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OCTOBER PHOTO COMPETITION


Janet

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Just while the manual vs automatic debate has raised its head again...here's my insight into it.

 

Its mentioned above why use manual when you have payed for a camera with auto, one could reverse that question and ask "Why use auto when you have paid for manual too?"...read on

 

Auto is wysiwyg, it controls the camera and YOU, in manual mode YOU control everything including the camera. Auto will capture the scene in front of you using predetermined settings, in manual you get to choose those settings giving you a greater flexibility to control how the final photo looks. Nothing new in this, it was being done by photographers many many years before digital came about. If you use manual all the time its no fiddling around with controls changing settings, you become used to it and it take but a second to change from one setting to another...its a familiaraity thing.

 

Quote "Please, lets get away from this myth of, 'it must be manual and complicated to be good'" <--What myth?..Where? When? How is it complicated?

Its not coimplicated, set iso, set aperture, set shutter speed take shot...how the heck is that complicated? In fact one could go further and say set iso to 100 (sunny day) 200 (cloudy) 400 (dire day/night) then set aperture to f8, raise camera to shoot and in one fluid motion spin the shutter speed wheel to align with light meter..bingo take shot.. Leave iso and aperture set as is as you walk about..nice and simple that is!!

 

I put it too you that what you have gone through testing settings out for taking shots in jpeg is 10 times more complicated than shooting in manual...AND what you do to your jpegs is far more complicated than what I do to my RAW files...which is also not complicated...only if you let it be.

 

Shoot in manual for optimum camera and photo control, shoot in RAW mode for optimum photo quality and versatility. Anything less than that and your wasting your dslr.

 

It does not get simpler than this.!

 

Steve... :)

 

OK Steve, thats your view. I do things to suit the way I think. For me I got what I wanted when I did my menu adjustments. Not all on AN have the camera type or the desire to go into 'Photoholic complications mode', and those that did, I suspect, 'moved on' . . . ?

 

Me, perhaps I will be having a play with RAW, if I can get some enthusiasum, I have tried it, I know its good points. However the way things are going at the moment, its not worth my trouble :huh: I need a long hard think . . . and a bit of inspiration, in the meantime, all will go on as befor??? :unsure:

 

SW

Edited by Sutton Warrior
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OK Steve, thats your view. I do things to suit the way I think. For me I got what I wanted when I did my menu adjustments. Not all on AN have the camera type or the desire to go into 'Photoholic complications mode', and those that did, I suspect, 'moved on' . . . ?

 

Me, perhaps I will be having a play with RAW, if I can get some enthusiasum, I have tried it, I know its good points. However the way things are going at the moment, its not worth my trouble :huh: I need a long hard think . . . and a bit of inspiration, in the meantime, all will go on as befor??? :unsure:

 

SW

 

But just to clarify...its NOT Photoholic Complication mode as you put it, its normal slr camera use...simplified, the way you shoot and procees is more complicated by a long way.

 

Steve...:)

There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs. - Ansel Adams

 

Focal Planet

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Its not coimplicated, set iso, set aperture, set shutter speed take shot...how the heck is that complicated? In fact one could go further and say set iso to 100 (sunny day) 200 (cloudy) 400 (dire day/night) then set aperture to f8, raise camera to shoot and in one fluid motion spin the shutter speed wheel to align with light meter..bingo take shot.. Leave iso and aperture set as is as you walk about..nice and simple that is!!

 

It may not be complicated to people who've been handling DSLR's for a long time, but as a newcomer, I can tell you that it is far from easy!

 

Unless I know I'm going to be in an area for a while, with lots of time, I leave the camera to do what it likes on auto....purely and simply because by the time I've fiddled about with iso, shutter speed and aperture etc, then the moment's gone and I've missed it....or even worse, I've mucked up the settings and ruined what would have been a good shot. It may be second nature to some of you, but it's a whole new world of learning for me!

 

Hopefully in a while, when I've learned more about how this camera works, and photography in general, then I'll be able to make better use of my camera by using manual and choosing my own settings...for the moment though, auto is an absolute godsend!

