Originally posted by Culture Originally posted by RioRico: For a series of shots under fairly consistent lighting, I'll often go to M(anual) mode, take a reading, adjust as needed, and stay there. For shots where I can't get a good reading off the subject, I'll meter (spot or center-weighted) off something of a similar tone, like the ground or my hand or sleeve. And when it really matters, I bracket bracket bracket! IMHO metering technique and bracketing are as important (or more so) than the precise mode used.
How long does it take you to do all of these?
Hardly any time at all! In M mode, punching the Green button is fast. In an Auto mode, punching the AE-L button is fast. I mean like one second. Setting bracketing takes a little longer, like 3-5 seconds -- and on my K20D in RAW, there's a 3-second write delay after shooting. Chimping is slightly slower but requires more brainpower, which I sometimes lack. Duh...
Quote: Now dont get me wrong. when the time is good and i have the time I can make the settings. but when time is not on my side then panic sets in. That is what I hate.
Spray and pray!
Back in the day, my main camera for awhile was an ancient folder, a German 1934 Kodak Retina 1, the very first 135 camera. With a great 50/3.5 lens, manual shutter, no rangefinder, no metering, no nothing but focus-shutter-aperture controls. After a couple intensive months, it became totally instinctive. Look at a scene, judge the distance and light -- then my fingers automatically made the adjustments, and I shot. And turned the film knob; no quick-advance lever either! A light-meter in my pocket, just in case, but otherwise it's all a matter of experience. Look, diddle, shoot, nice and easy!
My point is: don't panic. Learn to judge scenes. For exposure, remember that you're not capturing subjects, you're capturing LIGHT -- so learn to judge light and shadow. With an AF lens and the camera in P mode and center-weighted metering, you should be able to look at a subject and judge whether you need to tweak the EV compensation. Then shoot and chimp and adjust and shoot again. And if you're in a hurry and get the exposure wrong, well, it can be fixed in PP.