Originally posted by justtakingpics If you are doing anything but the most trivial, do you adjust the camera settings for a picture or do you let the camera decide? When do you put it in manual? When do you decide you know better than the auto settings on the dslr?
Thanks.
Hi jtp,
With the K-7, I usually shoot Av priority, with the front e-wheel programmed for Ev compensation and the rear wheel programmed for aperture control and Auto ISO with a range that is suitable for the situation. The camera is set to the "speed" program line, so it will generally choose higher ISO to keep shutter speed up. I also use the "info" screen to set max ISO on the fly, so I have reasonably easy control over each of the three exposure parameters. I also set up the Ev steps to 1/2 stop to make transitions from + to - EV comp faster.
But you asked about adjustments for each shot, and how much automation is used. . . I'm a birder, and birds don't give me much choice, so I frequently change settings for the myriad of conditions these little guys require, depending on where they decide to land and sit for a few seconds.
With Av priority, I choose the aperture, and if I can get away with it (with enough light), I'll shoot at lower ISO and at smaller apertures (to get lowest noise [destructive to detail] and widest Depth of Field [to get more of the bird in focus and mask focusing errors as much as possible]), but more often than not, I'm forced to change this, so for darker conditions, I'll go with a wider aperture first (I use premium glass, so wide open sharpness is as good as possible), and if shutter speeds are still too slow, I'll go to the Info screen and up the max ISO to get faster shutter speeds. I keep the Auto ISO range selected on this screen, so it's just one button push and a roll of the either wheel, and I can raise or lower the max ISO, and with the "Speed" program line, this is essentially the same as directly controlling the ISO.
I usually shoot with fast telephotos with TCs, so the net max apertures are usually relatively slow.
Another situation that always develops is that for one shot, I'll be shooting a bird with the sky as a background, and for the next shot, a bird will be sitting on the ground in bright sunlight, then for the next, a white bird (or bird with some white or yellow feathers) will show up in bright sunlight. Each of these requires Ev compensation quickly, so that's why my front e-dial is set to adjust this. (+) 1-1.5 stops Ev for birds against the sky, 0 Ev comp for birds in sunlight, and (-) 1-2 stops Ev comp for white or yellow feathers to keep from blowing them out. This is why I have the front e-dial set to change Ev comp.
I shoot the great majority of the time like this because I've trained myself, and can remember what to do. If I changed modes, I would just get confused. . .
I also generally shoot Auto White Balance, because it's so good on the K-7, although it does get fooled occasionally. Usually when this happens, the WB is easily correctable in PP.
I do shoot some in manual mode, but that's usually when there's a difficult scene, and I want to be able to move the subject around in the frame or take shots from different angles without changing the exposure settings. I also shoot in manual when I want certain effects when using flash indoors, but the flashes are usually in P-TTL.
I set up the image parameters as the first thing I do when getting a new body. I try to set things up so the images I get most closely match what I see. These settings are rarely changed, except when I'm not shooting birds. I have a whole different set of settings for macro work, and have them saved as my "user" mode settings.
This is probably more confusing than anything, but I hope it helps to show how some of the features can be used to a shooter's advantage.
Scott