What shooting mode do you use and why?

I have a Canon G12 and get a G16 today or tomorrow. I have been primarily shooting in M mode with the flash meter on the S button to adjust lighting as needed. It gets me nice pics and I have been happy. I do use manual periodically and the various SCN modes but have never had much use for the AV and TV modes. Am I missing anything?

Share your thoughts and perspectives on why.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Dennis

I shoot manual only. Why? Well, instead of thoroughly studying camera modes, what they do, how they behave and equating it to what would be best for me for what I shoot (in other words, making an effort to understand my equipment and its capabilities), I went into a photography forum and asked others what they shoot and just went with that.

If you have plenty of time to take your shot and you like M mode, then knock yourself out. If you have changing light* and/or an active subject and you must capture a moment, then M mode gets in the way. That would be my situation 90% of the time. 90% of the time I shoot Av. Because getting the right stuff in focus (depth of field) is more important than a feeling of accomplishment from mastering the dials.

*Even if you think that the light is constant, turning 90 degrees can change the nature of the light. If that turning involves panning on a moving subject and waiting for the right moment, you'll never get the shot shooting manual. Well, maybe not never. But it will be harder.

The thing that annoys me about people who boast that they shoot only manual is that there's a good chance that I'm talking to a poser. It's one of their favorite phrases. That and "I shoot only primes." And "Full frame is the only way to go." Those who shoot manual because they made a reasoned decision to do so don't boast about it. They just do it.

gug wrote in post #16626373
I have a Canon G12 and get a G16 today or tomorrow. I have been primarily shooting in M mode with the flash meter on the S button to adjust lighting as needed. It gets me nice pics and I have been happy. I do use manual periodically and the various SCN modes but have never had much use for the AV and TV modes. Am I missing anything?

Share your thoughts and perspectives on why.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Dennis

Never the same way twice.

Aperture priority when a shallow depth of field is needed.

Manual when static light is present such as in a high school gym, and when using external strobes.

Shutter priority to either stop motion or generate motion blur.

Program AE in rapidly changeable light or when I don't want to mess with exposure settings.

There is and never will be a single "best" choice. Everything depends on situations. None of these choices are morally or esthetically superior.

Program AE autoexposure, which draws on decades of Canon engineering experience, is the easiest and often most reliable exposure mode.

What you're probably "missing" is the experience of generating images in a wide variety of situations. Only that experience will show what exposure mode is best from event to event.

Photographers don't control events and situations. Rather, events and situations control photographers. In the same manner that a variety of focal lengths are appropriate in different cases, many exposure options will be needed from time to time .

I mainly shoot posed people.. I don't know what type of photography you do..

But I always use manual with a light meter.

I use TV often for outdoor moving subject, some times for sport, but usually always for moving cars, bikes, prop plains, etc, where I want a shutter speed to freeze the subject but still want motion blur of background, wheels, props etc

I use AV mainly for DOF anywhere I'm not metering.

I use manual for all studio and lighting set ups, other than with the 600EX on its own.

DC Fan wrote in post #16626466
Never the same way twice.

Aperture priority when a shallow depth of field is needed.

Manual when static light is present such as in a high school gym, and when using external strobes.

Shutter priority to either stop motion or generate motion blur.

Program AE in rapidly changeable light or when I don't want to mess with exposure settings.

There is and never will be a single "best" choice. Everything depends on situations. None of these choices are morally or esthetically superior.

Program AE autoexposure, which draws on decades of Canon engineering experience, is the easiest and often most reliable exposure mode.

What you're probably "missing" is the experience of generating images in a wide variety of situations. Only that experience will show what exposure mode is best from event to event.

Photographers don't control events and situations. Rather, events and situations control photographers. In the same manner that a variety of focal lengths are appropriate in different cases, many exposure options will be needed from time to time .

^^^, with the sole exception of virtually never using Program AE/Green Box

As a photographer who controls one aspect of a photograph or another, total automation is not useful to me. I pick what aspect of a photograph is of primary need to control, in a given situation, and set that rather than letting it be set for me.

