 Gary Cole |
Advantage of Program Mode vs Automatic Is there any advantage in using Program Mode vs Automatic with my digital camera.
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Samuel Smith |
yea they're kinda specific as far as which aperture and shutter speed combinations it sets. sports mode will usually set the fastest shutter speed. landscape mode will usually set the best depth of field. and so on. to see for yourself,point your camera at the same object and then run it thru the different modes and look in the viewfinder and see what the camera is setting. I use sports mode on mine for tracking r/c aircraft,works darn good for me. sam
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Jon Close |
Maxxum 5D? P. 41 of the manual. Automatic sets ISO, shutter speed and aperture. The flash will automatically pop up and fire if the camera thinks it needs it. No adjustment of the camera's choice is possible. Program uses the same exposure algorithm, it'll choose the same shutter speed and aperture combination at the same ISO. But Program allows the user to select ISO, to "shift" to equivalent exposures, apply exposure compensation, flash only if the user wants it, etc.
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Tami Rook |
This is the same advice I recieved... I did it and wow it really started putting things into prespective for me. LOL stay away from the "M" it always gives me an all white screen??? I did this I picked a tree, used all the settings as they are on the dial. sounds funny but it helps alot.
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Jason R. Fortenbacher |
The closest I ever get to a manual mode I get is Av and Tv. I would suggest you continue with what was mentioned earlier, but on the manual modes. Experiment with exposure compensation, playing with shutter speeds, etc. Sit in one spot, shooting the same object form the same focal length. Put it in full manual mode and change each setting several stops. Then you can go back and compare to see what did what, and find out what combinations you like. I shoot aircraft exclusively and know the exact settings I need for each situation. I've found that different airplanes need different settings specific to whether they are jet or prop or helicopter.
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Irene Troy |
I realize that this is not really your question; however, I simply do not understand why so many people are afraid of shooting in manual mode! Try manual and you will be surprised at your results. You really are smarter than your camera, even if you do not think so. In manual mode you have full control over everything and can change exposure to match the scene as you see it, not just as the camera sees it. There are many times and which the “right exposure” as the camera’s ttl meter sees it does not reflect how I want the scene to appear in the final image. You can set the controls so that the scene is exposed in a way that presents an image that more accurately reflects not only the reality that you saw, but the creative reality you wish to show. Shooting digital you can easily check the result immediately and alter your settings appropriately. You have not lost anything if you exposure is not how you want it, you simply reset the controls and reshoot. Okay, I know one of the arguments that people give is that when they are trying to photograph a moving object or a quickly changing scene they do not have time to worry about correct exposure. But, I think that this is really not the case; I shoot a lot of wildlife images and rarely miss a shot because I have taken a few seconds to reset exposure. The other advantage to shooting in manual mode is that it teaches you so much about proper exposure and how to use your camera controls without having to always look at the dials. Manual mode opens the door to much more creative and fun photography. Irene
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Pat Worster |
since I started shooting in manual mode I always have my histogram showing on my camera and that has helped me alot.
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Tami Rook |
Hello I guess I worded that wrong. I have been shooting on manual.. however I was given the advise to pick 1 thing at a time to work on learning to set correct.... I think this was some of the best advise... I believe that too often people jump to Manual and get lost in it all. maybe I am wrong???
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Gary Cole |
I appreciate all the comments I've received to date. I bought my SLR Digital camera from Wolf Camera. They periodically offer free classes here in town and I intend to enroll in some of them.
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Thomas |
Try the manual mode, practice and learn how to meter with it. You never ever will turn it back to AUTO mode!
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Irene Troy |
Tami – that’s an interesting take on things; that sometimes people go to manual and get “lost in it all”. I also wonder about that advice you received that you should pick one thing and learn to set it properly before moving on to something else. That’s the entire issue: exposure is not about shutter speed or aperture alone. It is not about lining up the little arrows (or whatever you have) in the middle of the viewfinder screen. It is not even about having the camera tell you –by the little arrows/dots/etc. that the exposure is correct. I struggled for a long time with this issue of using auto/program mode or using aperture/shutter priority. Then I switched to my new camera and all of a sudden, for a variety of reasons, I was shooting in manual mode. Now, I only wish I had switched to manual a long time ago! Learning how to use the proper shutter speed without learning how to also select the right aperture is, IMO, a lesson in frustration. I believe that you must learn how the shutter speed, aperture and ISO interact and how to use each factor in varying light conditions. Believe me, I am no expert at any of this and I am still learning, but I really have found that shooting in manual makes a tremendous difference. I can figure out whether I am more concerned about aperture or shutter speed (DOF versus stopping/slowing action); set the exposure according to what I am hoping to achieve; and then concentrate on composition. At any rate, this is how it seems to work best for me. I am curious about something you said earlier: that when you use manual mode you end up with an all white screen. What’s that about?
