WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED.....

Did you all start using the camera in FULL MANUAL mode or start with aids like Av, Tv, etc?
What are the pros and cons to both? Which was more helpful to you?

I still use Av and Tv...

I started using the semi-auto modes because it gave me fewer things to think about at any one time; however, the downside to that was that it was harder for me to follow what was going on with the rest of my exposure because the camera was doing it for me.

Once I switched to M, it became easier, faster to understand what effect each of the settings (shutter, aperture, ISO) had on my pictures. Once all of that info clicked it was easier to go back to Av/Tv when I knew I wasn't going to care about all of them individually, yet still be comfortable kicking into M when the camera was just being dim-witted.

When I first started I used full manual because there wasn't anything else. That was 40+ years ago.

So I am very familiar with manual shooting, but with DSLRs I shoot in Av unless I have a reason to use another mode. Most of the time I want to control aperture for the desired depth of field.

Exceptions:

- I shoot Tv under fluorescent or arc lighting, such as you'd find in a gym, in order to avoid the color striping caused by the flicker of the lights - in North America that means a shutter speed of 1/125 or 1/60;

- M for flash, when I let the ETTL flash control exposure;

- M for situations which have constant lighting but varying subject reflectance, like a basketball game where one team has white jerseys and the other has dark ones;

- M for panoramas, so all the frames have identical exposure;

- P for handing the camera to a novice (P actually works pretty well).

There is a conflict between the first and third situations - even under arc lights, sometimes you have to use a shutter speed that's too fast for the flickering lights. It's a problem.

I'm not a purist who uses M at all times because "it's professional". And I'll bet that most working pros aren't either.

-js

You should get a broad variety of answers to this because people come into this from all kinds of levels of experience and understanding. So, one person will jump into shooting Manual, on into Av or Tv, one into P and one into Auto/Green Box or using the Auto Scene Modes.

And, guess what? There is no "Right" way or "Wrong" way. Each person has to start somewhere and, depending on where we are and have been in whatever type of photography we may (or may not) have been practicing, and, whether or not photography is something we've been studying and preparing to launch into "seriously".

I've personally used a combination mainly of M and Av, switching between the two as a scene and conditions required. I guess when I first started with a DSLR I shot mainly Av because it seemed to be a good mode to be in as I was learning to use the gear, and then at some point I began shooting mainly M so I could really learn to work in that mode and get good results, but then since have switched fairly freely between the two.

But, that was after some years of using not just point and shoot cameras but "advanced" compact digicams, spending a lot of time reading up on photography and practicing with those cameras, so I became pretty familiar with all the various modes.

My advice is to learn about all the modes and spend time with them until you are comfortable using them and undertand their strengths as well as their weakness. In time, what you use will grow out of the type of photography you normally shoot, but I'd say that a beginner would do well to learn to be "well rounded" unless you already have a specialty that you will spend all your time shooting.

Of course, if you've spent a lot of time with a P&S camera you probably don't need to "learn" Auto/Green Box mode...!

There should be a hand held button option! Like Av+H Problem with AV mode is that the shutter speed can become so long that if you are hand holding your pic may come out supper blurry. With TV at least you can hedge your bet and choose a speed that's appropriate to hand holding. Same can be done in M but again with M it's not as quick and takes more setup time.

Beau1k wrote in post #11464915
There should be a hand held button option! Like Av+H Problem with AV mode is that the shutter speed can become so long that if you are hand holding your pic may come out supper blurry. With TV at least you can hedge your bet and choose a speed that's appropriate to hand holding. Same can be done in M but again with M it's not as quick and takes more setup time.

I disagree. If shooting in Av mode, it should be second nature to check what shutter speed the camera is giving you, and if it's likely to give you problems with camera shake, either dial in a wider aperture setting or up the ISO.

just started like 2 wks ago and been shooting in M, pics dont come out all the great but i do know how to correct to get correct exposure. Still learning a bunch!

Johnnyk_1 wrote in post #11465044
just started like 2 wks ago and been shooting in M, pics dont come out all the great but i do know how to correct to get correct exposure. Still learning a bunch!

Have you tried using auto to get the right shot, then reading the exif data to learn from it?

Beau1k wrote in post #11464915
There should be a hand held button option! Like Av+H Problem with AV mode is that the shutter speed can become so long that if you are hand holding your pic may come out supper blurry. With TV at least you can hedge your bet and choose a speed that's appropriate to hand holding. Same can be done in M but again with M it's not as quick and takes more setup time.

What kind of light are you shooting in, and what is your ISO?

Both your lenses are f/2.8's and have 3 stop IS.

You shouldn't be having blurry photos....

.

Sorarse wrote in post #11465010
I disagree. If shooting in Av mode, it should be second nature to check what shutter speed the camera is giving you, and if it's likely to give you problems with camera shake, either dial in a wider aperture setting or up the ISO.

Sure.

Furthermore, with a bit of experience you should be able to judge the light level by eye and set an appropriate ISO so that shutter speeds are in the right range before taking the first shot.

-js

Thanks for all these really great replies. Wow, everyone does do it differently.

Full auto look at what the camera read, then switch over to manual and play with the settings. Now I still shoot full manual and love it.

35mmNewbie wrote in post #11465166
Full auto look at what the camera read, then switch over to manual and play with the settings. Now I still shoot full manual and love it.

You can do the same with starting in Av mode, after you've selected the aperture for the DOF you want, snap a pics, look at the shutter speed that the camera selected to get the proper exposure, and then dial that in, along with your aperture, in M mode, and start firing away.

.

I first got 'serious' about photography four or five years ago, and that first year I shot pretty much entirely in Av mode. Realistically it works OK, but you do end up dealing with the shortcomings of reflective meters which limits your ability to really push the limits in tough light.

I stuck with Av because I was worried about being able to arrive at a correct exposure fast enough and deal with changing light. It took a while for me to figure out a couple things:
1) Metering is not all that tough (easy to say with the benefit of hindsight)
2) Light conditions are usually not changing at all.

M mode is what I almost always use now, because I know I can meter once (by various methods) and the setting will likely be correct for the whole shoot.

Two examples:

1) - I shoot a lot of HS sports as a business. Once I have shot a gym, I know that gym settings. I never meter again. I can look at past shots and arrive at the gym with the camera already set to shoot. The light will always be the same in there.

2) - I can sometimes meter well before I go to shoot. I remember one time I was taking my kids to a parade in town. As I loaded the camera in a bag, I pointed it outside (cloudy day) and metered the grass. I set the exposure then and there and pulled the camera from the bag at the parade ready to shoot.