[FozzFoster]

I know it may be sort of obvious, but I just want to share my thoughts and experiences..

For general walk-around snapshot photography:

Coming from the digital realm, having full and semi auto functions available, I gravitated toward a preference of Av mode.
I found it 'easiest' to achieve my desired results in this mode. Simply set the the aperture to your desired depth of field and the camera automatically chooses the other settings to acquire the correct exposure.

I've relatively recently gotten more and more into film photography. My choice in film cameras were the pre-electro age; no auto focus, no auto aperture. I'm mainly shooting an MX.

I find it interesting that I do not use 'Av' style shooting with my film camera - although I totally could.
Instead, I find it 'easiest' to use a Tv style shooting on my film cameras where I set my ISO and shutter speed prior and then adjust my aperture to acquire the correct exposure.
I could hold my camera a bit more awkwardly and rotate the shutter dial instead, but it feel more natural to rotate the lens aperture ring instead.

I guess it's sort of obvious, the older manual film cameras were sort of setup (ergonomics) to prefer the Tv style of shooting.

I just find it interesting that I don't go through the pains to keep my preferences acquired from my digital Av experiences...

Anyone out there vehemently determined to shoot in Av mode while taking snapshots on an older film camera?
Or has everyone shrugged such as I have and changed shooting preferences when shooting none-auto cameras?

Have a nice day!

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Last edited by FozzFoster; 10-09-2022 at 01:58 PM.

[Not a Number]

Back in the SLR hey day I remember the ads and the debate over which were better cameras: Aperture Priority (Av) or Shutter Priority (Tv) automation. It seemed more of the manufacturers preferred Aperture Priority emphasizing the creative/artistic choices. Most notably Canon preferred Shutter Priority and they marketed their products towards action and sports photography, which is probably why they dominate the field even today.

Of course the debate became somewhat moot when Minolta released the the XD7/11 which was the first commercially available camera to feature both modes.

Basically now as then it boils down to using the tools that best suit your style/workflow.

Personally then as now I prefer Av mode as I like having control over the DOF. If I wanted to "freeze the action" or soften the flowing water I could always manipulate the shutter speed indirectly through the aperture setting.

[AfterPentax Mark II]

I do not know if this answers your question, but in my filmdays I shot manual. So I preset the aperture and the shutterspeed beforehand, focused and pushed the button. That is how I started out with my Zenit camera and did do so until I bought an SFX and to take full advantage of that camera set the aperture to A and the selecter to P, which made me think that the camera made picture and not me. So I turned to Av and chose the best aperture to fit the scene I wanted to make a picture of. At the start of the digital era (in my case) I started out with P setting just to learn to handle a digital camera. I turned to AV quite soon and every now and again used TAv, which comes close to manual handling. But after I bought the KP and more or less ditched the K-3 II I turned to manual again. So that utterly modern and capable KP is used like my old Zenit camera. Sometimes I even use manual focusing , because that is much easier with KP than K-3 II or earlier models. In my case I turned from film to digital and you turned from digital to film. About a year or so ago I turned again to film just to see what I can do with it, and although the pictures came out quite good, I prefer the digital era, because in the end it delivers better pictures IMNSHO. I am still proud of what I did in the film era but that was then and this is now so I sometimes wonder why people turn to the old film or, in the case of my other hobby, to vinyl. But then again, I will not buy an E-reader because I enjoy a lump of paper in my hands....

[pschlute]

Or has everyone shrugged such as I have and changed shooting preferences when shooting none-auto cameras?

I learned my photography on the MX. Not having any experience of any other SLR I did not think in terms of Av or Tv. For landscape/architectural/portrait I would choose the aperture first and then adjust the shutter dial while supporting the camera with my left hand. For action shots I would choose the shutter speed first and adjust the aperture with my left thumb and forefinger, still supporting the camera with my left hand. The advantage of the MX was that both shutter speed and aperture were visible in the viewfinder.

Once I got a camera that had Tv and Av modes I found I used Av most of the time.

[Not a Number]

Right, prior to automation say on the Minolta SRT-101 I would usually set the aperture first, then the shutter speed. Again it depended on what I was shooting.

[acoufap]

I know it may be sort of obvious, but I just want to share my thoughts and experiences..

For general walk-around snapshot photography:

Coming from the digital realm, having full and semi auto functions available, I gravitated toward a preference of Av mode.
I found it 'easiest' to achieve my desired results in this mode. Simply set the the aperture to your desired depth of field and the camera automatically chooses the other settings to acquire the correct exposure.

I've relatively recently gotten more and more into film photography. My choice in film cameras were the pre-electro age; no auto focus, no auto aperture. I'm mainly shooting an MX.

I find it interesting that I do not use 'Av' style shooting with my film camera - although I totally could.
Instead, I find it 'easiest' to use a Tv style shooting on my film cameras where I set my ISO and shutter speed prior and then adjust my aperture to acquire the correct exposure.
I could hold my camera a bit more awkwardly and rotate the shutter dial instead, but it feel more natural to rotate the lens aperture ring instead.