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Gary Cole |
I don't know; the comment about the white screen was made by one of the other members commenting on my question.
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Samuel Smith |
you are not wrong tami. stay your pace. I would ask irene to give some, a break. I study your writing with intensity irene,with hopes of being able to do the same.with a knowledge of words and verse.a perspective of conclusion and answers.yet it's you who have grasped the knowledge.not all.a journey that for some is a longer road to understanding. hang in there gary,let's see. ok,so we pat ourselves on the back and say full manual is the only way to go. even though not the intent.we shun the less knowledgeable? yea this is so easy. just step back,and help. oh hindsight. you can teach with understanding,but can you teach if you don't understand the student? I consider you a friend irene,but don't step over that fence and preach manual once the understanding is there. is it fair to those who haven't grasped the concept? nice to push and challenge a student,but if the results aren't what we want??how much of it is their fault? enemies are easy,friends are forever. sam
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Irene Troy |
Sam – it was not and is not my intent to criticize anyone who wants to use auto/program; aperture priority; shutter priority of any other mode in their camera. I apologize if this is how my posts sound. Frankly, I get tired of people saying that you “must” do anything if you want to be taken seriously as a photographer. You know the drill; you have to shoot in RAW; you have to use a Nikon or Canon; you have to…, well you get my drift. My response to Tami was simply to ask what she meant by choosing to study one thing at a time. I do believe - and this really is just my OPINION - that it is a mistake to try to understand exposure by learning only about either shutter speed or aperture and not understanding how they must work together. One of the best classes I have taken here was Bryan Peterson’s ‘Understanding Exposure’. One of the most important lessons I took away from that class was that the correct exposure is not what your camera tells you is the right one, but rather the exposure that best reflects what YOU want the image to reflect. Sometimes this means overriding the camera’s “correct” exposure. In order to do this you either have to shoot in manual or use exposure compensation. For me, shooting in manual offers more flexibility. As to how people learn and the speed at which they learn; come on, Sam, everyone learns differently and everyone learns at his/her own speed. You don’t even want to know how long it took me to grasp some of the fundamentals of photography! Please believe me when I say that I do not think of myself as being even close to the expert level! There are many, many people here who are so much more advanced than I am and who have much more knowledge to share. What I do try is to share my learning experiences with others in the hopes that they might gain some understanding of what worked for me. As to my writing; thanks, Sam for the compliment in that area! I’ve been a writer for much longer than I’ve been a photographer! It is still how I earn my living. The photography has come along and I am starting to sell in that area also, but I am and always will be a writer first. Bottom line, IMHO: learn to shoot in manual; don’t learn to shoot in manual; shoot with a P&S or an SLR or medium format; large format; whatever; JUST SHOOT AND HAVE FUN! Irene
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Kerry L. Walker |
"The closest I ever get to a manual mode I get is Av and Tv." The farthest away from manual mode I get is TV or AV. The first camera I used only had a manual mode, with a hand held light meter. Heck, that's how all cameras were made back then. Flash was calculated based on ASA, distance and aperture - no auto flash. (Yeah, I'm old! LOL) If you learn exposure in manual mode, you learn what your camera is doing. When you shoot in a program mode, you most likely will get a proper exposure but you won't know what your camera did, unless you have learned exposure first. Don't get me wrong, I love the auto modes (which, to me are simply TV and AV) but, having learned using manual exposure, I know why I want a certain aperture or shutter speed.
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Jason R. Fortenbacher |
Dang it, I'm such an idiot sometimes... in my original post I meant to say AUTO in that first sentence. I use full manual all the time.
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Irene Troy |
Well, Jason - that makes a lot more sense! I took a look at your gallery and couldn't believe that you got some of those images using anything but manual mode! The lighting is so difficult; the angles so unusual and the final result so good that you do need to have an idea of what settings you need prior to even lining up your scene. BTW: I love your work and wish I knew how to make images of aircraft in flight - I live very near a small airfield and often wish I could better capture the planes that fly in and out. Most of my results are far from decent and often are just a nasty blur. Anyway, nice work!
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Samuel Smith |
i catch your drift irene.as vice- president of our local youth center and a member for about 15 years,all volunteer,where one kid sits in the corner,others are so socially adept. and they become adults at their own rate. I was'nt mad or passing judgement. i am so patient with kids and so intolerant of adults,myself included. honesty=saying what you think vs tact=knowing how to say it. I actually work more on my character than I do on my photography,and one day it might actually show. a 3rd grader spelled mississippi for me one day as if she had conquered the world...she had. sam
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