 

I've made some dreadful mistakes whilst using manual, but the auto feature very rarely lets me down.

 

Janet

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I could get anyone comfortable with using manual mode in an afternoon, and we all started as you did Janet and I can still remember well how it felt not knowing what to do...or how to do it. Which is why I gave the nice and simple method above, I'll repeat it now to clarify.

 

If its sunny set ISO to 100, if not set ISO to 200...now forget ISO...

 

Set Aperture to F8...and leave it there...and now forget it.

 

Now all you have left to do is set the shutter speed for each shot you take.

 

View your scene through the cameras viewfinder and spin the shutter speed wheel until your built in lightmeter is centered..take the photo!

 

Done!..Just try it!

 

 

ISO will not change unless the weather for that day does...but in general does not change much. Aperture F8 is a good place to start simply because it will give a good depth of field.

 

 

 

The things you can do from those basic settings are numerous as you experiment and read you'll learn how different settings affect the photo to obtain different things, for example...you may want to "freeze" the action of a showjumper or "blur" the motion of a stream...this stuff comes later as your experience grows.

 

But try the method above...and the method will suddenly become much less scary.

 

Steve...:)

There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs. - Ansel Adams

 

Focal Planet

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Steve,

 

I'm sure that seemed very clear to you, but it ain't working for me!

 

ISO is set OK...that's easy peasy, as there's a button for it...

 

Now, do I need to turn the dial to A to set the aperture, or is there something I should be twiddling whilst in manual mode? I turned the dial to A, and set it to F8, and I think from the menu screen that it's saved my setting when I go back to M? Is that the way you're supposed to do it? I really do apologise if that is a totally dim question, but it really is exceedingly hard when the manual is about as much use as a chocolate teapot and it's all very new!

 

View your scene through the cameras viewfinder and spin the shutter speed wheel until your built in lightmeter is centered..

 

I know that must seem incredibly easy to you, but I have no idea what the built in lightmeter looks like! I get lots of numbers, none of which make much sense! Is it the +/_ one? I've tried using the settings you suggested, but the camera appears to have set an incredibly long shutter speed...

 

I think I need to play around with it tomorrow, in daylight, as the night is rapidly drawing in and that's probably one of the reasons why it ain't working!

 

In the meantime, I'll go back to the manual and read some more of the tutorials.

 

I'll get there in the end!

 

Janet

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All very well Steve, but how often can you get away with f8 as a standard setting on ISO100? 50% maybe? before the shutter speed gets two low for comfort, but then, you might be on a tripod, not many use tripods? (I agree ISO200 can be a more flexible option, one Nikon tend to embrace) Fifty percent is a figure out of the air, but I now that the camera does not select f8 in anything but brightest sunlight which is often not best conditions for photography? You are not wrong in your "use manual" if you are in the 'Photoholic, main hobby, many years experience mold', and single minded about what you do, thats great, more power to the elbow.

 

I am not so single minded, I have another life, and others to consider when out and about. I am satisfied how my camera generally selects settings, around my standard ISO200. If I have time in the shot, I do watch the setting information that is coming up along the bottom of the view finder, making changes on the selector wheel in 'P program' if required, watching the histogram can be useful. Aperture priority is often useful.

 

'Its the others' that I am concerned about, those that like me, have other things on our minds, lack experience, and therefor get it wrong, becoming disillusioned, pick up a few second hand bargains that way? A wast of a DSLR, no Steve, its using technology to ones advantage, with options like alternative glass, 'to taste' :P What about those who have compacts and bridge cameras, not as good as a DSLR . . . ? (some are bl66dy brilliant IMHO) but thats as far as they 'want or can afford' to go. They used to like AN, friendly, no pressure like other sites, to move on, use manual!!! . . . its the only way . . . only way my a&3e!!! There is more than one way to skin a cat, and for those that do want to be a 'Photoholic', they can/have moved on, more power to their elbow.

