What mode do you normally shoot in?

I usually leave the aperture and iso on manually. Bon inox dai thanh

All manual even focus. Leica M user.

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There are only two modes that I use:

Aperture Priority - about 60% of the time

Manual - about 40% of the time

I use Manual when I have time with a subject, and that time allows me to get real nit-picky about the exact exposure that I want. When the conditions enable me to get the exposure absolutely perfect (within one third of a stop), then I will do so. . I hate being a wee bit off, and then having to make a slight adjustment in editing, in situations when I could have gotten the exposure absolutely perfect right in the camera.

I use Aperture Priority when the light is changing continually, which happens a lot. . Most of the time when I am shooting wildlife, there are clouds, and the clouds are moving rather quickly, so that the amount of light on the animal or bird changes significantly every minute or two .... sometimes every dozen seconds or so. . In these situations, which are pretty much the norm, I do not want to have to use part of my mind to think about exposure and settings - I want 100% percent of my mind to be engaged with the animal itself, so that I can put all of my efforts into perfecting my camera position and my timing.

I also use Aperture Priority when things happen very quickly, and there simply is not an extra half second to adjust the camera settings. . I mean, many times, if I had to take, literally, a split second, to adjust the aperture or the shutter speed, then the critter would turn his head away, or hop to another perch, and I would just completely miss out on the opportunity.

I always set ISO myself, as keeping the amount of noise grain in an image as low as possible is extremely important to me, and I want to be in full control over how much of a compromise, if any, I am willing to make in this area of image quality. . I don't trust the camera at all when it comes to ISO selection. . I would rather not even take a photo at all than take a photo that has noticeable grain in it when viewed beyond 100%.

I really don't care about shutter speed at all, and that is why I never use Shutter Priority. . If I have to crank up the ISO or widen the aperture in order to "get the shot", then that shot isn't worth getting, and I am more than happy to just let the moment pass without taking any photos when there is really low light.


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wemrick wrote in post #19162574
I'll use all of them depending on the situation. Even pseudo manual (Manual with auto iso) sometimes.

On the 5D3, I mostly used Av but would use M in stable conditions like a cloudless day. I'll use Tv for something like an air show where I want to quickly change shutter speeds depending on the aircraft type.

On the R6, I mostly use M with auto ISO now that I have a camera supporting EC in that mode. I typically dial in +2/3 EC. The nice thing about the R6 is that I can see the exposure in real time and can easily roll the ISO wheel to override if needed. Whenever I get a control ring adapter or an RF lens, I'll probably assign the control ring to EC just to make it easier to adjust if needed.

Well if I'm using the camera's metering I'll often use either Av or Tv depending on which variable I want to control. I don't have one of the cameras that will properly do Aperture/shutter control with floating ISO, so that one is out for me.I then use M for those times I'm not using the camera's metering system for each shot. There are a lot of situations where you want to lock the exposure. I find M with E-TTL flash is also the most intuitive way to use the flash exposure system. Oh and of course I'm using M when shooting with my manual studio strobes.

Alan

James Crockett wrote in post #19162470
When your shooting portraits, family sessions, engagements, what mode do you normally shoot in?

I'm usually in manual mode...I just live there for some reason. And, in some instances I'm shooting with flash.

What you listed seem to be more like controlled situations so manual shouldn't be a problem. Maybe use AV for DOF purposes. But, I'm far from being a professional or even a skilled hobbiest....

What mode have you been shooting in?

Terry McDaniel wrote in post #19162524
If I did any of that I’d probably use AV. That’s what I mostly use on the stuff I do photograph.

Some of those categories may require flash. Flash can cause issues in AV mode. Depending on ambient light you may wind up with very slow shutter speeds.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #19165705
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There are only two modes that I use:

Aperture Priority - about 60% of the time

Manual - about 40% of the time

I use Manual when I have time with a subject, and that time allows me to get real nit-picky about the exact exposure that I want. When the conditions enable me to get the exposure absolutely perfect (within one third of a stop), then I will do so. . I hate being a wee bit off, and then having to make a slight adjustment in editing, in situations when I could have gotten the exposure absolutely perfect right in the camera.

I use Aperture Priority when the light is changing continually, which happens a lot. . Most of the time when I am shooting wildlife, there are clouds, and the clouds are moving rather quickly, so that the amount of light on the animal or bird changes significantly every minute or two .... sometimes every dozen seconds or so. . In these situations, which are pretty much the norm, I do not want to have to use part of my mind to think about exposure and settings - I want 100% percent of my mind to be engaged with the animal itself, so that I can put all of my efforts into perfecting my camera position and my timing.

