 Jenny Stokes |
Canon Rebel Xti What mode do you use the most? AV, TV, P, M? Which is the best for outdoor, indoor or for taking pictures of kids. I really hope someone answers this!
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John P. Sandstedt |
Jenny - It all depends on you! And, what you intend to do with the images you shoot. If your Xti works like my 30D [and I think it does] working, in either Auto [the green square] or Program Modes, lets the camera do all the work. You take the computer's ideas as to what the main point of focus should be, you take its sense of exposure, etc., etc. In short - you surrender most of the creativity your camera offers you and you take a snapshot. That's OK, especially if you're planning to simply send a e-mail to the kids' grandparents atteching some picture files at 72 ppi. If you're hoping to create an IMAGE that you might consider making into a 13X19 print, you just might want to shoot in aperture or shutter priority. Aperture priority [Av] will give the best chance of having better depth of field, especially if you set the lens opening at f/11 or f/16. But, the shutter speed the camera uses may, under some lighting circumstances, be too slow to stop any "kid-action." In such a case, you might have to increase the ISO setting or open the lens a little. Shutter Priority [Tv] will, hopefully, allow you to stop the action. The price you could pay might be overexposure as the camera might select a lens opening far too wide. But, you make the creative choices and, with the LCD, you can judge immediately whether they were correct. [And I fully understand that you might not be able to re-create the same mood or excitement level of the kids.] But, you're making an image, not a snapshot. The major problem, with our computers [digital SLRs] and many of the film SLRs before them, is that there are just too many control modes. Most of us NEVER use them all. And, that's the reason you need to have the Manual for your camera [or at least that litle six page cheat sheet Canon provides] with you at all times - cause you'll probably forget how to change most of the settings. Personally, I'd set you're camera to Av and get familiar with all of the nuances of that shooting mode. AS to Manual, in general I'd forget it as you try try to shoot pictures of your kids. They move much too fast to allow you to make changes to manual settings and lens focus. Set your camera on "Continuous" and click away!
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Tim Gulliford |
Good Post John. I could not agree more. I personally shoot in AV mode and in RAW for most of all my outdoor shooting. As for kids, I have three, I would use P as it does allow some control of what you can do. I try to take moments when the kids are just being that, kids. So, M mode is not the best thing for me as I would lose a shot if I started to tinker with my settings. I would stay away from the full auto unless it is an emergency and had to get that shot. Staying away from Auto allows you to explore the not only the different settings of the camera but allows you to become a better photographer. Just my view on it. I do like my XTi quit a bit just wish it could withstand the outdoor elements (rain, etc.).
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