favorite settings

So I've had my 20D for two whole days now. My wife thinks I'm cuckoo b/c I'm shooting everything that moves. I've been toying with WB and ISO and trying to get them to work to my advantage.

What I want to ask all of you is to share some of your expertise. If you have any favorite settings (including Aperture, Shutter Speed, WB, ISO, Color Temp, etc.) that you frequently use for the same situation, could you please share them? Include what situational parameters (e.g. lighting) influence your settings.

I basically just need some basic direction to get me going. Right now I'm just rolling the dice. Bad exposure, delete. Too unnatural, delete. You get the picture.

I find I mostly use AV, with aperture set at F8 or F11 for most everyday shots and set the ISO accordingly. If I am looking for greater DOF or less then I change. I have always shot auto white balance, and starting using RAW last summer. Seems to work fine for me.

I normally shoot in P mode and just shift the settings up or down to change the DOF if I need too with ISO set usually at 100 or 400 if its getting darker. I leave the white balance on auto and I shoot in RAW mode almost all the time. I have my parameters set on 2(all on zero). Colour temp is set to 5600K.
Cheers Steve

Sports Illustrated recommends these settings for the 20D: http://www.siphoto.com​/?canon20D.inc

I have used the SI settings as a baseline, and then adjusted to my personal taste from there.

They have settings for the following cameras:

Canon 1D, 1Ds
1D, 1Ds Mark II
1D Mark II
1D Mark II N
Canon 10D
Canon 20D
Nikon D1X
Nikon D2H
Nikon D2X

I spend a lot of time in the basic zone. They are pretty self explanatory. Action, portrait, landscape etc. Then all you have to really worry about is composition and timing, not to mention focus. ...Bob

It'll be hard to put a finger on a favorite setting, because my skills and tastes are still evolving. That said, I prefer:

Av Mode (for the kit lens), Program Mode (for a telezoom)
f/8 (on the kit lens), wide open or Program Mode dependent (on a telezoom)
ISO 100 (on the kit lens), ISO 400 (for telephoto shots)
Sharpness +1
Saturation +2
Contrast +1
Ev -1 under lighting from a setting/ rising sun for deeper colors, Ev +/- 0 under shade to prevent things from looking overly grey
WB Auto, except when under shade or in cloudy conditions, when I try to remember to set Cloudy WB

Good stuff. Keep 'em coming.

As a novice and based on my experience I think you will learn much more about your camera and its capabilities if you read the manual over and over and over again and go out and begin using all of the features on your camera using the tried and true trial-and-error method. Someone else's favorite settings may not necessary mean they are best for you and what you are photographing. Therein lies one of main reasons for having a manual camera in the first place.

The settings by themselves dont mean much unless you know why/when to use each of them. And that comes from having a good understanding of the basics.

My suggestion would be to get a good book on the fundamentals of SLR photography (Kodak has a good one and I am sure there are lots of others), and start with a clear picture of what you want to accomplish.

Vandit

Ditto..... Learning the basics will go a long way to enabling you to determine how to create an image that is what you want. You need to take control of the camera, but you can't unless you understand the "why" first, then the "how" for the particular camera.

Pretty much this:

ISO 200 (of course depending on situation and light) but this my "default"
AWB
RAW
center weighted (spot meter)
single center AF point
the rest as the situation demands.

K.I.S.S at it's best.

Setting are so dependent on what I'm shooting, the focal length of the lens I'm using, and what the light is like. I shoot outdoors probably 90% of the time. For everything but my 100-400, I'm usually in Av mode to control DOF. With the 100-400, I am usually shooting birds so I'm in Tv mode to control shutter speed.

I completely agree with those of you who said I have to learn the basics first. Its not my intent to learn "the wrong way" or to do "what other people do".

I will most certainly develop my own preferences as I get more experienced. The problem is that I'm an impatient person and don't want to take a long time to get the basics down. I was merely trying to "look over someone's shoulder" to make sure I'm in the ballpark.

I've read several non-digital books in the past and have 7 years of experience with a film-SLR so I know the fundamentals of photography. But this is like learning it all over again. I was more or less hoping for a smooth transition to the digital world. I basically want to learn how to "think" like a digital photographer. Books can't do that.

OK, I've said enough....but keep the suggestions coming. I am very interested to hear what you all have to contribute.

Shoot RAW and set Custom Function 4 to either 1 or 3 to shift focus from the shutter button to the * button on the back of the camera. This takes some getting used to but once you do you'll never look back. CF4-1 sets exposure with a half-press of the shutter button allowing you to AE lock. CF4-3 sets exposure when the shutter button is fulled depressed (i.e., at the point the picture is taken).

Here are my thoughts on the things that are unique to the digital world....

Set the white balance according to the type of lighting you have on the subject. Make your best guess or use the procedures for Custom White Balance. I have found, through experience, that the AWB (Automatic White Balance) is wrong more than it is right - at least in non-standard lighting situations.

I suggest that you shoot everything in RAW file mode. Add a .JPG format if you like. I shoot RAW+Large JPG. The RAW file has no compression, and thus is better than a .JPG any day of the week. .JPG files are compressed, and even the best loses some information. In addition, when you convert from RAW to a format for editing or printing (.TIF or .PSC are the most common) you have the option of selecting white balance in the very same way as doing it on the camera. That is something you cannot do with a .JPG file.

Keep your ISO settings as low as you can for the best quality. That's the same as selecting slower films for less grain, etc.

Think about using the camera more in manual control modes than in the fully automatic modes. You will be able to make better images that way. I, and many others, never use the "picture" exposure modes. The "P" mode is the closest I will ever get to full automation, and that is used very seldom. Setting the Custom Function 4 to "1" changes the function of the * button to become a trigger for auto focus. By using that, I touch the * button when I want the camera to change focus (and I am too lazy to twist the lens ring). At no other time will autofocus work.