Which mode?

I find myself only using TV more. I adjust the ISO and speed depends on the lighting. However, most people told me they use either AV or Manual mode. I tried AV mode, but never get a decent picture for the 1st time, I need to trial and error for a few times, or I never get a good one out of this mode. And I even have bigger problem with manual mode. Am I missing something?
Can anyone tell me how you do your photography, and do you have any habit or rule of thumb on taking a picture with the mode you use?
Thanks.

When using aperture priority, you select the aperture obviously. Then the time is displayed automatically. You will need to make sure it's reasonably high (1/150 say, but it depends on the lens) if you are hand holding the camera. If the lens is wide open and the time is too slow, you can up the iso. Same if you want a smaller aperture.

Basically tell the camera what aperture you would like and adjust the other variables until it is within 'tolerance'. If you still can't get it fast enough, you have to open the aperture more. If that's not enough you need flash.

Hope I understood your problem correctly and this helps.

Graham

I find that I switch between modes depending on what I'm taking pictures of.... a couple of examples...
Flash photography - manual
Action - Tv
People - Av

depends on what *you* want to control - DOF or Shutter speed.

I shoot everything in Manual....

I tried shooting in TV/AV....but I get confused.

Mostly manual for me - much better control of the end product than any of the automation. I don't let the camera try to guess what I want - I TELL it what I want.

ok, this is waht I have problem with. When I try AV mode, no matter how much I set the aperture the speed is still slow, and increasing ISO doesnt help much. But for the same setting, if I use TV mode, it is much better. Same setting manual mode, if I want faster speed and high DOF, it's impossible, and I do not like to use flash..
What should I do?

I use Av for everything except motion because it lets me control DOF. I switch to Tv for motion. Once I get an external flash, I'll probably use M more.

Play around more with this. No need to shoot, just make the ISO adjustment, look in the viewfinder, half-press the shutter and look at the shutter speed.

In Av mode, every time you double the ISO (such as from 200 to 400), your shutter speed should also double (say from 125 to 250) if you're aiming at the same scene.

This is an important concept to understand, so spend some time experimenting. It will come to you eventually.

There is no single "right" mode to shoot with. It's more important to understand the camera's metering modes (evaluative, average and partial), and to know what you're metering on.

Using manual mode will help you learn faster, since it requires you to think about each shot and pay more attention to the exposure settings you use.

Av 70%
M 30%

I shoot the mode most appropriate for the situation - M for studio, Tv for action/sports, Av for outdoor portraiture with fill flash.

Mark

M - When I'm shooting sports, which is the majority of the time
Av - For everything else