BIF you rotate the other. If the range doesn't work you change ISO and try again.

But you can do just the same with A or S priority. I have drifted to using one of them instead more often; most often A for landscape and S for BIF, because I have learned what I will prefer depending on the situation. But you get the same combinations of shutter speed and f-stop with all three modes.

So take your choice.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

I shoot 99.9% manual 14 bit RAW much simpler for me . And I get what I want.

al davis Loc: chesterfield virginia

I would like to thank everyone who has responded to this post.As always I can count on my friends here on uhh.I have read every response and leraned a lot about individual shooters.Now comes decision time. I will still shoot manual most of the time but will also shoot apature when conditions warrant it.Again thank you friends.

al davis Loc: chesterfield virginia

I would like to thank everyone who has responded to this post.As always I can count on my friends here on uhh.I have read every response and leraned a lot about individual shooters.Now comes decision time. I will still shoot manual most of the time but will also shoot apature when conditions warrant it.Again thank you friends. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :P :P :P

ras422 Loc: Virginia

Usually shooting landscape--lowest iso, tripod , remote and manual. Sometimes still use aperture priority especially if speed ie. needing to shoot faster comes into play. If shooting family members and kids moving will use program mode. Rich

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Cameras: Pentax K-5, K-20D, K-100D

~85% of the time; Aperture Priority, Av. To be in control of DOF, Including some macro.

~9% of the time; Manual, M. To control everything, especially when using vintage manual lenses, and some macro.

~5% of the time; Shutter Priority, Tv. To stop action for sports and motion; human motion, moving cars and airplanes.

~1% of the time; B & X-sync. Special applications.

My cameras have other modes such as Sv (ISO Priority), TAv, Auto, User, P, and "Green" Full Auto, but I never use those.

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Autofocus, AF, only about 7% of the time. I prefer manual focus for most applications. Autofocus, when I get lazy or for some wildlife and some sports. Also most of my lenses are older manual focus only lenses anyway.

File Mode: 95% RAW. I only use JPG when in continuous shooting or making a long series of long exposures for astrophotography.

50% Spot Metering

40% Center-weighted Metering

10% Multi-segmented Metering

100% Center Spot Focusing

I used to just leave WB on AWB and got pretty good results most of the time. But now I switch the WB for conditions:

AWB (when lazy or for weird mixed light and some night photography)
Daylight
Shade
Cloudy
Flash (pretty much like Daylight, 5500K)
Tungsten
Fluorescent
Since I shoot RAW the WB can be changed in Ps ACR.

Many of my instructors and other students suggest making specific Kevin adjustments but I prefer making corrections in Photoshop.

AZNikon Loc: Mesa, AZ

I see lots of Aperture Priority answers here. How do you decide which aperture setting to use? Do you set it differently for different situations? Just curious. Thanks, Bob

katbandit Loc: new york city

i shoot RAW in a MANUAL setting almost exclusively..i sometimes try aperture priority but find that it can be a bit off from the lighting..when i shoot manual i can control how i adjust the settings for a bit of an under exposer or an over exposer..if using a tripod some folks like to use HDR..i haven't quite tackled that yet...

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

typically, I shoot aperture about 75%, Manual 10%, Shutter 5% but will shoot the auto (no flash) setting in some situations where either I want quick and dirty or am not sure (this is probably 2%) and then the rest is divided among the other settings (mainly because I experiment some).

I have even been known to manually bracket with an Aperture followed by a shutter to mix for HDR.

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

Exactly right, Bob.
For example, if I'm shooting a landscape, I'll want as much depth of field as I can get so I'll set the aperture to f/16 or f/22. If I'm shooting a flower and only want the flower in focus, I would set the aperture to f/2.8 or f/4.

mrjcall Loc: Woodfin, NC

Hmmm, so how do you determine the correct exposure?

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Often (perhaps too often) in Auto, because you can not see the confounded screen in bright sun light and there are no longer those wonderful knobs or rings for changing f and speed while looking thru the lens with eye-view. Oh yes and the needle simple light meter built in.

Actually in Auto you set max ISO. With Auto the camera attached to the hip allows for a quick shoot regardless of conditions. The image you want can move on quickly and setting the ideal is not possible.

Shooting flowers, I use manual with flash in the day. Tight f, quick speed and low ISO, and the background disappears (mostly) giving me the flower I want.

lightcatcher Loc: Farmington, NM (4 corners)

M manual or my way always have.

AZNikon Loc: Mesa, AZ

That's what I thought. And everything in between would fall into what Bryan Peterson calls a "who cares" aperture of f8 or f11. Thanks, Bob :thumbup: