Do you have certain settings you use the most?

I'm just wondering if anybody else here uses the same settings every time when shooting in similar conditions.

I mean i usually use my 70-200 f4 L with the following settings:

F.4

1/500 Shutter speed/exposure

Auto ISO

I don't see any validity in choosing that set of numbers as a "standard".

For one thing, most lenses are sharper when stopped down a couple of stops. Shooting with yours wide open all the time isn't a good idea.

SkipD wrote in post #15527266
I don't see any validity in choosing that set of numbers as a "standard".

For one thing, most lenses are sharper when stopped down a couple of stops. Shooting with yours wide open all the time isn't a good idea.

I've literally just realised that

I mean don't get me wrong f4 seems pretty darn sharp, but yes i would probably be better shooting at about f5.6, agreed?

For walk-around photography I typically use an f/5.6 aperture, unless the light is low. With a 300mm lens you have some leeway (as well as with the ISO).

I normally use f/8 for a "walkaround" setting when I have no reason to choose another aperture setting. All three of my lenses have a max opening of f/2.8.

I usually try to put the camera way with 1/100, f5.6, ISO 100. For the auto modes I set either the shutter or apeture. This way if I need the camera in a hurry it has sensible settings in any mode. My normal walk round lens is a Sigma 20-40mm f2.8 EX DG so set up normally at two stops under maximum. This is on an EOS 20D.

Alan

bboysmax wrote in post #15527247
And would you say my settings are about right for standard walk about shooting in daylight?

It would depend on where the walking was taking place

LeeRatters wrote in post #15527311
It would depend on where the walking was taking place

At a nature reserve

The 24-70 L is on the camera most of the time. I always take the first shot at f8 because that's the basic sweet spot of the lens. After that, things will be varied with DOF, shutter, and ISO depending upon the shot and creative license.

I do not know if my 5DmII has auto iso. I do know I would never use if it did. I control the camera. I do not let the camera control me (my creativity).

bboysmax wrote in post #15527317
At a nature reserve

Then I am of no help as I never walk around those

If you shoot regular things/locations then it can be handy to have pre-determinded settings I guess.

I shoot 99% Av usually primes & more often than not at wider apertures. I shoot interiors/UE & landscape/coastal/long exposures wide angle & only really 70-200mm for motorsport/track days.

I do have the custom dials set for bracketing/landscape/U​E settings & another set for panning. The other one is not really used as such.

I don't have a camera with Auto ISO. If your light is challenging you could move your shutter speed slower, since with a 300mm lens you can get away with a 1/500 shutter speed unless the critters are moving around quickly, and just let the ISO vary with the light.

Making the aperture wider than, say, f/5.6 will introduce softness in parts of the shots that are not right in the "plane of focus". That can be fine, experiment with, say, f/4, but I find that with wildlife I want a bit more in focus.

Picture North Carolina wrote in post #15527322
The 24-70 L is on the camera most of the time. I always take the first shot at f8 because that's the basic sweet spot of the lens. After that, things will be varied with DOF, shutter, and ISO depending upon the shot and creative license.

I do not know if my 5DmII has auto iso. I do know I would never use if it did. I control the camera. I do not let the camera control me (my creativity).

Agreed with being all in Manual, but i heard a pro once say 'Auto ISO is your best friend'

LeeRatters wrote in post #15527338
Then I am of no help as I never walk around those

If you shoot regular things/locations then it can be handy to have pre-determinded settings I guess.

I shoot 99% Av usually primes & more often than not at wider apertures. I shoot interiors/UE & landscape/coastal/long exposures wide angle & only really 70-200mm for motorsport/track days.

I do have the custom dials set for bracketing/landscape/U​E settings & another set for panning. The other one is not really used as such.

Agreed, a pre-set setting list could make a shot excellent, especially if you don't have time to change your settings to suit.

If you have some time take a look at my Flickr photos, i think all of them (only 17 photos) are shot at f4, auto iso and either 1/500 or 1/200.

http://www.flickr.com/​photos/bboysmax/

bboysmax wrote in post #15527354
Agreed with being all in Manual, but i heard a pro once say 'Auto ISO is your best friend

If you are using ISO, you are NOT in manual mode even if the dial is on "M". The camera does all of the exposure decisions and you don't even have the ability to use EC (Exposure Compensation).

I shoot all sorts of things and have used virtually all available settings - apertures from f/1.2 to f/32, shutter speeds from 1/8000 to 300s (5 minutes), and ISOs from 50 to 25600, so in other words, no I don't have standard settings.

I also don't get the dogma about Manual or any other mode. Use what ever is most suitable. For flash, or when shooting in steady lighting against variable backgrounds then yes, manual; but if you need a good depth of focus for landscapes etc., then Av might be best; and for sports where you either want to keep the shutter speed up to freeze action, or at a specific value for the right amount of blur, then Tv might be best. That's the great thing about being provided with the choice.

With wildlife, there are times when one does not know what one will see next, nor where he will see it, if it will be stationary or running/flying, etc. So, I have what I call my "default" settings. They are what I set my camera & lens to for those situations for which I have not time to change settings. They are:

400 f2.8 set on IS mode 1
Focus limiter OFF
stopped down 2/3 stop to f5.0
1.4 TC usually mounted
Av mode with: -0- exposure compensation for the 50D
minus 1/3 stop compensation for the 5D
AI servo with back button focusing
AF single center point
fastest motor drive setting
I also "pre-focus" the lens to the distance to which I think a subject is most likely to appear, so as to limit focus hunting.

However, if I find a subject that gives me a few seconds with which to work, then I change the settings accordingly.