AV, TV or Manual, when, where, why?

Manual for macro.

AV for everythings else.

Nature Nut wrote in post #15037330
I shoot only M, mostly due to the fact that I know what I want. When I switch from shooting say a bird perched in a nice shaded tree and properly exposed and track the bird into the lovely sunny sky, there goes my happy camera meter and out pops a black bird on a well exposed blue sky. Generally I will check exposure before I go out hunting and make minor adjustments on the fly. Knowing how many Stops= x SS = x ISO allows my brain to develop a quick firing solution. But generally I run what settings I need for speed and Dof and then let auto ISO do the rest.

lehmanncpa wrote in post #15037357
Doh! I keep forgetting about auto ISO. I think that is my favorite perk from switching from film to digital photography. Especially on this 5D3, where you can pretty much shoot at any ISO and get good results. Although I keep calling it ASA. I have to get with the program!

Using auto ISO - even with the dial at the "M" position is definitely NOT operating in manual mode. It's as much automated as Av or Tv modes. It's just that it is like an "AvTv mode".

I mostly stick to M these days; unless, as the others have mentioned, the light is changing too rapidly for me to keep up with. Then I'll switch to Av or Tv; Av for wildlife/birds/jets and Tv for prop planes.

I use AV 98% of the time. M for night photography and when I have an intentional effect to achieve. But AV is fast and quick to use - so that's what I prefer.

Av as quick default when I pick up the camera; Tv if I know my primary aim is freezing motion, and the light is low enough that Av will leave me slow; P for quick and easy flash (but less so, as I convert more and more to . . . ) M for night, macro, flash, tripod work . . .

Do most of you guys use Auto ISO (especially when in M)?

SkipD wrote in post #15037404
Using auto ISO - even with the dial at the "M" position is definitely NOT operating in manual mode. It's as much automated as Av or Tv modes. It's just that it is like an "AvTv mode".

Well it's M mode on the camera . If they Had an AvTv mode that would be my goto. So in that respect I still run Manual for the birds, and other wildlife as I originally posted as I set the ISO to the proper exposure of the animal. Because, yes auto ISO will go goofy when following a critter from the shade to sun backlighting from metering even in M mode

But if the lighting is not very dynamic, the Auto ISO serves me well.

romendo wrote in post #15037490
Do most of you guys use Auto ISO (especially when in M)?

AutoISO everywhere except M.

romendo wrote in post #15037490
Do most of you guys use Auto ISO (especially when in M)?

I have never used or see a reason to use it. When I'm in manual I don't want or need my camera to add what it thinks the exposure should be.

DavidR wrote in post #15037598
I have never used or see a reason to use it. When I'm in manual I don't want or need my camera to add what it thinks the exposure should be.

ditto...

I have been working hard to train my brain to think fast enough to use manual in various lighting situations. It is especially challenging to make adjustments in natural lighting situations where the sun is going down behind tree's, buildings etc. My goal is to learn to make ISO, shutterspeed, and aperture adjustments as second nature. Right now I still have to stop and think about what I'm doing, but I'm working at it.

Thank you for your responses. You folks are a great source of information and knowledge!! -rick

alazgr8 wrote in post #15037707
I have been working hard to train my brain to think fast enough to use manual in various lighting situations. It is especially challenging to make adjustments in natural lighting situations where the sun is going down behind tree's, buildings etc. My goal is to learn to make ISO, shutterspeed, and aperture adjustments as second nature. Right now I still have to stop and think about what I'm doing, but I'm working at it.

Thank you for your responses. You folks are a great source of information and knowledge!! -rick

A good hand-held light meter such as the Sekonic L-358 is an invaluable tool for manual exposure control. Mine is almost always set for incident reading mode.

Manual. All the time. Everywhere. Because it's the best.

On the 1D-series bodies since there's no physical mode dial, you can disable the modes you don't want. My 1D Mark III had two modes enabled: Manual and Bulb.

alazgr8 wrote in post #15037707
I have been working hard to train my brain to think fast enough to use manual in various lighting situations. It is especially challenging to make adjustments in natural lighting situations where the sun is going down behind tree's, buildings etc. My goal is to learn to make ISO, shutterspeed, and aperture adjustments as second nature. Right now I still have to stop and think about what I'm doing, but I'm working at it.

Thank you for your responses. You folks are a great source of information and knowledge!! -rick

As practice, try to predict what combination of shutter speed and aperture the scene calls for at say, ISO 100, before metering with the camera. Keep track of your predictions and how accurate they are. With time, you'll be able to look at a scene and come within 1 f-stop or better of the actual exposure.

Although this sounds really cool and you'll be able to brag about it to your friends, it really isn't as necessary with today's cameras and how easy it is to compensate. It was very important to know your exposure 10+ years ago when using film, because it would be days, weeks or months before your film would be developed only to discover that you overexposed every frame.

With modern digital cameras and kick-ass 3" anti-glare viewscreens, histograms and all sorts of cool flashing diagnostics and doo-dads, you can easily see if you overexposed a shot and quickly compensate for it.

I don't think it's cheating. I think it's smart. I always opened my book on an open-book exam. Didn't you?

DavidR wrote in post #15037598
I have never used or see a reason to use it. When I'm in manual I don't want or need my camera to add what it thinks the exposure should be.

Same here. Last thing I want to do is isolate the exposure variables, set it up for the shot I want then have the camera second-guess me and change it all.