Quote Originally Posted by lazarus219 View Post
I have been thinking the same thing Jev. What your saying is pretty much what I meant in my original post about using manual but going off the meter.

My reason for mentioning that is in my class pretty much everybody shoots manual mode but always just putting the meter in the middle. I always wondered why because in the end that is just going by the meter which the camera can do a lot faster than a person turning the dials. I asked a couple of people why they bothered and they all basically seem to have the idea that shooting in manual at all times is just what experienced photographers do and that any semi-auto modes are bad.

Maybe we have totally missed something, I will be interested to see why everybody sticks to manual.

While I was typing this I thought of one other time when I do use manual. At weddings when I am shooting the couple in the shade with a bright background. I will use the ICM to meter the sky in the background.
Because putting the needle in the middle is not always going to result in correct exposure.

If you're shooting an average reflecting subject then the needle 'should' be in the middle and manual exposure offers no appreciable advantage.

But if you're shooting anything but an average reflecting subject (ie; high/low key) than your needle shouldn't be in the middle anyway for correct exposure of such subjects.

Manual exposure gives you ultimate control in consistent light but when your subject's reflectance is non-average. Examples: weddings (black tuxedos and white wedding dresses), sport (different coloured uniforms/cars/bikes etc)...