I guess it's sort of obvious, the older manual film cameras were sort of setup (ergonomics) to prefer the Av style of shooting.

I just find it interesting that I don't go through the pains to keep my preferences acquired from my digital Av experiences...

Anyone out there vehemently determined to shoot in Av mode while taking snapshots on an older film camera?
Or has everyone shrugged such as I have and changed shooting preferences when shooting none-auto cameras?

Have a nice day!

I think I understand what you‘re talking about.

While looking through the MX’s viewfinder it‘s not that easy to change the exposure time to get the LED turn green, IMO. Easier to change the aperture on the lens - so „Tv-like“ could be preferred, ergonomics and not thinking about the best aperture could let you tend to change the aperture more often than the exposure time. In addition while you change the aperture you even see the change of aperture directly in the viewfinder. To check if DOF is sufficient you are supported with stop-down function for the aperture.

On the ME Super I mostly used the exposure time auto mode, today we call it Av - aperture given by positioning the lens ring, that is transferred via lens coupling to the camera. You see the automatically chosen exposure time in the viewfinder, no aperture visible there. And changing exposure time in M mode is supported by two buttons „up“ and „down“ - easier to use than the exposure time dial of the MX IMO. In this case you may use a „Av-like“ mode more often. Ergonomics may lead to the preferred usage again, but in another direction.

My two cents.

[reh321]

I was a film shooter, starting 35mm in1969.

I always was more interested in shutter speed, accepting whatever aperture resulted.
Nothing changed with digital - I have always been more interested in results than in ergonomics.

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Last edited by reh321; 07-26-2022 at 09:08 AM.

[Dartmoor Dave]

My first "proper" camera was a K1000 back in 1980, and it made me naturally shoot in a particular way that I've never really changed since. With the K1000 I would set a shutter speed according to the available light, the movement of the subject, and the film speed I was using, then set the aperture to whatever the match-needle metering required. Things like depth of field never really occurred to me, except in situations where it really, really mattered.

And I still take pretty much the same approach with digital cameras today. I use the lowest ISO and shutter speed that I can get away with for the subject movement and the light, and the aperture just ends up where it has to.

[UncleVanya]

I know it may be sort of obvious, but I just want to share my thoughts and experiences..

My choice in film cameras were the pre-electro age; no auto focus, no auto aperture. I'm mainly shooting an MX.

I find it interesting that I do not use 'Av' style shooting with my film camera - although I totally could.
Instead, I find it 'easiest' to use a Tv style shooting on my film cameras where I set my ISO and shutter speed prior and then adjust my aperture to acquire the correct exposure.
I could hold my camera a bit more awkwardly and rotate the shutter dial instead, but it feel more natural to rotate the lens aperture ring instead.

I guess it's sort of obvious, the older manual film cameras were sort of setup (ergonomics) to prefer the Av style of shooting.

You are mixing things up a bit. Your shooting in M (manual) mode. And you are adjusting aperture rather than shutter speed most often to balance the exposure. That’s not how I learned to shoot film since aperture impacts the final look more than shutter speed on the majority of subjects as long as you exceed a threshold value based on the movement of the subject.

My first camera had two shutter speed options - only one that wasn’t bulb - and only three apertures - so on that camera I only adjusted aperture. My second camera was an aperture preferred rangefinder. There was no direct control of shutter speed. My third camera was fully manual but the shutter was adjusted on the lens mount. My fourth camera was setup with shutter speed on the top right mark where my thumb and forefinger could reach it easily with a small shift in grip.

Essentially I set a minimum shutter speed or higher and then used aperture to get my desired depth of field. I mostly used shutter speed to dial in exposure once I set aperture for my desired depth of field… unless that was not a possibility due to gear limitations. I even used my mother’s shutter preferred camera in an aperture centric way by adjusting my shutter speed to force the camera to my desired aperture.

[TwoUptons]

I do the same thing as the OP, though lately I’ve been liking TAv for digital.

I also grew up with a K1000 and generally would set shutter speed first, with aperture as a fallout. I expect that came from trying to eliminate shake…

On my SuperProgram I often shot aperture priority because not all my lenses were KA…

I’ve been trying out a new (to me) Industar 50-2, which has a simple aperture (no A/M switch or preset ring), and with that it’s focus, set aperture while making sure I don’t move the focus ring, then shutter last…

It’s a big change from what I’m used to… but I think we all just work around what works best with the gear we’re used to…

-Eric

[gofour3]

I only shoot film and usually* with 100 ISO E6.
Using a manual camera I mostly* start off with setting the aperture to f/8 and the shutter to 1/125 and do adjustments from there to match up the needles/lights.
Using a camera with aperture priority I mostly* set the aperture to f/8 and go with what ever shutter speed is indicated, unless it's 1/30 and below.

*Of course it depends on the available light, lens, film and what I'm also shooting.

Phil.