Manual, for total control....

Nothing is more reliable than experience and knowledge. Rely on auto modes if the world you shoot in is 18% gray. My world is not 18% gray and usually nothing ever really exciting, exposure wise, happens in average lighting situations so thats where knowledge and experience are king.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16626539
Manual, for total control....

Nothing is more reliable than experience and knowledge. Rely on auto modes if the world you shoot in is 18% gray. My world is not 18% gray and usually nothing ever really exciting, exposure wise, happens in average lighting situations so thats where knowledge and experience are king.

^^^but then sometimes the situation is simply too dynamic and momentary to permit the luxury of time to get the photo right!

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16626539
Manual, for total control....

Nothing is more reliable than experience and knowledge. Rely on auto modes if the world you shoot in is 18% gray. My world is not 18% gray and usually nothing ever really exciting, exposure wise, happens in average lighting situations so thats where knowledge and experience are king.

Oh Allen. I have to disagree with you sir. AV mode, when used right ,is basically another version of manual mode and often will get you there quicker and better than the big M. I use Manual, AV and TV exclusively. In mixed lighting on the move AV cant be beat especially with ETTL of OCF capabilities.

But If the light is consistent, manual is the go to mode.

Know what the cameras can do ( i know you know this) and use a mode thats gonna get you the best results. I dont think anything is a best way to go anymore. The cameras and the auto modes (AV/TV) are just too good to not use and to rule them out is not being the best you can be for your clients.

Love everything about you and your work but I got off the M crutch a few of years ago and AV is such a wonderful tool. For sports shooting i use TV and AV almost exclusively these days. Im rarely in M mode for sports. Im looking to control shutter speed for affect.

Wilt wrote in post #16626603
^^^but then sometimes the situation is simply too dynamic and momentary to permit the luxury of time to get the photo right!

If the situation is so momentary and dynamic then it would preclude using EC as well. It comes down to what you're more comfortable doing.

Most of us would agree that shooting manual and chasing the needle is stupid, but that's exactly what you're doing using auto modes without riding EC.

breal101 wrote in post #16626672
If the situation is so momentary and dynamic then it would preclude using EC as well. It comes down to what you're more comfortable doing.

Most of us would agree that shooting manual and chasing the needle is stupid, but that's exactly what you're doing using auto modes without riding EC.

...which points out that there is no SINGLE mode which is right and 'best' for all situations that you might encounter!

Manual is my choice, too, except for the 1% of the time that I use something else. Why? This is what happens when you use any "Auto" settings, including Tv & Av without compensating for their lack of a brain:
Post #47

Dennis, since you are already getting shots that make you happy, perhaps the only thing you are missing is the possible benefits of some experimentation.

Like DC Fan I appreciate having the various options available to deal with different situations and possibilities. I've even been known to mix auto ISO into the equation when things get tough or point the dial to the green box when letting others try the camera for themselves.

breal101 wrote in post #16626672
If the situation is so momentary and dynamic then it would preclude using EC as well. It comes down to what you're more comfortable doing.

Most of us would agree that shooting manual and chasing the needle is stupid, but that's exactly what you're doing using auto modes without riding EC.

AZGeorge wrote in post #16626982
I've even been known to mix auto ISO into the equation when things get tough or point the dial to the green box when letting others try the camera for themselves.

About EC and ISO. I gave this answer to gug's question in a G-series thread (Equipment subforum):

On the G15, EC is easily changed. You don't go into a menu, you turn a dial on the top. I assume that this is the same on the G16. In Tv or Av mode, adjusting EC is a quick way of changing ISO and the other parameter that you didn't specify--much quicker than changing ISO and the other parameter directly. In a situation where I need to act fast, I take one shot and check the LCD screen. If the image is too light or dark, or there are significant areas of blown white, I adjust EC and reshoot. Looking at the histogram is useful at this step, too.