[mtnbearhug]

Does any one use the Scn settings on thier K100D Super (or K100 or K10 if that option is on thier camera?)

When you have the camera set on scn (on the picture dial), you can push the fn button and you have 8 pre-set options.

Night scene, surf and snow, text, sunset/sunrise, kids, animals (dogs and cats), candle lite, non flash places (like a museum).

I am assuming these are just preset settings to help the amature (like myself) with these settings?? Do the really work.... ??

Any information would be great!!!!!

[Silus001]

I dont really know if they work flawlessly but I do know that they kinda give the camera and idea of what to expect and what kind of pictures your taking so it sets itself up, but it does so as if you were taking the pictures in ideal conditions. I personally feel that practicing in manual mode is alot more worth than letting the camera do all the settings for you because only you know what kind of pictures you want and what the real conditions really are.

[egordon99]

Don't bother with the scene settings. Buy a copy of Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" and learn how ISO, f-stop, and shutter speed relate to each other. These three parameters are ALL that determines the exposure (along with the ambient light of course, forget about flash for now) The scene modes use some mysterious process to figure these out for you. I say take control of the camera and use P (to start out) or Av mode. Your photography will thank you

[Lowell Goudge]

Much to many people's dismay the K10 does not have these features, because it is expected that people know what they want to set.

Really when you consider it all, the suggestion to get a photograpohy book is a good one, as it will explain how you should set the camera for each situation, and you will understand then how to set for an unprepared situation also.

[RoxnDox]

lots of people dislike them, lots of people say you should avoid them and learn the manual settings. Sometimes, though, they're just nice to have (say on a February morning when the air temp is -7F and you don't really want to spend too much time fiddling around with the settings...). As to the question of "do they work?", the answer is yes, sometimes they work pretty well. This was taken with the sunrise/sunset Scene and the 18-55 kit lens. No tripod, but it was braced against a light pole while I stood in the snow...

Jim

[mtnbearhug]

Don't bother with the scene settings. Buy a copy of Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" and learn how ISO, f-stop, and shutter speed relate to each other. These three parameters are ALL that determines the exposure (along with the ambient light of course, forget about flash for now)

Thank you Egordon for the advice. I know the manual is the way to go, but I am just a greeny in the digital world so I was just getting a feel for the camera. When I was reading the manual I came acrosss these settings so was just wondering.

lots of people dislike them, lots of people say you should avoid them and learn the manual settings. Sometimes, though, they're just nice to have (say on a February morning when the air temp is -7F and you don't really want to spend too much time fiddling around with the settings...). As to the question of "do they work?", the answer is yes, sometimes they work pretty well. This was taken with the sunrise/sunset Scene and the 18-55 kit lens. No tripod, but it was braced against a light pole while I stood in the snow... Jim

A person told me once that a you can have the best camera in the world and still take crappy shots if you dont have the eye...... I do like the ease of setting shots... and they are not that bad.. to the professional I guess I they would be, but for pure enjoyment and non-brain activites..lol.. they workd great...

Of course I really haven't dove into the manual settings yet, I will probably change my mind once I learn them better...

Kim

[cardinal43]

Kim, like you, I am a newbie. I purchased the K100 the beginning of September, immediately went out of town for working for 2 weeks, and really didn't get a chance to do anything with the camera until my wife and I attended a wedding the middle of the month. Not knowing anything about the cameral, I shot just about everything in auto. I tried a couple of the scenes, and they worked reasonably well. I am still learning the basics and most times, I don't have a clue what is happening.

This past weekend we took a drive down Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Forest to see the changing leaves. I put the camera on Av and left it there, and I like most of the pics I took. I probably should have shot some in Tv, but my understanding is this is more for sports, rather than landscapes. I need to learn when to use P, M, Av, Tv, etc. From just about everything I have read, I need to basically disregard auto, P, and scenes, and better learn how to "really use the camera."

[mattdm]

This past weekend we took a drive down Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Forest to see the changing leaves. I put the camera on Av and left it there, and I like most of the pics I took. I probably should have shot some in Tv, but my understanding is this is more for sports, rather than landscapes. I need to learn when to use P, M, Av, Tv, etc. From just about everything I have read, I need to basically disregard auto, P, and scenes, and better learn how to "really use the camera."

It isn't really the mode you shoot in that matters but the resulting balance of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture for the exposure you want. The various modes are just different ways of presenting control over that to you.

• You want to be in Av mode if setting the depth of field is your primary concern.
  
• You want to be in Tv mode if freezing motion or introducing blur is your primary concern.
  
• You want to be in P mode if you don't really care about those things for the image at hand.
  
• You want to be in M mode if you really, really do care.

That's all there is to it.

[Jester_rm]

Hmm...I don't think I've ever actually used them. Most of the time I'm either in "full auto" mode if I really don't care and am using the kit lens (basically just using it in "snapshot" mode), or Av or Tv or M depending on the lens and subject. Not conciously avoiding them, just haven't found a normal use for them yet.

