what mode do you shoot in

[OceanRider]

This may sound like a silly question, but what mode do you all shoot in. Besides the obvious, like you want to show blur, freeze some action, or control the DOF--what is the best general purpose mode?

Say your shooting a wedding, do you stay on green square/ flip between the creative modes or is P and Tv Av your place of choice. Or are you are all over the map constantly.

Just curious.

Joel

[Ikinaa]

On the 20D, I'm on P when shooting inside with flash because I think that the cam handles this very well alone ;-)
Without flash I use mostly AV so I have more control over DOF
When taking nightshots, I use M

[aam1234]

Av 99.9%.

[steven]

Manual 99.9%
Takes some work to become acustome to the dial to set apature and shutter speed but in the end is more than worth it. You can easily make exposure compensation without use the EC function, You can use your own experience when presented with a picture that would normally "fool" you in camera meter and adjust accordingly.
I'm just a fan of manual mode:)

[iwatkins]

All over but rarely stray past the P into "auto" modes.

[lmelendez]

Av 99.9%.

Same here....

[neutral]

M 99% of the time.

[Vegas Poboy]

99% of the time is Manual for me. It helps bring out the creativity & techie side for me.

[KevC]

M. Always. Though when I start shooting weddings I'd switch to Av for the hectic times... :)

[OceanRider]

Thanks guys thats awesome to know!

Joel

[Jesper]

I use Av most of the time, because it gives me control over the aperture, which determines the depth-of-field. I often use partial metering and meter the brightest part of the area and apply some + exposure compensation. Remember that the camera will set the exposure so that what the meter reads will be average gray in the image. So if you meter on a bright part with the partial meter, you should use for example +1 1/2 to +2 exposure compensation to make sure that the bright part will be 1 1/2 or 2 stops brighter than average gray.

When I use flash as my main light source, I set the camera to M, the shutter speed to 1/200 and I set the aperture to get the desired DOF. When using flash, the shutter speed isn't very important. On the 10D, 1/200 is the fastest shutter speed that can be used when using flash. See Flash Photography with Canon EOS Cameras (http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/) for everything you want to know about flash photography.

Show blur: Use Tv, choose shutter speed 1/60 or slower (depends on the amount of blur, speed and distance of the subject). You might need IS or a tripod for really slow shutter speeds.

Freeze action: Use Tv, choose shutter speed at least 1/200 (again, depends on speed and distance of subject).

Control DOF: Av, because aperture setting controls DOF.

Green square?! Never!!! :rolleyes: I don't want the camera to think and make decisions for me.

[Blackbird]

Tv mainly, or Av if I want more control depth of field.

[Chris P Bacon]

Manual 99% for me, av or tv if the subjects something quick so I don't have to think about any settings, just composition.

[tim]

Maybe you should add a poll?

I shoot in Av 90% of the time, and full manual when i'm using a flash or doing close macro work.

[ssim]

AV about 95% of the time.

[RockOne]

Mostly depends on the subject
Tv when shooting moving objects because I can choose to have a blurred background or still background etc.
Av - for most other things to control DOF
M - For night photos, lightning etc.

[Olegis]

I use Av most of the time, because it gives me control over the aperture, which determines the depth-of-field.

Same here.

[Moppie]

Av and Tv are pretty useless on the A80, at least from my experiance with it.


When I really want to make a photo I use M.


I use P, and or C1 with a differnt program set saved to it when Im shooting friends, partys, anything that involves lots of differnt shooting conditions, requires speed, and often some alcahol. :)
When it gets dark, I tend to switch to M (depends on the last condition ;) ) set shutter speed to 1/60 and apature to F5.6, then adjust the flash and apature to suit subject distance and any changes in light.

I have no idea what "auto" is for, or those other funny "senic" modes.

[Tomasz Dziechciarz]

99 % Tv, Av, and M

http://www.dziechciarz.art.pl (http://www.dziechciarz.art.pl/)

[AcuraFan]

75% Av, 25% Tv

[Sagar]

90% of the time Av obviously for DoF control :)

[CyberDyneSystems]

AV 60% M 35% TV 5%

[Belmondo]

AV 60% M 35% TV 5%

That sounds about right. Usually, I'm trying to control depth of field, and AV is the better way to do that versus TV. I rarely shoot fast-moving objects, so shutter speed is usually not a big issue.

[EoSD30fReAk]

when i feel lazy i use P and otherwise i use 75% TV and 25% AV

[BoySpot]

Why is it lazy to use P? I use it regularly and I get the feeling that I am some sort of low life accordingly. With the shift function, you can tweak your aperture as required if the depth of field is an issue. The camera does just as much of the work in the other modes. Am I the only P user out there or is there a P "underground" movement? I do use Av, Tv and M as well, by the way. Just not most of the time.

[karusel]

AV for the vast majority of the shots. I use TV for action shots where speed is crucial, except in low light AV wide open is a must. M only when using a flash or doing a long exposure or an experiment.

I do not understand why anyone would even consider using M all the time, provided it's not studio type of work. If you're using M you're still reading the lightmeter in the viewfinder, right? And when it's in the middle you snap away, right? Well, so does the camera in AV or TV mode... Just don't get it... :o

[Moppie]

I do not understand why anyone would even consider using M all the time, ... :o


Im building a database in my head of what light requires what exposure, and what subjects requires what DOF and shutter speed.
Im getting pretty good, about 80% of the time I can get with in one stop of what the metter considers accpetable useing just my eye to judge the light. I then ignore the meter and use the histogram and LCD to find the effect Im looking for.

Its all part of learning more about the camera, more about photography, more about myself, and more about the art. :cool: