When would you use A-DEP?

SkipD wrote in post #2898706
It's that simple.

Yet, ironically, not.

folville wrote in post #2898349
I fail to see what any of the other modes (excluding P, which I should probably have included) offer that is really worthwhile to the average user - or, shall we say - average POTN member.

All too often I see people struggle getting good photos or using flash when it's unnecessary because the camera's automatic modes are simply incapable of properly metering so many lighting situations (then again, so are a lot of people). I'm not saying Canon should throw out the automatic modes; they're probably just fine for what some people need, but I would think that most serious amateurs have both the knowledge and the skill to improve their photos by using modes in the 'creative zone.'

I'm all ears, tell me about A-DEP and the like!

You assume you will always have the time to adjust a manual setting. That's not the case sometimes. Opportunistic shots require instant responses.

In which case I would be very pleased to use AV or TV mode, depending upon the situation. I don't want to appear stubborn, but I just don't really see the need (in my areas of shooting) for A-DEP.

I would use it in case of a lobotomy.

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #2899202
I would use it in case of a lobotomy.

No, no, lobotomy is already reserved for switching to Nikon..

I tried it once but figured I could do better on my own. Dont really know why they included it.

Never been caught needing fill flash when you didn't have your external flash handy? I have.

I've used it a time or two on a quick landscape grab shot as my understanding of the manual is that it tries to get the closest object/person and farthest object/person then get everything in between (inclusive) reasonably in focus. Group shots would be another good example where you might have two or three rows of people lined up.

A good point raised here but there seems no positive answers yet.
A funny thing happened to me a couple of days ago - I was messing about with my 30D - like you do - with no particular object in mind when I noticed the apperture was on f3.5 and whichever knob I turned wouldn't shift it. Panic set in - even turning it on/off didn't cure it. It transpired the camera had got itself switched to A-DEP mode.
Switching back to Manual cleared the problem - I really must investigate this mode further although - on the face of it - it seems quite useless to me!
I normally use manual mode as I like to be in control of the camera and not the other way around.

YosemiteJunkie wrote in post #2899680
I've used it a time or two on a quick landscape grab shot as my understanding of the manual is that it tries to get the closest object/person and farthest object/person then get everything in between (inclusive) reasonably in focus. Group shots would be another good example where you might have two or three rows of people lined up.

This is also my understanding from the manual, and I think this is what led me to compare it to using hyperfocal distance. The few times I've used A-DEP on landscapes, it seemed to work well.

About DEP: click.
One of the stupidest things Canon did was remove DEP mode when going from 1D to 1DMk2.
A-DEP is quite a lot less usefull IMO.

SkipD wrote in post #2898706
A-DEP is NOT on my list of features that will ever get used....

It's in the same class as the built-in flash, "green box" mode, etc.

It's that simple.

I echo that sentiment. If I can't set my camera appropriately in terms of depth of field, then something is wrong.

For whoever mentioned just using hyperfocal distance; your subject will not always be within you DOF even when focusing at the hyperfocal distance. If your subject is less than halfway between you and the hyperfocal distance then they won't be in focus. Now if you are shooting with a relatively wide focal length and/or small aperture then your hyperfocal distance will be relatively close to you.

For instance if you are shooting with an 85 1.8 on a 20D at f/2.8 and subject is 10 feet away your hyperfocal distance is 441 feet so DOF ranges from 220ft to infinity and subject is out of focus. Now same scenario only at 24mm and f/5.6 and your hyperfocal distance is only 18 ft., so 8 feet and beyond will be in focus.

I prefer using the hyperfocal distance also. It lets me feel more in control but I thing for a newbie just learning, it gives them some realatively reasonable way of getting close. Plus, there's still those quick grab shots where setup time may be limited.

YosemiteJunkie wrote in post #2901069
I prefer using the hyperfocal distance also. It lets me feel more in control but I thing for a newbie just learning, it gives them some realatively reasonable way of getting close. Plus, there's still those quick grab shots where setup time may be limited.

I refer you back to the previous post. Hyperfocal focussing only provides the greatest depth-of-field for a given aperture that includes infinity focus. Great for landscapes, but quite useless if your subject is close.