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05/11/2004 07:55:23 PM · #1 |
| Of those of you who use and have used one a lot, how often do you find yourself using the "manual" options, which ones most often, for what purposes the most, etc.??? I would aprreciate hearing any feedback on this. |
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05/11/2004 07:57:00 PM · #2 |
Wow, mine really limits the amount of manual settings I can use. I would have to say the ISO (because rally that's the only thing I CAN control) and Macro mode. That's about it with mine.
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05/11/2004 08:08:36 PM · #3 |
I'm probably in the minority... When I use my G3 I use it in full manual mode most of the time (except for auto focus).
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05/11/2004 08:18:40 PM · #4 |
| Exposure compensation is number one. Actually, a lot of times I just use the exposure lock (AEL) button. Aperture priority and shutter priority modes, of course. One of the things I really disliked about my old Olympus was having to dig through three layers of menus to switch into aperture or shutter priority - it's much handier having separate A and S notches on the mode dial. |
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05/11/2004 08:47:12 PM · #5 |
| I use mine in full manual 99% of the time. The only time it's not in manual: if someone else is taking a picture or if I'm just taking family snapshots at dinners or other outings where I don't need to be creative. If your camera has a full manual mode, why not take advantage of it? |
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05/11/2004 08:49:40 PM · #6 |
| I used all modes after get mine. Only for test pourposes and learning photography. Now... I don´t know the meaning of any other than Manual. I can, and use it, to control shutter, apperture, exposure compensation, ISO, WB and all other issues involving camera features. I need to get in charge of the capture all the time. This lead me to a continuous learning process of mastering in photography. :) |
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05/11/2004 08:50:08 PM · #7 |
I almost always use manual focus and fixed ISO. For outdoor daylight shooting I generally preset the aperture to achieve the desired DOF.
I occasionally use shutter priority for fast shots. It is rare that I use fully automatic settings, but that is somewhat due to the extremely poor autofocus of the DiMage 5.
At least this camera permits manual adjustment of all parameters, despite being a nonDSLR.
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05/11/2004 08:56:27 PM · #8 |
| The only settings I use much are exposure compensation, and switching to and from spot-metering. Those two, combined with locking in the exposure and re-framing, give me some amount of control. The only other settings I think I have available are ISO (100/200/400) and White Balance, both of which I usually leave on auto mode. |
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05/12/2004 01:47:25 PM · #9 |
| I am constantly using the exposure compensation and I also use my Rebel's manual AF point selector, althought I'm not sure that counts... |
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05/12/2004 02:41:04 PM · #10 |
| OK, so I lied a bit earlier. I don't use the camera in 100% pure manual. I do use autofocus and auto WB. ISO I always have set at 100 and never auto. |
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05/12/2004 03:01:33 PM · #11 |
| I always use the manual setting on my G5, and I change the aperture and shutter speed constantly to suit individual shots. I also use manual focus most of the time... unless it's for a snapshot or my subject is moving too much. I will usually use auto white balance with flash, but I avoid flash whenever I can. |
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05/12/2004 03:05:04 PM · #12 |
I use many of the functions of my camera, but which ones definitely depends on the situation.
I shoot in Program mode a lot (with the flash manually suppressed)- for most situations this gives me very good pictures. I occasionally switch to aperature priority for landscapes or macro shots (with the macro function turned on) to better control depth of field. The only time I have used shutter priority is to shoot moving water when I want a longer exposure. Manual has come in handy for city shots at night where I want a very long exposure and an overexposed shot (relative to what the light meter tells me the exposure should be). I never use any of the Auto, Portrait, Sports or Landscape preset functions on the dial. These are especially flash-happy on my camera and can't be overridden and I don't like the results of pictures taken with the built in flash. And it drains the batteries quickly.
I used to leave the ISO setting on AUTO, but since coming to DPChallenge and examining my work more critically, I think I will leave it set on ISO 100 for most everything. I keep the white balance set on daylight but sometimes change it if I am shooting indoors with incandescent or flourescent lights. For DPChallenge shots, I find I am using bracketing and whitebalance bracketing a lot. I also occasionally use the spot meter function when the camera doesn't meter a scene correctly for the subject I wish to highlight. |
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05/12/2004 03:13:06 PM · #13 |
On the two point and shoots (compact cams, rather) I've had before, a Sony S85 and the F717, I only used the M (Manual) for test purposes.
Almost all my photos were taken in A (Aperture Priority) or S (Shutter Priority), depending on need and/or conditions. The F717 has a spot-meter, of course, which I relied on almost exclusively for exposure. With this cam, the only time I'd shoot in A mode, was to control depth-of-field. I kept ISO at 100 (except for night shots) and used one-push WB daily or more, depending on conditions.
When confronted with upredictable scenes and conditions I often set the shutter on 1000 (S mode on compacts) and concentrate on just getting the shot and composing it as best as I can in camera.
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05/12/2004 03:20:03 PM · #14 |
My optio S4 has really no 'manual' exposure options, but does support exposure compensation, which I use for almost every shot - that and manual white balance selection.
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05/12/2004 03:22:34 PM · #15 |
| I frequently use manual mode to get the exposure right, my camera has a live histogram that makes this pretty easy to do. With my camera it is also easier to use manual mode then to keep changing the exposure compensation. I can also bracket my exposures a lot faster in manual mode. I also normally want to be setting the aperture to control the DOF to my liking. |
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05/12/2004 03:56:02 PM · #16 |
I started out almost never using manual modes. When I started taking pictures I shot at things that looked cool - what I call "memory shots". Full auto usually does a decent job of capturing the memory. When I started to hit a point where I could visualize a photo I wanted in advance, I needed to control things manually. I'd say I'm at about 50% manual shots right now.
I use exposure compensation the most - almost every time I go out in fact. Second most would be aperture priority. Once in a while I play with shutter speed, but I'm not good at judging its effects in action shots yet, so I don't have much success there. |
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