60 D Choosing Modes

:pHi All.

Im from South Africa.
I recently got a canon 60d.
And im battling with the different modes.

First question:Is it wise to shoot in full manual?

I recently bought a lens and the guy at the shop says i must put the cam on auto see what the cam gives for exposure and f stop and put that information in the manual mode for beter photos quality ect.

So i started shooting in manual choosing f stop and shutterspeed.
I ending up almost never getting the right exposure.ussualy took 3 shot of different exposure and none were perfect.

can i pro photographer compete against a cameras auto in good light?
I know low light is another game...

So here is my summary of what i figured out as when to use what modes.


Apperature priority- when you need to specify apperature landscare(f 22 ) backround blur (f3.5)
Shutter priority-When you know the shutterspeed like shooting at 60 when light is limited or panning .
Full auto-BAsicly basic photos .very limited.cant change to fast shopoting cant change to al servo.
Full Manual -
Sport mode-taking sport photos but limited.cant change apperature
No-flash mode - when you want to shoot low light without flash popping up shutterspeed 50.

I still need some comments.
Do i uderstand the modes corectly?
When must i use full auto?
When must i use full manual?
I just feel like such a rookie...

I triedstaying away from exposure compensationand only using it with the popup flash to limit the white bright effect....

WHAT MODES DO YOU USE?

I like playing with f stop it open the world.
wHAT DO YOU FIND WORKING THE BEST?

Please help me to learn my 60D even better.


Chao

I use manual all the time. There's a learning curve, but once you figure it out you can't beat manual.

drumnut01 wrote in post #13379736
I use manual all the time. There's a learning curve, but once you figure it out you can't beat manual.

LOL im guessing you need lot of photos,courses and grey hair....

When im at that stage will i be able to take a picture with the right exposure the first time.

I mean like first time right settings perfect exposure?

Do what I do. Cheat.

Manual mode, Auto ISO. The camera will choose the right ISO or VERY close (close enough you can even fix the jpeg) nearly every time. Only take over ISO if the camera is just metering the scene incorrectly for what you want to do. That way you can get the shutter speed to what you need it for and the same for aperture - do you need to freeze action? Or do you want motion blur? Do you want a narrow DOF or a wider DOF and sharper image? The 60D can go very high on ISO and still look great.

Have a read of this http://http …m/showthread.ph​p?t=414088 and also get hold of the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Petersen.

What modes do I use?
Whatever mode I feel is required to achieve the results I'm after.

Shoot manual, you'll get it. It takes some practice but once you have the "ahaa!" moment, you'll be good to go.

Look at the little meter in the viewfinder. it will tell you what the camera thinks is a correct exposure.

Here's a good place to start learning what you need to know to use any of the modes -
http://www.cambridgein​colour.com/tutorials/c​amera-exposure.htm
http://www.cambridgein​colour.com/tutorials/c​amera-metering.htm
http://www.cambridgein​colour.com/tutorials/h​istograms1.htm
http://www.cambridgein​colour.com/tutorials/h​istograms2.htm

Tiberius47 wrote in post #13383712
Look at the little meter in the viewfinder. it will tell you what the camera thinks is a correct exposure.

Bingo

INCREADIBLE COOL..........

ELI(Exposure level meter) the way to go.
Found it out yesterday for the first time.

Ussually the only exposure preditions i get wrong is in the daylight,and with different object in diffrent areas it gets a hand full.

At night in manual i get the hang of it - slow shutter speed with the timer and I put down my cam.

Or with my pop-up-flash(im a poor basterd) and setting flash exposure compensasion.

Ussually at the night i can play around not always first time right but atleast if i have shot the same shot at night in auto - (pop up flash) lol what a disaster,hates it.

Thank guys....