I also use Aperture Priority when things happen very quickly, and there simply is not an extra half second to adjust the camera settings. . I mean, many times, if I had to take, literally, a split second, to adjust the aperture or the shutter speed, then the critter would turn his head away, or hop to another perch, and I would just completely miss out on the opportunity.

I always set ISO myself, as keeping the amount of noise grain in an image as low as possible is extremely important to me, and I want to be in full control over how much of a compromise, if any, I am willing to make in this area of image quality. . I don't trust the camera at all when it comes to ISO selection. . I would rather not even take a photo at all than take a photo that has noticeable grain in it when viewed beyond 100%.

I really don't care about shutter speed at all, and that is why I never use Shutter Priority. . If I have to crank up the ISO or widen the aperture in order to "get the shot", then that shot isn't worth getting, and I am more than happy to just let the moment pass without taking any photos when there is really low light.


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The R6 (and maybe the 5D4, not sure) has some very nice settings you may like.

For AV mode:
- Set your shutter speed range to shutter speeds you would want for wildlife, like min of 1/250 or 1/500 and max of 1/8000
- Set safety shift to ISO
- Set the ISO range for auto mode to what you are comfortable with for noise levels, like 100 to 3200 for example
- Set ISO to auto

Now the camera will first adjust your shutter speeds, staying within your defined limits. If that still yields a poor exposure based on your exposure compensation, it will then raise your ISO within your defined limits.

In this manner, you can allow the camera to make adjustments, but within your defined limits, using shutter speed first.

This evening I went to watch a friends blues band perform at a small venue. I played with different settings trying to the best balance. I kept having issues with the lighting... so I decided to use green box. The camera recognized the scene.. and bingo... images were perfect. It hard to admit I did this... but it changed all the setting - taking it of e-shutter, etc... and the images were great. Sometimes the tool knows best... at least this time it did.

gears have really been evolving...

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19167297
The R6 (and maybe the 5D4, not sure) has some very nice settings you may like.

For AV mode:
- Set your shutter speed range to shutter speeds you would want for wildlife, like min of 1/250 or 1/500 and max of 1/8000
- Set safety shift to ISO
- Set the ISO range for auto mode to what you are comfortable with for noise levels, like 100 to 3200 for example
- Set ISO to auto

Now the camera will first adjust your shutter speeds, staying within your defined limits. If that still yields a poor exposure based on your exposure compensation, it will then raise your ISO within your defined limits.

In this manner, you can allow the camera to make adjustments, but within your defined limits, using shutter speed first..

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Thanks for the tips!

I'm usually okay with shutter speeds ranging anywhere from 1/25th of a second up to 8000th of a second. Unless the critter is in motion, then I like to keep it above 1/160th most of the time.

My shooting habits are so ingrained at this stage in my life, that I mostly just do what I do without consciously thinking about it ..... so it would be hard for me to try new things or develop new habits, because I like just being on "auto-pilot" for things like exposure settings, so that I can use all of my brain for the more important, more creative aspects of shooting.

But I will admit that I think it probably do me some good to come out of my comfort zone, in order to learn a new way of doing things. . Even if the new way didn't work as well for me as the old way, at least I would have a more complete understanding of what my camera is capable of and how it all works. . But I would just have to make sure to experiment with new settings on practice situations, and not on "real" wildlife opportunities, where taking an extra second or so could cause me to miss a shot.

For some odd reason, if I miss a shot because the shutter speed was too slow, that doesn't bother me at all. . But if I ever took a shot that had a bit of grain, when I had enough light that I could have just as easily used a lower ISO, then that would make me feel absolutely sick inside, and I would always feel deep regret over it. . It's funny how some bad things we accept, and other bad things we simply cannot stomach!


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The R6 allows a minimum shutter to be whatever, even 1sec so you can set this up however you want.

The R6 is like cheating when it comes to wildlife, freeing me up to worry about other aspects of the capture.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19167396
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The R6 is like cheating when it comes to wildlife, freeing me up to worry about other aspects of the capture.
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That is exactly what I have been waiting for for years and years. . A camera that does the "camera things" for me, so that I can concentrate entirely on the "photographer things"!

If exposure and focusing were completely automated, then I could put all of my effort into the creative things that matter most, like camera positioning, background selection and alignment, framing and composition, timing, and engaging fully with the subject's behavior.

Do you think that the R5 would do this as well as the R6? . I ask this because when I do upgrade to mirrorless, I would like to get a body that has at least as many pixels as the 5D4 i am using now.

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The R5 and R6 are identical in nature in this regard. They vary by some technical things like resolution, EVF resolution, build quality, and video modes. Focusing ability like animal eye AF, burst rates up to 20fps, silent electronic shutter, and customization are identical.

In my studio, manual all times but when trying to include ambient light it will mostly be in aperture priority.