Do people really shoot in Auto?

artyeva

Wylie Luke wrote: »

I'd love to see what mode the last 10 'Photo of the Week' pictures were taken in!! Is there a handy way to batch process EXIF data?

out of interest - why?

AnimalRights

I started off with Manual but seldom use it these days, normally AV or if fast action TV mode.

Wylie Luke

I just think it'd be interesting to see whether peoples prefered pictures came from camera auto exposures, creative modes or photographers manual settings, not passing judgement on usage of any particular mode!

Promac

Still can't understand why anyone would used auto when they can use AV. What kind of person buys an SLR and leaves it in auto? It's like having a formula 1 car that steers itself.

Mountainsandh

Wow, just skimmed over the many pages, some heated discussion going on... :eek:

I shoot on Manual practically all the time, and starting to wonder if it's a weakness of the Pentax K-x or what but every time I tried Auto or even the AV and other settings, I never seemed to agree with them !
But at least, and that's what's great for me, since I really purely do this for a hobby, I don't give a ... toss what the result is, well I do, but again, purely on a hobbyist basis. So if I mess up, damn, I'll do better next time.

As it happens I can pretty much sniff what exposure I need most of the time, to a stop/half stop (well I think anyway ) so it's easily corrected if there's a problem. In more extreme situations I just take it that I'm learning for next time. I know I should switch to a mode and copy what the camera wants to do, but I tend to shoot, look, correct, and shoot, look, correct repeatedly (am thinking of these situations where you'd have to meter for the sky or clouds or whatever, I just don't get all that metering malarky...yet)(hopefully). Again, I'm lucky I'm usually under no pressure to get the shot.

But I did shoot my husband's band(s) a few times, was a bit more under pressure, but still couldn't hack the Auto/Av modes, really annoyed me in fact, and missed shots I wouldn't have if only I weren't so stubborn/unwilling to change.

Eirebear

Jesus, why cant people just make the choices they want to make with their camera?

Personally i shoot manual the vast majority of the time, simply because thats the way ive gotten used to shooting - however sometimes this can be a little cumbersome due to my lack of any reflexes to speak of, i dont shoot sport that often, but if i was then manual probably wouldnt be the best way to go.

Borderfox

Just get out and shoot, simple

Paparazzo

Borderfox wrote: »

Just get out and shoot, simple

I read the whole thread with the intention of writing that, and you just beat me to it!

The best way to get good shots is to get out there and take shots. It doesn't matter what setting you use. The more photos you take, the more good ones you'll get.

DaireQuinlan

Paparazzo wrote: »

The more photos you take, the more good ones you'll get.

That's a whole OTHER can of worms. I can see the thread title now 'do people really shoot thousand of shots in continuous mode in the hope of getting one good one ?'

(doing it in manual is ok of course)

woody_2000

Paparazzo wrote: »

I read the whole thread with the intention of writing that, and you just beat me to it!

The best way to get good shots is to get out there and take shots. It doesn't matter what setting you use. The more photos you take, the more good ones you'll get.

I was looking at an online video recently featuring photographer Chase Jarvis - and I remember him saying, at one point during the video, that photography's "dirty little secret" is to take loads of photos...

magicbastarder

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

(doing it in manual is ok of course)

keep that filth for after hours.

Zillah

Some awful arguments going on in this thread here. So anyway, which is better, Canon or Nikon?



:pac:

DaireQuinlan

Zillah wrote: »

Some awful arguments going on in this thread here. So anyway, which is better, Canon or Nikon?

I just bought a pentax (spotmatic) !

All manual of course, wouldn't have it any other way.

CabanSail

It would be great if we could get this much discussion about something that really mattered.

sineadw

My pentax k-mount 50mm 1.2 is nicer than your m mount though.

charybdis

CabanSail wrote: »

It would be great if we could get this much discussion about something that really mattered.

Such as?

Promac

CabanSail wrote: »

It would be great if we could get this much discussion about something that really mattered.

Something that really mattered to photographers in a photography discussion forum?

A huge part of photography is the way you actually capture images - discussing the merits of full-auto mode versus manual couldn't be more relevant.

PixelTrawler

I shoot mainly Av say 85% of the time. Manual most of the rest and Tv rarely.

Since I got the 5D MkII im also experimenting with leaving iso on Auto also since I've less to worry about as regards noise.

mumof2

I use Aperature and Shutter speed most of the time (99%), and set it to Auto to see what the camera itself would do different after Ive taken the shot. (Sometimes I do that the other way around if I want to be sure I get the shot right if I can't afford to get it wrong).

Im learning alot at the moment, but cant seem to get it to come out of the camera. Was in a camera shop today, and he said I really have to use my tripod all the time. He said not many out there now taking landscape pics, would be without one.........

Must test that out and see if there is much difference - I dont think I have camera shake issues.......but you never know.

humberklog

If my camera has full Auto then I use that 99% of the time. Unfortunately most of my SLR's are fully manual.

Can't be doing with AF at all at all though.

Hecklar

Never out of Manual, it just doesn't look right when i shoot in any other mode. I spent quite a while in the early days taking cráp shot after cráp shot in manual until i got good with it and now its really the only thing ive ever known.

Mountainsandh

When you're used to manual it's quite disconcerting to try and use the other modes isn't it ? I try sometimes, or the wheel simply rolls onto them, and there's all these blinking things, and there's the shutter speed going zoooom boing and I feel like screaming "waiiiit !!! come back ! stop ! what ?".
It's all so pleasantly quiet in Manual, phew.