 

Surly we have to live and let live, help where help is needed, offer encouragement, suggesting 'XXXX is the only way', or 'thats a wast' is very unhelpful to those that cant, dont want to, or plain, dont understand, may I suggest a re think Steve. At a personal level Steve, the reason I keep things the way I do, and go long and slow about things. As I think you know (???) I have a form of dyslexia, it holds me back, takes me for ever sometimes to crack a 'simple' problem, I have to search for, sometimes invent 'my ways' to handle a task! Dyslexia it actually an official disability, I do my best, I feel for others, who, though not dyslexic, find 'technical' slow to grasp for what ever reason.

 

SW

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Steve,

I know that must seem incredibly easy to you, but I have no idea what the built in lightmeter looks like! I get lots of numbers, none of which make much sense! Is it the +/_ one? I've tried using the settings you suggested, but the camera appears to have set an incredibly long shutter speed...

 

In the meantime, I'll go back to the manual and read some more of the tutorials.

 

I'll get there in the end!

 

Janet

 

I am quite new to DSLR cameras too Janet, & steve's advice is very good on how to set the camera up in manual mode. I do it a similar way myself. However I tend to use aperture or shutter priority all the time with a bit of manual exposure compensation if needed, not full manual mode.

 

It's easy to forget many people have got into photography now via automatic compact digital cameras which take excellent photos without the user needing to know anything about the settings the camera is choosing behind the scenes. There's nothing wrong with this and a good photo to me is a well composed interesting shot or one which captures a moment, regardless of the camera used. If you have never had a 35mm SLR you are at more of a disadvantage when you move up from a compact camera, to a DSLR though.

I used to have 35mm SLR cameras years ago so I knew about ASA film speed(ISO as it is now called) apertures and shutter speeds and what effects they have on the shot, (which was a bit daunting at first, I remember ) . So, when I recently got a canon DSLR I was a bit more at home with it's manual & auto modes having used compacts for a few years too. Though I am still very much learning my way round it.

A DSLR gives you more control over the photo. If you use it in full auto mode all the time though, you may as well use a compact camera. The general picture quality is just as good!! I agree with SW on this score :thumbs: but if you have a bought a DSLR you may as well get the advantages of it , if you have time to learn.

. You will soon get used to it if you take lots of practice shots, you aren't wasting film or having to wait for Boots to develop it any more before you see your results. I'm sure plenty of people will be willing to answer any questions, better than the user manual. The only daft questions are the ones you DON'T ask!

Edited by Rich_
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I hope the camera manufacturers are reading this . . . all they need to do is a cheap as chips, manual, no frills DSLR, and all the 'Photoholics' will be happy . . . <_<<_<<_< yeh . . . all the knobs and buttons, the more the merrier, dont want to use them of course . . . just for show you understand :rolleyes::wacko::wallbash: Now which banana tree did I get out of???

 

SW

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I hope the camera manufacturers are reading this . . . all they need to do is a cheap as chips, manual, no frills DSLR, and all the 'Photoholics' will be happy . . . <_<<_<<_< yeh . . . all the knobs and buttons, the more the merrier, dont want to use them of course . . . just for show you understand :rolleyes::wacko::wallbash: Now which banana tree did I get out of???

 

SW

 

You have actually got a point there!! Why don't they do that? I'd have bought one , To use on photoholic days ,with only the functions I would actually use. I have a compact camera (Which incidentally has token "manual" settings which of course I never use )that takes perfectly good photos the rest of the time when I don't want to cart a DSLR & lenses round such as when fishing or walking.

 

However, good photos can be taken on any camera at all. Wouldn't you say?

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However, good photos can be taken on any camera at all. Wouldn't you say?

 

 

 

I think thats a good point Rich, I have always believed, its not the camera, its the person behind the camera that counts . . . :thumbs:

 

Ask Janet, the number of times I have said to her, "the photographers eye is all important".

 

Puts that one to bed nicely dont you think :D

 

More than one way to skin a cat . . . SW

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