[jnorth]

I think that once the investment of a bit of time in understanding ISO, shutter and aperture is made, the thinking really isn't there it all becomes just part of the process. My brain hasn't rebelled to tell me it hurts yet. I may not nail an image on the first attempt but when I have played with some of those scene settings out of curiosity on my DS I didn't necessarily nail the shot then either. I'm glad they are not on my K10D except perhaps when my wife wants to borrow my camera and I don't have my DS handy.

[cardinal43]

@mattdm:

Thanks for the reply. I'm still playing with the camera to learn "how to control it", if that is the real term. I think that is sort of what I was doing this past weekend by shooting in Av. I didn't care at all about the speed, because every shot was a landscape, except for a couple of portraits of the lovely woman that puts up with my foolishness. And yes, I am talking about my wife.

I am ever so slowly trying to work myself to the "M" phase, but it seems to be (sometimes) rather complicated. I have not come anywhere near to knowing what speed, shutter, iso, yada, yada, that I need. But, I'm having fun learning.

[richard64]

It isn't really the mode you shoot in that matters but the resulting balance of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture for the exposure you want. The various modes are just different ways of presenting control over that to you.

• You want to be in Av mode if setting the depth of field is your primary concern.
  
• You want to be in Tv mode if freezing motion or introducing blur is your primary concern.
  
• You want to be in P mode if you don't really care about those things for the image at hand.
  
• You want to be in M mode if you really, really do care.

That's all there is to it.

That is true, but SCN actually does more than determining the correct ISO-aperture-shutter speed combination. However, most of the other stuff that SCN does you can do yourself. So Museum, Candlelight and Sunset won't let you use the flash; Sunset applies a reddish tinge etc etc. This is stuff that you can do yourself, or do afterwards when you process the picture. And SCN needs at least an A lens (M and earlier will not use SCN) which makes sense because its an automatic mode.

Richard

[mattdm]

That is true, but SCN actually does more than determining the correct ISO-aperture-shutter speed combination.

I was responding to the other poster's comment about needing to learn more about the non-scene exposure program (and manual) modes.

But yes, the SCN modes do this and more, where "more" is defined as "mysterious undocumented stuff that probably is a good idea for the selected type of scene, but you'll never actually know what effects were applied and how".

This drives me nuts because, beyond just being useless to the experienced photographer, they're also useless as learning tools for the novice. It's like invisible training wheels which never come off.

[mtnbearhug]

I am still learning the basics and most times, I don't have a clue what is happening. I put the camera on Av and left it there, and I like most of the pics I took. I probably should have shot some in Tv, but my understanding is this is more for sports, rather than landscapes. I need to learn when to use P, M, Av, Tv, etc. From just about everything I have read, I need to basically disregard auto, P, and scenes, and better learn how to "really use the camera."

Thank you for understanding Cardinal... It is kind of overwelming at first... all the different settings you have at your fingertips... Next time I take my camera out (probably next weekend) I will venture into the AV setting and see what happens..

I have also just been wanting to sit back and set up something on a table and the tripod and click away, changing the setting each time to see if I can see any differences with them.. If I do I will let you know what I find out!!

It isn't really the mode you shoot in that matters but the resulting balance of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture for the exposure you want. The various modes are just different ways of presenting control over that to you.That's all there is to it.

Mattdm... thank you very much for this explanation.. It really helps more than you know!!!!!

I didn't care at all about the speed, because every shot was a landscape, except for a couple of portraits of the lovely woman that puts up with my foolishness. And yes, I am talking about my wife.

What would we do without thos lovely people that put up with our foolnishness.. my bf is great.. I tell him I need to go play with my camera and he goes and grabs his keys and ask where we want to go!!!!

I am ever so slowly trying to work myself to the "M" phase, but it seems to be (sometimes) rather complicated. But, I'm having fun learning.

I too am having fun.. but it is a scary step to put that switch on M mode.... Makes me nervouse just thinkin about it!!!!

beyond just being useless to the experienced photographer, they're also useless as learning tools for the novice. It's like invisible training wheels which never come off.

I wouldn't be that hard on the settings Mattdm. They do have benefit. They have ease... For my pics for example, it gave me an idea of what kind of pictures I could take. These settings also allow my son the ease of using my camera without having to worry about to much and still have fun. so the settings are not a bad thing, extras that come in handy at times....

[Finn]

I too am having fun.. but it is a scary step to put that switch on M mode.... Makes me nervouse just thinkin about it!!!!

To tell you the truth, I usually find using M mode to be an unnecessary amount of control, so you needn't lose sleep over it. The only time I EVER use M is when I'm shooting with manual lenses and don't have a choice. 99% of my shots are taken using Av (aperture priority), because for me the main concern in composition is depth of field (i.e. how much of the image is in focus), with shutter speed being of less concern.

I would whole-heartedly recommend "Understanding Exposure", by Peterson.