"M" mode advice

I am shooting with an Xti and have began venturing into the "M" mode...I love that there are less restrictions as to when I can and cannot take a shot...However, i would love some advice on a few things...

1) On the xti, when in "M", you adjust the shutter by the Main dial ring, and adjust the aperture by holding the Av +/- button AND then turning the ring...Is there an easier way to set this up???

2) When in "m", do you HAVE to set the lens to "MF" ALL THE TIME, or can it be left in AF, while the camera is in "M"??

3) WHen in "M" but the lens in "AF", sometimes the focus points, will beep, showing that focus is locked, but other times it will not..Will this always give me an out of focus shot or not??

4) When lens AND camera both in "M", are the AF points still supposed to be utilized and light up, showing what is being focused on??

5) lastly, how come if i use one of the side AF points, it is harder to lock focus then if i use the center???


Well thanks for any help...

izzy35 wrote in post #5994026
I am shooting with an Xti and have began venturing into the "M" mode...I love that there are less restrictions as to when I can and cannot take a shot...However, i would love some advice on a few things...

1) On the xti, when in "M", you adjust the shutter by the Main dial ring, and adjust the aperture by holding the Av +/- button AND then turning the ring...Is there an easier way to set this up???

2) When in "m", do you HAVE to set the lens to "MF" ALL THE TIME, or can it be left in AF, while the camera is in "M"??

3) WHen in "M" but the lens in "AF", sometimes the focus points, will beep, showing that focus is locked, but other times it will not..Will this always give me an out of focus shot or not??

4) When lens AND camera both in "M", are the AF points still supposed to be utilized and light up, showing what is being focused on??


Well thanks for any help...

1. not that i know of, but you get used to it
2. you can use either one
3. if it don't beep it has not locked, or your in ai servo mode and its tracking a moving object. in ai-servo it never beeps so use your eyes
4. yes if something is in focus and you half press the shutter, the camera will beep the af point if it "agrees" that you have something in focus on that point. But usually the camera didn't have a clue to begin with if you decide to put it on MF (especially in low light)

Thanks Karlos...

Anyone else care to give some input??? It would really be appreciated...

I will just say that you will make mistakes as you begin but after a while you will start to get enough of an idea about the conditions to set the camera up in roughly the correct way for any situation... enough that you can get a passable image in an emergency or just make a few tweaks to get it spot on.
I use manual all the time now, not because I am a snob that believes that only someone that can use manual is a proper photographer.. but because it's too hard to go to anything else as you don't get the level of control. It took about 2 weeks of disasterous pics before it worked okay for me so don't despair if there are a few issues to begin with.

good luck !

You understand how the light meter acts differently in M compared to the other modes right?

This thing:

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griptape wrote in post #5996285
You understand how the light meter acts differently in M compared to the other modes right?

This thing:

are you being sarcastic or is this a serious question??? if serious, then YES i understand how the light meter works...Did u read my original post???

izzy35 wrote in post #5996686
are you being sarcastic or is this a serious question??? if serious, then YES i understand how the light meter works...Did u read my original post???

As a matter of fact I did read your original post, and you never mentioned the light meter. Excuse me for trying to help.

griptape wrote in post #5996814
As a matter of fact I did read your original post, and you never mentioned the light meter. Excuse me for trying to help.

No....totally misunderstood...I wasnt' sure if u were serious or not being that your input didn't mention anything that i had questioned...So i thought u were being sarcastic or somehting...I TOTALLY appreciate all help...trust me, i do..

I've met more than a few people who don't understand that centering the light meter in manual mode is the same thing as using auto mode. The benefit of using manual mode (unless you're using flash, and then all the rules change) is to set the camera to be creatively correct. A basic breakdown:

Shutter speed: Set it to capture what's in front of the camera. Do you want a little motion blur? Do you want to completely freeze the scene? This comes from experience. The speed of different subjects determines how fast of a shutter speed you need. A normal person doing normal things/posing would be frozen around 1/320 (you might get 1/160 with a posing model who is very still). A person running/moving quickly would need around 1/800 for starters. Very fast action needs around 1/2000. Again, it comes with experience (and flash is a whole different set of rules as well).

Aperture: Set it to what you want to achieve. The smaller numbers will leave less in focus, and the larger numbers will leave more in focus. Are you trying to isolate a subject, or capture an entire scene? Or are you just trying to get the most out of the lens (f/8 tends to be the sharpest on most lenses)? Set the aperture for what you want the camera to capture.

ISO: Is your meter telling you with your selected shutter speed and aperture that it's still too dark? Raise it until it's bright enough. Is it too bright and you're at ISO 100? Then you need an ND filter.

It's really pretty simple once you learn what the camera is thinking when it looks at something.

griptape wrote in post #5996985
I've met more than a few people who don't understand that centering the light meter in manual mode is the same thing as using auto mode.

Sorry, but that statement is simply not correct.

Let's say that auto mode gives you a shutter speed of 1/60 at f11, but you would like a faster shutter speed because your zoomed in to 150mm, but still want the meter to be in the middle. You throw it in manual, and make your adjustments.

That's not auto mode.

Chris71 wrote in post #5997253
Sorry, but that statement is simply not correct.

Let's say that auto mode gives you a shutter speed of 1/60 at f11, but you would like a faster shutter speed because your zoomed in to 150mm, but still want the meter to be in the middle. You throw it in manual, and make your adjustments.

That's not auto mode.

Not meaning to be pedantic because I agree with you, but what you're talking about could also be Tv mode. The advantage of M is being able to select both the shutter speed and the depth of field.

krb wrote in post #5997649
Not meaning to be pedantic because I agree with you, but what you're talking about could also be Tv mode. The advantage of M is being able to select both the shutter speed and the depth of field.

Yes, you are correct. My point was, that in any of the creative modes (Tv, Av, A-DEP) you may still want to achieve a proper exposure according to the cameras meter. You just may want to do it with a different shutter speed, or aperature value than what the auto mode uses.

That is still, not auto mode.

Here's a site for going manual:

http://www.goingmanual​.com/photo/board/index​.php

I've not really explored it much but it may help you.

i think what grip is saying is that if you center that needle youre asking the AI to do the exposure for you so even if youre in M mode if you center the needle youre not actually looking at the scene and making decisions on how to expose it properly. It is just like being in A/TV mode where the camera forces your scene to a "gray" which may or may not be the "correct" exposure.

which is very different from seeing that 80% of the frame is dominated by a white wedding dress and thereby putting in 2/3 to 1 stop more exposure might be more "correct"

I was simplifying things, and you're right, it isn't exactly the same, but if you don't understand what the settings you're changing are actually doing to the scene, then it might as well be auto mode.