There are many situations where the in camera meter will be wrong. After a while, you will learn when the camera's meter will be wrong and how to compensate for it. There are also several tricks to make the meter reading more accurate in difficult situations. These tips include getting the meter reading from the palm of your hand, green grass, or worn asphalt. These surfaces reflect around 18% of the light, which makes them nearly as accurate as metering an 18% gray card.

delko wrote in post #13384506
Bingo

INCREADIBLE COOL..........

ELI(Exposure level meter) the way to go.
Found it out yesterday for the first time.

Ussually the only exposure preditions i get wrong is in the daylight,and with different object in diffrent areas it gets a hand full.

At night in manual i get the hang of it - slow shutter speed with the timer and I put down my cam.

Or with my pop-up-flash(im a poor basterd) and setting flash exposure compensasion.

Ussually at the night i can play around not always first time right but atleast if i have shot the same shot at night in auto - (pop up flash) lol what a disaster,hates it.

Thank guys....

drumnut01 wrote in post #13384755
There are many situations where the in camera meter will be wrong. After a while, you will learn when the camera's meter will be wrong and how to compensate for it. There are also several tricks to make the meter reading more accurate in difficult situations. These tips include getting the meter reading from the palm of your hand, green grass, or worn asphalt. These surfaces reflect around 18% of the light, which makes them nearly as accurate as metering an 18% gray card.

That is so cool.
Cant wait for the weakend diffintely going to shoot.
Difinitely going to try that.

Thanx for that tip.

Any other tips or tricks is welcome:p


Thanks guys

drumnut01 wrote in post #13384755
There are many situations where the in camera meter will be wrong.

+1^100

No metering mode will always get the exposure correct. So you need to know how the metering modes you use actually work; which will allow you to spot the situations where they won't work. Then you'll need to know how to switch to a different mode or change the exposure yourself (with a bit of exposure compensation, or changing something manually if in 'M' mode).

The aforementioned 'Understanding Exposure', combined with a thorough reading of the manual and a lot of experimentation, will help.

And, of course, with Digital you can tell right away if your exposures are way off and adjust accordingly. Sometimes I think people get a little bit crazy with metering, etc, when you have instant feedback on your success or failure and can just adjust and try again. Now, if you are waiting for one shot and don't have a chance to take another, then it makes more sense to make sure you get the exposure spot on.

hollis_f wrote in post #13384977
+1^100

No metering mode will always get the exposure correct. So you need to know how the metering modes you use actually work; which will allow you to spot the situations where they won't work. Then you'll need to know how to switch to a different mode or change the exposure yourself (with a bit of exposure compensation, or changing something manually if in 'M' mode).

The aforementioned 'Understanding Exposure', combined with a thorough reading of the manual and a lot of experimentation, will help.

for a beginner i would recommend using either AV or TV mode with evaluative metering and try to alwaysuse a manualy selected autofocus point on the face of people. I mainly photograph asian people and their skin tones are pretty good to meter off of. The evaluative metering, meters off the focus point that you use and not always the center point as all the other metering modes. Also, evaluative metering is the only metering mode that locks with focus which makes it a great mode for beginners. All the other modes wont lock and your metering will be messed up if you recompose after focusing. A general rule i use is if in even lighting, let the camera meter without any compensation. If in sunlight and the person is facing into the sun, then make your exposure compensation +1. If the person is backlit, then set exposure compensation to -1. This is not perfect exposure but it should be enough for a beginner to start getting an understanding.
Turn auto ISO on as well to make life easier. I dont recommend using manual just yet. Beginners have too many things to learn at the same time and it can be overwhelming. For now just use AV or TV mode depending on what feature you want more control of and practice things like choosing the right focus point for your particular picture. Learn how to focus and recompose for pictures where the focus points are never where you need them. Portraits should focus on the eye area, land scapes generally you look for an area to focus in the middle distance for the sake of utilizing the full use of the aperture since the depth is divided both in front as well as behind the focusing area. Practice composition of shots so they look like pictures and not snap shots. Learn how focal lengths affect compression... Nobody said it would be easy