Originally posted by Buddha Jones The other post about 'What mode to shoot kids in?' got me thinking. I know that there are many of you out there that are die hard manual, and others are predominantly Av users. I guess I am curious if you mainly stay in that one mode or does what you are shooting determine what mode you shoot?
Me personally I am Av, but if I want more control then I go to TAv, but as in the moon shots that we all took during the eclips I eventually went to full manual by the end of the night.
I use P mode most often with the DA lenses, but do not hesitate to switch to Manual when necessary. I have never found, with the Pentax program shift available that the other AF modes are really all that necessary, unless I am working specifically toward controlling my depth of field, and then I will use Av.
My experience with AE enabled cameras started with Aperture priority, so I automatically think of the aperture and change it to change the shutter speed when maintaining exposure. I have never quite grasped the idea that for sports you set a high shutter speed and let the camera control the aperture.
For sports, the simplest way to get a high shutter speed is to open up the aperture. The camera will then set the highest shutter speed that will give you the exposure. You don't need to keep checking the metering to see that you need to lower the shutter speed a stop or two because the light has fallen off and the camera has no f/stop settings that work.
[Donning flame proof asbestos suit]