Rethinking shooting in manual all the time...

For several years I shot Manual all the time. It became natural, I liked the complete control, and I got very quick at it. But over the past year or two I've switched to shooting Av 90% of the time. Learning to finesse the exposure compensation took a bit of practice, but overall I find it much simpler, and it really does let me focus on shooting more than on the settings.

That said, when the light is funky, or changing rapidly (or I'm shooting studio w/ strobes), I revert back to manual.

(On a side note, I've honestly never once shot in Tv...I still can't figure out when I'd want to...)

Outdoors I find myself using Av mode, while Indoors I usually switch over to Manual depending on how much light I have.

banpreso wrote in post #10708626
i shoot Av most of the time, and i shoot in the documentry style, so really no time for setup for manual settings. it does the job okay, but every once in a while i have to use exposure compensation or spot metering to get the subject property exposed in backlit situations.

to me the biggest advantage in shooting manual is i can meter for a spot that's off center, lock the exposure settings and recompose. i read on the Leica M9, since there's no AF, half press shutter is actually exposure lock. i would love to have exposure lock for canon DSLRs, that'd make it a lot easier to meter for an off center spot, and recompose for proper exposure.

This is easy to do.
Remove focus from the shutter button so you use the back button to focus.
Use the * button to lock the exposure. on what you want to meter on.
Focus on what you want to focus on.
Take the shot.

I typically shoot outdoors on a tripod so I shoot in Av. In this case, I set the aperture for my DoF, ISO to 100, and let the shutter do its thing. Ill adjust the exposure using in EC or by using the Live View exposure box.

If I know Im going to need fast shutter speeds, I know I wont keep any image if my shutter is under "X" speed, so Ill go into TV and let the meter change my aperture so I stay at that speed.

If Im using a really fast lens and I need very high shutter speeds but want some DOF, Ill go into M and set everything, adjusting ISO to get the exposure right.

With Canon at least, Tv was the first automatic exposure mode available. The lenses had an 'A' on the aperture ring which meant "choose the aperture for me, based upon the shutter speed chosen". There was only a shutter speed dial, the aperture 'dial' was on the lens itself. For Canon users familiar with this shutter priority of AE from the Canon F-1 with the EE (it was first Electronic Exposure, later became Automatic Exposure) finder in 1971, the EF (camera) in 1973 and the AE-1 in 1976, it was natural to use Tv mode in the cameras that came later (the A-1 in 1978 ), even though they also had an Av mode. The AV (camera) in 1979 had Av instead of Tv.

Canon introduced shutter priority first as many consumers couldn't understand apertures that well, or so they said. It was simpler for them to think of 1/focal_length or just "use about 1/500 hand held" rather than setting the aperture where small numbers are really bigger apertures...

I use all 3 modes,,av,tv,m--really depends on what im doing. My pocket wizards are the plusII models, so when i do portraits,seniors,fami​lies,, I shoot OCF and im in manual mode. Thinking of switching over to the ettl wizards, seeing a lot of good results.

av mode when i dont have a flash attached because i want to control depth of field in controlled lighting.

TV mode for sports a lot,,but av as well. I also use TV mode for outdoor weddings at times because when i move about i shoot into shade and into sun light it comes in handy when i dont have to mess with aperature settings. especially in Minnesota and all it trees and golf course wedding venues.

either way,,HSS is a godsend in all 3 modes. At weddings i use a flash bracket, and i use av,and manual modes most of the time. back to manual for formals, umbrellas, stands, and set it up like i would in a studio.

hpulley wrote in post #10708661
Manual has a purpose but its purpose is not to pretend you're using a 1960s camera and that you're 'man' enough to use manual. Manual is for cases where the lighting is not changing, either it is controlled by you with strobes or some other reason. If lighting is changing then manual will not be the fastest option.

totally agree. manual mode is fine if u have lots of time and know how to meter well. using M mode all the time will lead to bad exposure if u are trying to snap a real quick pic, or u will miss the shot 'cause u are trying to adjust the settings to a middle needle reading.

A lot of the world's biggest shooters use Av mode 99% of the time. Anyone who says you have to shoot in manual is just stating their own personal preference.

markol wrote in post #10710081
A lot of the world's biggest shooters use Av mode 99% of the time. Anyone who says you have to shoot in manual is just stating their own personal preference.

that includes me too . i only shoot in manual when i'm using flash indoors.

i know that may not sound cool but that's the truth .

ed rader

I use P, Av, Tv and Manual depending on the situation. Why would you buy a camera with all of the technology such as the 7D and not take advantage of it. There are many times I see no point in using Manual. Each mode has its own particular advantages and also disadvantages. Don't just learn how to use Manual but all of the modes.

Generally I'll use Manual for birds in flight, Tv for birds, both with a telephoto. Av is used for landscape and P for just general shooting where lighting is good and depth of field is not a big issue. That's an over simplification but is the general idea. You really need to discover what works for you and your particular kind of shooting.

Regardless of what mode you are shooting in you have to be ready to shoot. av and tv give a little more latitude but you still need to have some idea about what you want. If you are in a dark club and want to preserve that look while shooting in av then you need to dial in the exposure compensation before you start looking for a shot to take. if you wait until the lens is focused before thinking about this then you might as welll be shooting in manual.

Fast Fredy wrote in post #10710070
totally agree. manual mode is fine if u have lots of time and know how to meter well. using M mode all the time will lead to bad exposure if u are trying to snap a real quick pic, or u will miss the shot 'cause u are trying to adjust the settings to a middle needle reading.

very true! I have learned that!

i tried Av (and its retarded nikon sibling) and found that i still needed to set exposure compensation as needed, so what's the point?

when speed is a must, tho, i use P.

Another option for the OP is M with auto ISO. On the 7D this is actually a useful combination - you get to dictate the shutter speed and aperture but let the camera worry about the ISO. It has its drawbacks of course - it'll use the "in between" ISOs (which many believe are noisier) and you lose the ability to compensate for situations that fool the meter, but I have found it useful on occasion.

I was a hard-core Full Manual Snob for a long time but I sat through a Webinar put on by the Chief Photographer at EAA who revealed that 98% of his totally cover-worthy Air to Air photography is done in Tv mode + Evaluative Metering.

I just got back from 8 days at Oshkosh where I did the vast majority of my shooting in exactly this manner and I'm very, very happy with the results: GALLERY