Is it ALWAYS best to use manual mode?

[JJD.Photography]

I've had my A70 for quite sometime. Up until last week I would just use AUTO or the Sports settings for all photos.

On a car forum (HT) I visit there was a Canon discussion thread where I was told you should get familiar with the manual mode and use it 100% of the time.

So, I've been shooting in manual mode now and don't see an improvement on the photos. Most of the time they are not as nice as manual mode. If I take 4 pictures of the same subject with different settings, one will come out fairly nice.

Do you guys have a standard setting for each environment -> sunlight, cloudy, indoors, etc.... and tweak from the stanard? I've also been told my grainy indoor pics are from using too high of an ISO. The person recommended to use 50 at all times.

Any tips for using the manual mode would be great. Do you shoot ALL your pics with the manual mode?

[picture-this]

Naw. sometimes you wanna be fast. If you got the time then great, but for some shots it just doesn't work out. I use AV mode for sports (outside lots of light) and TV mode for sports inside or under bad lighting conditions, depending on what situiation arizes.

[rgravel]

Always ? Maybe not always.

But if you know what your doing and what adjustments to make, it will certainly bring the best pictures your camera can give.

I always use the M mode on my girlfriend's SD-200. I love having the liberty of setting exposure, white balance, ISO, etc.

[Bodryn]

I have sometimes used manual mode on my A70, mostly for time exposures or for closeups, but then every time I change directions the illumination is different. For the most part I put it on P which gives me most capabilities and I use tricks like setting the exposure up or down by aiming the camera high or low, then setting the exposure by pressing the button down half way, recompose the picture, and shoot. I like to shoot many pictures without a lot of fussing around. I went too many years with cameras that I had to set everything on, and as a rule I thought I missed a lot of good pictures because of it. It is sometimes important to set the shutter speed to avoid blurring or set the aperture for certain situations, but I like P because it gives me a LOT of control, without a lot of hassle.

[Jon]

Manual's for when you need to exert full control over everything, usually when there's some kind of edgy conditions. There are times when this may be so, but advocating it as the only solution all the time smacks of the days when "we had to make our own film".

[Don Schaeffer]

I like to use manual mode on my A70 all the time. It reminds me of my love affair with a stop down SLR in my younger days. I like to see what I'm getting on the LCD.

[JasonMX]

I use manual mode for all night shots or super close shots. For just day to day slow moving stuff in good light, I use pre-sets.

[PhotosGuy]

I use it most of the time along with RAW just 'cause I want to KNOW what is going on in the cam. I don't want it selecting a different ISO because it thinks it should, etc. I do make adjustments while I'm shooting & RAW can save me when I get it wrong.
It's actually easier for me since I grew up using M as there weren't any auto cams then. Besides, why should I let some programming nerd at Canon decide what's the best setting for my shots? ;-)