What mode do you use most?

[Kym]

Still Av mostly; with fixed ISO. Then M, Then Tv.
Always raw!
Using Ev a lot more nowadays; typically -1/3 or so to keep highlights safe.
Also adjust metering more (spot, centre weighted and area).
I also use the AE-L more than a year ago.

[David]

Started with Auto till i did a workshop and learnt about EASI (Exposure = Apeture + Shutter Speed + ISO) then used auto to get an idea of what the camera thought was the better combination of A and S and then played with Manual Mode and bracketed everything and then mostly Manual or AV for DOF control or TV if I wanted to control speed for waterfall effects etc.

These days its all M mode and creative modes IF Im too tired or bored to think about the shot, lol and my ISO stays at 100 or 200 or I wait for some natural light.

Cheers

David

[ving]

sleep mode...

[ving]

oh ok...

mostly manual (75-80%) then aperture for most of the rest... on very rare occasions i use shutter. in av i use auto iso (range:200-800) flash com -1.7 if i have flash on.

[Cris]

Still Av mostly; with fixed ISO. Then M, Then Tv.
Always raw!
Using Ev a lot more nowadays; typically -1/3 or so to keep highlights safe.
Also adjust metering more (spot, centre weighted and area).
I also use the AE-L more than a year ago.

Exactly. couldn't have said it better.

[DzRbenson]

I said Aperture as I mostly photograph my kids and I need to track them.

[kaivee]

I use to use a lot of auto modes on my 350D but upgrading to the 50D I have found the auto modes to be quite ordinary.

I mainly use Av with exposure compensation for photos of my children, manual for landscapes.

[para]

Try and use manual as much as possible but underwater tend to av/tv a little depends on conditions

[Shane]

Wow, great thread for a newbie like me. I don't know why I didn't see it before now.

Though If i am really unsure of a shutter speed/ aperture combination, I will use Av / Tv and use that to take one shot to get a 'reading' then swap back to manual. I will for instance set an aperture of F2.8, take the shot, to get a shutter speed result, to then use in manual.

Hey Rick, you weren't the only one to say that but you were the first.
I don't understand the point in that. If I understand correctly you are effectively using the Av or Tv mode to decide what settings to use and then switching to manual and using those same settings in manual mode. Why do you do that?
It's possible that the answer to my question is in that technical part in the middle of this thread that lost me.

Oh yeah, I nearly always use Av with a set ISO and always in RAW.

[ving]

hi shane, av or tv will expose a shot correctly no matter what seting you use... take not of the settings the camera has given for shutterspeed in av, then switch to manual mode to duplicate, or alternatively if you want to under expose of over expose you now can knowing the base for a normal exposure... it allows for creative exposures.
also if you do it this way get get to learn what manual settings to use for certain conditions to achieve the pictuer you want... ei self-metering.

i use a nikon d40 with old manual lenses often and if i didnt know what settings to use under a given situation id be taking a dozen shots before i exposed correctly... old manual lenses on my camera do not meter (or auot focus) at all but still work fine

[TOM]

hi shane, av or tv will expose a shot correctly no matter what seting you use... take not of the settings the camera has given for shutterspeed in av, then switch to manual mode to duplicate, or alternatively if you want to under expose of over expose you now can knowing the base for a normal exposure... it allows for creative exposures.

that doesn't make any sense to me. the camera will expose the scense in shutter or apeture priority exactly the same as it would in manual setting. the meter is telling the camera to adjust, or telling you to adjust, to expose the scene to 18% grey. you then need to decide if the cameras meter is right or not, whatever mode you are in.

[Shane]

Thanks Ving. I was thinking about it at work today and come up with something like that. I'll be doing it when I start to experiment in manual.

[wideangle]

Av most of the time but manual some of the time as well when I know what setting I want and don't want the shutter speed or anything else changing.

[wideangle]

that doesn't make any sense to me. the camera will expose the scense in shutter or apeture priority exactly the same as it would in manual setting. the meter is telling the camera to adjust, or telling you to adjust, to expose the scene to 18% grey. you then need to decide if the cameras meter is right or not, whatever mode you are in.

Totally agree with you there. Sometimes I think some people use the talk that they shoot manual as it's meant to be more complex and professional or something.....I can understand if you have been used to an all manual camera from back in the day, but with digital wheather you are using manual or Tv etc you are still looking at the electronic meter and adjusting your exposure accordingly.

[ving]

...but with digital wheather you are using manual or Tv etc you are still looking at the electronic meter and adjusting your exposure accordingly.

nah in tv the camera adjusts the exposure for you, same with av. i guess if i wanted to under expose in these modes i could just put the exposure compensation value in the negatives, but i just use manual mode instead... not all cases have electronic metering (or any for that matter). my d40 does not meter at all with any of my manual lenses (300/4.5, 50/1.8 and 55/3.5 micro) and i have to guess how to expose it thru my own knowledge of aperture and shutterspeeds.

[Goldie]

I primarily shoot Av (with awareness of EC, ISO and shutter speed) to achieve the shot I want.

I'll use Tv occasionally went the focus is on action.

I am moving towards M though, esp with off-camera flashing etc.

[phild]

I use aperture priority mostly, but always return leave the camera to programmed AE just in case I need to take a quick snapshot (i.e. have no time to fiddle with settings). If I'm shooting at night I tend to use full manual.

I find the thing I need to control most is DOF, so aperture priority does it for me. I usually adjust the shutter speed (i.e. exposure) quickly with the compensation wheel at the rear of the Canon which falls nicely under the thumb (I don't understand why Nikon users think its in the wrong place).

If the lighting is tricky I do an AE lock on an area that I feel will give me the correct exposure. For Landscapes I usually underexpose a fraction to preserve the shadow detail.

[NicD]

M mode for me all the time, and wouldn't have it any other way.

[GlennSan]

Today at Kondalilla falls outing, 89% of shots on manual. When I shoot my kids running around the yard it'd be nearly all aperture priority.

Horses for courses.

btw - the poll was obviously written by a Canon user. I don't have those modes on my Nikon or Blad or ...

[mongo]

Today at Kondalilla falls outing, 89% of shots on manual. When I shoot my kids running around the yard it'd be nearly all aperture priority.

Horses for courses.

btw - the poll was obviously written by a Canon user. I don't have those modes on my Nikon or Blad or ...

Mongo uses AP and sometimes manual on FILM camera But mostly P on digital but soon to consider hand held meter and "manual' for digital.