Camera Labs

Hi there!

I know many photographers are using Manual mode for their exposures, and to be fair, when I have the time I prefer M too, but why would you prefer it over A(v)?
It's true that it's not that easy (or impossible) to get an exposure two stops darker/lighter than your camera meters in A. But for -I guess- 95% of the photos you just want the correct exposure. Maybe 1/3 EV less or more. Maybe a full stop.
So what (do you think) are the advantages of the fully Manual mode (except the ''fun'' or feeling the touch with your baby) ?

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

I don't know where I heard it, but as someone said "if the light doesn't change, your exposure doesn't". Ok, it's a little generalised perhaps, but if you're doing a shoot in a controlled environment, once you have the right settings they don't need to be changed, unless something changes. Av mode doesn't guarantee that, and the camera may meter on differences around the subject and give different exposures, and you would have to do more work if the shots need to be consistent. So I'd use Av as a kind of "depth of field priority" mode where I do expect to take many shots in varying conditions.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

With Av you have less control over exposure than in M, but when you need to be fast and circumstances can change quickly then Av is the way to go. You haven't got the time to adjust exposure when you have a split second to photograph a bird in flight for example. In M the moment will have passed before you changed the settings, while with Av you can react a lot faster.

So sure: M is nice to use, and you have most creative control here, but Av is better if you are shooting in fast changing circumstances, or when you have to react really fast on stuff happening in front of the lens.

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Cameras: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 40D
Lenses: Canon EF 17-40/4 L USM, Canon EF-S 60/2.8 Macro USM, Canon EF 70-200/2.8 L USM, Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Want list: Canon EF 24-105/4 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 Macro L IS USM

It's not that I dont use M; I use it quite often. But it's about the changes you make. It's true you can lock the exposure much easier, but the very minor exposure changes you can make in M (from 1/50 to 1/60 for instance), there's of course differences and Im not sure if A can do this small changes too, but when shooting RAW it isnt even a ''problem'' -for me anyway. The exposure in Photoshop is quite easily corrected if we're talking about these small changes in light.

Let's change the main question then: Why do you use M?

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

I try to use Av the most I can, but sometimes I just disagree with the numbers its giving me. If I use my Tamron SP 70-300 VC USD lens, I know I can handhold it at 1/100 and 1/50 shutter speeds with no problems. So if it's dark and I'm pushing the limits of the lens, I'll usually go in M and set it at f/5.6, 1/50, and let the ISO on auto. This will ensure I end up with the lowest possible ISO for the shot, as opposed to going in Tv mode which might think it's funny to use f/8 and a higher ISO.

edit: Also for anything that the camera cannot expose: fireworks, fireflys, stars in the sky, etc.

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Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T2i, Canon S90
Lenses: Tamron: SP70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD, Canon: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens, 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III, and EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Retired camera: Fujifilm Finepix s700

The auto-ISO is a nice reason why to go M, I agree. Still a pity I dont have a real auto-ISO in M though...

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

i dont use M , dont think i ever have had the need to.

90% of the photos i take are with Av and for the remainder i tend to use the auto modes... for quick capture i tend to let the camera do its thing. i would also confess to not having sufficient experience to know exactly what works when.

if i have time then play aalittle with Tv mode but tbh. Av suits me best.

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Canon 550D, Canon EFS 17-85 IS USM, Canon EF 75-300 IS USM, Canon EFS 10-22mm USM, Canon EF35mm F2.

Got some of the gear but really still no idea...

M and Bulb mode are the only one's I have active on my 1D ^^

But on Leica M8, I use A sometimes, just because its faster otherwise Leica is extremely manual..

I like to be in control of everything, every setting. I dont like to be lazy and use the auto settings. I also like MF instead of AF

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http://www.AnderssonPhoto.com
Cameras: Leica M8, Nikon FE-2, Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, 5D Mark II, 40D
Lenses: Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm 1.4, Ultra Wide Heliar 12mm 5.6 ASPH II, Nikkor AI-S 28mm 2.8, Canon 24-70 2.8L, 85mm 1.2L II, 300mm 2.8L IS, TS-E 45mm 2.8, Sigma 105mm 2.8 Macro
Canon 1.4x/2X TC II, Canon 580EX II X2, Gitzo + Manfrotto.
Wishlist: Leica Monochrom, Summilux 50 ASPH, Voigtlander 35mm 1.2 ASPH II

I use av mostly, but always note iso and shutter speed. I do use manual, its useful when you want the metering to be the same and it depends on the subject and how its lit.
The metering systems is pretty smart, generally don`t really see the need not to use.
With a bit of experience I am sure most people that use their camera a bit, can just about pick what settings the camera is going to choose anyway.

I do find m with auto iso handy, in particular when chasing birds in low light, I want high shutterspeed and small dof.

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Canon Powershot S95, Canon 7D, 15-85, Canon 85 1.8 USM, Sigma 30 1.4, 50mm 1.8, Canon 100 2.8L IS Macro, Canon 70-300L IS USM+Kenko 1.4 Pro 300DGX, Canon 430EX II and RS 4 Classic

I used manual once, but it is slower to use than Av, it depends what do you shoot. I was shooting in woods with manual, and that was ok, because light changed only minimum times, but when sunny, Av or Tv is best for me, because sometimes i shoot into sun, against sun, in shadows, and that is too slow to set

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I'm new to DSLR's, so please be patient and take my opinions with reserve. Thank you : ) Yes, i am Canon man.
Google + My picasa photos My 500px album
Canon 60D + 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS, Canon 70-200 F2.8L IS II, Canon 430EXII, polarizing filter 72mm,
Canon AT-1, 50mm FD F1.8
Canon A430,

i understad that Av (which i have to start using alot more) is quick to trigger if something just pops up in front of you but if that something is a moving animal or flying bird we cant be sure that the camera s gonna give us a convinient shutterspeed so isnt M mode or even Tv mode better for that situation?

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Canon rebel T2i, 18-55mm EF-S IS, 55-250mm EF-S IS

I choose the mode depending on the situation. M is what I use most for situations like:
- Long exposure; especially at night. For shooting lightning, for example.
- Using a flash. A(v) tends to expose too long when using a flash. Tv / S could be OK that way but very often the aperture isn't closed enough. Example: Product photography.
- Situations in which the exposure definitely shouldn't change.

Otherwise I'm mainly using Av or even P. Sometimes Tv (which I used much more often about two years ago).

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

In Av shooting with flash makes so random results once it flashes, once not, pure random... I hate to use flash, but have to.

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I'm new to DSLR's, so please be patient and take my opinions with reserve. Thank you : ) Yes, i am Canon man.
Google + My picasa photos My 500px album
Canon 60D + 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS, Canon 70-200 F2.8L IS II, Canon 430EXII, polarizing filter 72mm,
Canon AT-1, 50mm FD F1.8
Canon A430,