Shooting in AV mode for the first time

I've been shooting manual for about 5 years now, but a few of my Nikon friends shoot almost exclusively in AV. So I thought I would give it a try since I was doing my first engagement shoot and I knew that every shot I was going to use with the 5DMKII 70-200 2.8 combo was going to be at 2.8.

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to work with this setting. If I needed some exposure compensation I could just roll the back dial. Why did I wait so long to even try this option. I guess I should read my manual a little more and be willing to change.

I started with film,Minolta srt 101, I praise the day that AV was introduced.

Chris wrote in post #13059187
If I needed some exposure compensation I could just roll the back dial.

Yeah. Pretty much the same as adjusting shutter speed in M mode, except you're using thumb instead of forefinger.

Nothing wrong with Av mode as long as you understand it. There are times for Av and times for M.

///M mode for me baby! Spent about the first week in Av and Tv modes - then I took control.

When I first got my camera I used Manual mode exclusively. I wanted to learn the exposure triangle the 'hard' way but the 'right' way. Manual taught me everything I know about exposing a photo and I enjoy using manual mode. Now I shoot 90% Av.

I like Av because I can still control every aspect of the camera to my liking but I dont need to fiddle with a third control. The first thing I do when I take a picture is ask myself, "What DOF am I looking for?". So I choose my aperture and the next thing I think about is what shutter speed I am aiming for? If I am aiming for a slow shutter speed I set my ISO to a low setting. If I am aiming for a higher shutter speed I set my ISO higher. This method has not really failed me yet. The only time I really use manual now is when I am on a tripod and I am going for a specific effect.

What metering mode are you using when in AV.

windpig wrote in post #13060214
What metering mode are you using when in AV.

Im not sure who you are asking but just in case....I alter between spot and evaluative. I cant speak for the OP!!

mrbubbles wrote in post #13060277
Im not sure who you are asking but just in case....I alter between spot and evaluative. I cant speak for the OP!!

Oops! Sorry, this was cross posted in another thread.

windpig wrote in post #13060214
What metering mode are you using when in AV.

Are you asking the OP or all of us?

To me the answer would be "it depends". I'm in the habit of using Spot metering because I'm in the habit of shooting Manual whenever the conditions are favorable and spot metering and Manual can go together quite well if you know how to use it, although there are times when another metering mode can work well.

When the condtions are not so favorable for Manual exposure, then there can be a good case for one of the other metering modes, and a good case for shooting in Av -- in fact, I've even shot in the Evaluative mode on occasion.

So, it's all in the conditions, and what a person is comfortable with. And, what the OP said about using Exposure Compensation is very important for Av, Tv and P shooters, just like a Manual shooter must understand the light and be ready to adjust on of the exposure settings. Also, the semi-auto mode shooters need to understand when and how to use Expsure Lock.

Actually not long ago I was shooting in Av in a setting when I typically would have shot in Manual but for some reason I had the camera in Av. Now I have shot a lot in Av over the years, so I'm comfortable with it...

It was a bright sunny day and for that type of scene I'd normally in Manual set my exposure to "render" the blue sky to about +1Ev on the meter, or maybe +1 1/3 Ev, depending on some variables. And then I'm done -- as long as I'm shooting in a field of view that shares the same lighting I can shoot away and don't need to fiddle with things.

This time in Av, I decided to so something similar -- I metered the blue sky, dialed in +1EV of Exposure Compensation, and then I half-pressed the shutter speed which for my setup gave Exposure Lock, and then I recomposed to get a subject in my viewfinder. I had my focus moved to the rear button (and the EL to the shutter button as I mentioned) so recomposing and focusing was a pretty smooth operation and I could get the shot.

It's funny because it sounds complicated, but when shooting P/Av/Tv you have to be prepared!

tony
See note above

mrbubbles wrote in post #13060078
When I first got my camera I used Manual mode exclusively. I wanted to learn the exposure triangle the 'hard' way but the 'right' way. Manual taught me everything I know about exposing a photo and I enjoy using manual mode. Now I shoot 90% Av.

I like Av because I can still control every aspect of the camera to my liking but I dont need to fiddle with a third control. The first thing I do when I take a picture is ask myself, "What DOF am I looking for?". So I choose my aperture and the next thing I think about is what shutter speed I am aiming for? If I am aiming for a slow shutter speed I set my ISO to a low setting. If I am aiming for a higher shutter speed I set my ISO higher. This method has not really failed me yet. The only time I really use manual now is when I am on a tripod and I am going for a specific effect.

That is exactly why I shot in manual exclusively. But I may be like you now and shoot most of my images in AV. But who knows, it's just nice to understand how the camera works.

windpig wrote in post #13060395
tony
See note above

Ah, well, there was nothing wrong with the question, although I guess it did spin me into one of my "Long...winded" posts!

eskimochaos wrote in post #13059794
///M mode for me baby! Spent about the first week in Av and Tv modes - then I took control.

Huh? You don't think Av provides "control"?

Manual has some very specific advantages is some situations, but "control" is not one of them. If you know how to use the camera, you can control Av and Tv results any way you want.

I guess I spent so many years in my film days using a hand held meter and shooting in manual that I don't feel the need to prove anything to myself or anyone else by shooting in this mode. I still use it when the situation calls for it but if the manufacturer's are going to give us all this technology I will certainly embrace it and use it to its fullest extent. There seems to be some sort of "rite of passage" to a photographer saying that they use manual all the time, which I don't believe anyway. If the camera is giving a reading of 1/500th at f/8 and you set your camera accordingly are you really shooting in manual.

I shoot predominantly in AV as I like to control my depth of field. It is not that hard to look at a scene through the viewfinder and decide if I need to move the exposure to plus or minus a bit. They have all the information that you need right there in the viewfinder and I never have to take the camera away from my face to adjust exposure, iso or even focus points. As I said, if they give me the technology, I am sure going to make the most of it.

there are a lotta M mode snobs out there. M mode just doesn't work for me most of the time when i shoot street and documentry stuff. when i shoot product and studio M works perfectly.

actually Av + back button focus gives you a lot of control because you can use half shutter for exposure lock. that's probably the best of both worlds for shooting on the go.