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I have a compact digital camera and am considering moving up to a dslr.
Nikon is one of two brands I am considering, but gong no higher than the D80.
I like using the preset modes, but want the flexibility to easily take control for myself.
Which model camera do you have, how well do you like the preset modes on your camera, and how easy is it to transition from an automatic mode to either aperture or shutter priority?
If you think there is somehting else I should know, feel free.
Thanks,

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David

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.

I don't think that theres much difference at all in terms of the difficulty. All you really need to is adjust either the aperture or the shutter speed and decide if you want the flash on or off. You are going to have to go into the menus to adjust the image settings like sharpening and saturation though. Thats more tedious than difficult though and I don't really bother with those, I do all that in post-processing. I have the D80 and I never use the scene modes, not because I don't like them but I just don't see the need. Auto works fine if I really need the shot quick(rarely).

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Graham
Flickr

I have a D80 and have never used the preset modes. I normally use A, sometimes S and very rarely M.

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Nikon D80, Nikkor lenses: 35mm f1.8 G AF-S DX, 50mm f/1.8 AF D, 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX, 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR, SB800 flash
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I never use the scene modes either (only Aperture, Shutter and Manual modes).

As for the difficulty of switching between the modes; On the D80 it's dead easy;



All the modes are available on a dial on the top/left of the camera.

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I also have a D80 and I also only ever use Aperture Priority. I might be tempted to use some of the scene modes if only they didn't also change the colour-space.

Personally I've never understood why people automatically think an SLR is more complicated. There are certainly more options but they're generally set out in a far more logical arrangement than can be found on a typical compact.

The only thing the D80 lacks which I would use is the ability to set the function button to switch between AutoISO on/off.

Zorro.

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Various lenses, SB800 & Manfrotto 190 with 460MG head

Me, I'm just plain dumb. Using Auto (for my wife) and Aperture for me on almost every occasion. Only thing I use scene-mode on my D80: night shots.
If you're an avid sports-shooter, than you should use Shutter-prio.

It's as simple as 1-2-3!
(Ye older of you should know this tag-line!)

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Never use them, I am all Manual Mode.

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Canon EOS 5D + 50mm f/1.8

http://flickr.com/photos/nathan_ward

With the D40, you simply use a dial to switch between modes. It's like on the D80, as Telexstar has shown.

On the matter of the difficulty of using the modes, you just set the aperture (aperture priority) or shutter speed (shutter priority) you want and the camera calculates the rest for you. After a couple of tries, you'll get the hang of it.

I use aperture priority almost all of the time.

Of course you can still use auto mode and get good results. Nikon is famed for this.

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Nikon D90 + MB-D80 + SB-600 + AF-S VR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 + AF-S 35mm f/1.8 + AF 85mm f/1.8 | My photos on Flickr.

Same here. Never use the scene modes

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Nikon D80 | 18-135mm Kit Lens | 50mm f/1.8 | 4GB 150x Card | SB-600
http://flickr.com/photos/antmanisfubar

Same here, I used to love my Nikon film SLR so I turn off image review and use manual all the time, although I have used Program a few times before.

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Nikon and Canon Systems
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Thanks, all, for your comments.
I take it that these presets are not generally wanted, otherwise they would get more use.
Is the issue that they are not effective, or is it that you prefer to have the creative control?
My concern is on the effectiveness. My assumption is that Nikon's metering system is so good that it doesn't matter how you set the camera, except for manual.
Is this so?

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David

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.

Hi David
When my wife or kids uses the camera, I teach them to use, Auto first or P Mode, or the scene presents. This way, their interest in taking pics is not affected by 'bad pics'.
I feel the presents are there to help you out, if you ever get 'lost' and dont know what to do.

As for manual mode - its you who are controlling outcome of the pics via the aperture and shutter speeds and depending on what you want of the pics - darker exposures. Always helps to experiment with your camera.

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Nikon D7000 and a bunch of Nikkors

I've had a small play around with some of the presets on the D80 and they don't just effect the metering/exposure settings. They also change odd little settings depending on the scene mode selected; For example, in sports mode it will change the focus mode to continuous-servo (to track moving subjects), or in other modes it sets the onboard flash in a certain way or disables it altogether.

If you like, I should be able to quickly throw up a list of the settings the camera changes in any given scene mode if that would be of help?

Also, here's a link to the D80 manual in .pdf - www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/noprint/D80_noprint.pdf

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Thanks, Telex. That would be good but I don't want to take advantage.
In the meantime, I will check the link you have provided. That could be the biggest help of all.
I didn't realize that the scene modes would change that many things.
Using them could be worthwhile, especially if you are in a hurry or a busy place that could cause distractions.

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David

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.

Here are the settings that I can determine from each scene mode on the D80. They should mostly be obvious but if not, here’s what I mean;

Flash: should be obvious; in auto mode it will pop the flash up if it thinks it needs it. Slow sync (in Night portrait mode) is where it will slow the shutter speed down to allow more ambient light.
Focus area: in auto mode the camera will use info from all 11 focus points to determine which point to focus on. Single – it will focus on one of the 11 selected focus points (you can choose). Dynamic – it will focus on your selected focus point as in single area but if the subject moves out from under that point, the camera will focus based on info from the other focus areas.
Focus mode: Auto – camera will decide between single-servo (will focus when shutter release is half pressed and then fix) or continuous servo (continually focuses when shutter release is half pressed) based on how much the subject is moving. Except in sports mode where it seems to constantly prefer continuous-servo.
Metering: Matrix – meters the whole scene and you can’t change this in the scene modes.
White Balance: Automatically chooses WB and you can’t change this.
ISO: Automatically chooses ISO but you can override to a setting you prefer.

Some notes: In all of these modes you can select whether to shoot in RAW or JPEG yourself. In certain modes, like close-up, it appears that the camera also fiddles with the saturation settings to give emphasis to certain colours. I can’t see exactly what it’s doing as the menu option is greyed out when the scene modes are selected but it’s something to be aware of. Also, in certain modes the camera will give preference to a smaller aperture (larger depth of field) for modes like landscape.


Portrait mode:
Flash – auto (can override)
Focus area - auto area (can override)
Focus mode – Auto (camera prefers single-servo)
Metering – matrix (can not override)
WB – auto (can not override)
ISO – auto (can override)

Landscape mode:
Flash – disabled (can override)
Focus area - auto area (can override)
Focus mode – Auto (camera prefers single-servo)
Metering – matrix (can not override)
WB – auto (can not override)
ISO – auto (can override)

Close-up/Macro mode:
Flash – auto (can override)
Focus area - single area (can override)
Focus mode – Auto (camera prefers single-servo)
Metering – matrix (can not override)
WB – auto (can not override)
ISO – auto (can override)

Sports mode:
Flash – disabled (can override)
Focus area - dynamic area (can override)
Focus mode – Auto (camera prefers continuous-servo)
Metering – matrix (can not override)
WB – auto (can not override)
ISO – auto (can override)

Night Landscape mode:
Flash – disabled (can override)
Focus area - auto area (can override)
Focus mode – Auto (camera prefers single-servo)
Metering – matrix (can not override)
WB – auto (can not override)
ISO – auto (can override)

Night portrait mode:
Flash – auto/slow sync (can override)
Focus area - auto area (can override)
Focus mode – Auto (camera prefers single-servo)
Metering – matrix (can not override)
WB – auto (can not override)
ISO – auto (can override)

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