Thoughts on AUTOMATIC mode

[Chilli]

I was pleasantly surprised the other day when i had to quickly take a photo of something and was
too tired to think. For the first time since I own my DSLR I went into auto mode and then went wow when i saw the shot..
damn, all this time ive been messing about with av, tv, manual etc and it was so easy in auto...

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day elGrando & others

As I have noted on other threads, I travel thru rural / eastern Oz running Digital Photo Workshops. In these workshops I find that 70% of students are using Auto for all their picture taking. The first thing I get them to do is to go to Program mode

elGrando - I suggest that just for a start, set Program immediately ... the camera uses the same settings as Auto but the camera now shows you the exposure settings in use (whereas in Auto mode, you do not see these settings). As you take your pix, you will now see the various shutter speeds and lens apertures that the camera is selecting for you

Give it a little while and then you will have a better idea for the Aperture settings to go for (when you want more or less Depth of Field) OR the Shutter speed settings to go for (when you want to freeze motion or show motion)

And all of it will help your improved picture taking

Hope this helps a bit
Regards, Phil

[Zac]

G'day elGrando & others

As I have noted on other threads, I travel thru rural / eastern Oz running Digital Photo Workshops. In these workshops I find that 70% of students are using Auto for all their picture taking. The first thing I get them to do is to go to Program mode

elGrando - I suggest that just for a start, set Program immediately ... the camera uses the same settings as Auto but the camera now shows you the exposure settings in use (whereas in Auto mode, you do not see these settings). As you take your pix, you will now see the various shutter speeds and lens apertures that the camera is selecting for you

Give it a little while and then you will have a better idea for the Aperture settings to go for (when you want more or less Depth of Field) OR the Shutter speed settings to go for (when you want to freeze motion or show motion)

And all of it will help your improved picture taking

Hope this helps a bit
Regards, Phil

Great idea, P mode also unlocks -/+ EV which allows you some control while still keeping the camera in auto mode....

If auto works for you there is nothing wrong with it. As time progresses you'll become more comfortable with the other modes which allow you to get shots even in situations where auto would not do what you want...

[yarnella]

After 30+ years of using totally manual film cameras I finally got a DSLR in 2007 complete with all its automation. My camera has 9 shooting modes and only one of those is manual. I use manual when I need to but the rest of the time I use the other modes.

I rarely use the GREEN mode which is total automation. However, I use whichever other mode suits my purpose - HyperProgram, TV, AV, etc. All of them provide some level of automation. I might tell the camera what shutter speed to use but then it automatically sets the aperture and it auto focuses for me.

Nothing wrong with using an auto mode. I love them. By all means learn the technicalities of how it all works but use auto to allow you to concentrate more on the image you are creating.