Do you use what you pay for?

[jorgemonkey]

I've heard both sides of the "argument", and its been interesting to get peoples takes on it.

I heard a lot of photographers mention they always shoot manual mode, sometimes they'll use MF for their images (wildlife, people, candids, buildings, whatever). I had a teacher showing us some portrait demos and he mentions that he shoots in "P" mode. Now this is a guy who's been shooting for 20+ years & takes some fantastic images.

I can also see a reason for shooting in manual mode, both AF & exposure in tricky situations. But isn't the one of the reasons we buy these cameras is because of how good their AF & exposure readings are?

[CaraRose]

I personally prefer to use manual settings, but there are situations where I swap to program or to one of the other settings because I need speed to get the shot.

The more options you have, the more you can adjust to different situations you might encounter.

[opus]

I prefer auto focus when it works, so that I don't have to worry that my eyes have gotten less reliable, but sometimes I have to switch to manual focus to get exactly what I want. I used variations of the auto modes for six years on my DRebel, generally, which allowed me to focus more on composition as well as gave me an education on how "right" and "wrong" exposure settings affected the final picture. Auto settings are a lifesaver in high-action situations. But manual settings allow so much creative control, and there are plenty of situations where I would never imagine switching over to auto. I shoot mostly manual nowadays. IS is great too, but I've switched it off a few times. So for the most part I use what I paid for.

I do neglect some of the more obscure settings within the camera's menu, since I've never sat down to figure out exactly how to use them. I suspect that will change with my 5D, since I plan to use this camera to its fullest extent. It's just going to take me some time, as this old memory doesn't retain information as fast as it used to.

[straightarm]

But isn't the one of the reasons we buy these cameras is because of how good their AF & exposure readings are?

Absolutely!

I use autoexposure virtually all the time, either Av ot Tv, seldom use P

Autofocus, again virtually all the time

Autowhite balance, again virtually all the time

I want to concentrate on the compsotion and timing and leave the focusing and to the camera

The skill is knowing when the camera might strugle and adjusting accordingly

[cm_mtb]

My cameras rarely come out of M. I've shot in M enough that adjusting shutter speed and aperture to get a proper exposure has become very quick and easy. Loupey's sticky in the nature and wildlife sub-forum does an excellent job of explaining how to proficiently shoot in M. Once you have an initial light reading that is correct, just adjust from there when the light changes.

I love AF, though. AI Servo combined w/ back button AF is the bomb. :thumbsup:

[another view]

I use 'em all to be sure I get my money's worth.

Probably at least 80% is "A" mode, matrix metering and "S" autofocus mode (Nikon terminology). Knowing when the camera can't give me the results in those settings is really the most important thing. That's when I'll probably use manual exposure and/or focus, and maybe a different metering pattern. It comes from experience with a particular camera, but this is a very valuable thing to learn.

Actually I don't use "P" and very rarely use "S". Nothing wrong with either, just not how I shoot. "P" will do a great job in a lot of situations and I probably would be wise to use it more often.

[Loupey]

I like my equipment dumb. If they sold equipment without all the "stuff" I'd buy it.

I use MF and ME nearly 95% of the time. The remaining 5% is with aperture priority but a fewer percentage is with AF (mainly for parties and other social events). But if I shot more sports, I'd probably use AF a lot more.

So for now, I consider all the "stuff" that came with my equipment as free stuff that I just don't use

[Frog]

I use autofocus unless I'm doing closeups and even then I use it to get close.
I shoot manual almost all the time but appreciate the Aperture priority when trying to do some fairly fast shooting.
Full auto, sports, portrait, landscape, night......never use em.

[JETA]

I use auto focus almost all of the time except for macro. I always shoot in manual. I don't care how great the camera is there's too much room for error especially in sunny situations.

[Tyson L. Sparks]

I usually shot in A mode, but I have no pro lens's or expensive gadgets. Just Kit lens.

[Skyman]

one of the salesmen in the camera shop I used to work for would always say "P for professional" his comment was that the working pro understands the metering and focusing systems of their camera and knows when they can trust them and when they need to dial in some compensation or simply go manual. Sure working in A or S modes might give you the best of both worlds, but often times P is simply a faster way of working. glance at the shot, scan your eye around the edges of the frame, glance down at the exposure info and press the shutter in less than a second and if you need to dial in compensation you can usually do it on the fly.

[Franglais]

Absolutely!

I use autoexposure virtually all the time, either Av ot Tv, seldom use P

Autofocus, again virtually all the time

Autowhite balance, again virtually all the time

I want to concentrate on the compsotion and timing and leave the focusing and to the camera

The skill is knowing when the camera might strugle and adjusting accordingly

That's about what I was going to say. I buy the camera to take pictures and the rest is just a means to get there

- I discovered some time ago that the camera usually meters better than me.
- For autofocus I sometimes select the focus point myself but I rarely use manual overide. There is one exception - I focus manually on the D60 with the 11-18 (no auofocus motor)

[Jimmy B]

most of the time I shoot manual, AV for some things. Night time shooting is all ways M and MF. Take the shot see if it's the way I want it and go from there.
Just my 2 cents.
Jimmy B

[Canuck935]

Hmm well let me think.. I've used pretty much everything except AWB, auto/scene modes, and color modes (i.e. vivid, b&w, etc). Oh and auto bracketing; I'm just so used to doing it myself.

[Old Timer]

I'm like AV I use them all. Just depends on what I'm shooting and what the situation calls for. I will add that because of my eye sight, which is no where what it was when I was young, I use AF most of the time.

[mjs1973]

I usually use aperture priority, or full manual, depending on what I'm doing. I avoid most of the full auto settings on my cameras for one simple reason, they only shoot in jpeg. I believe program mode will shoot in RAW, but the other full auto modes only shoot jpeg. Depending on the lens, and what I'm shooting, I will switch between AF and MF as well.

[freygr]

I usually my camera setting lives on AP (Aperture Priority), and I use the Auto Focus most of the time, but for microphotography, and low light photography, and only really during normal photography.