Originally posted by Arpe That's a real problem, I read that you should be in this mode for that situation. Okay fine, but why? And what happens if I'm not?
Same for my Panny video cam, different modes for different situations, but it doesn't say what each mode does differently.
This is something that I'm not sure I can tell you. Here's an example:
What white balance setting do you use for outside during the day?
This seems like a simple question, and on the surface it is. But the actual answer is: "It depends." I have intentionally adjusted white balance sometimes to a setting that would be wholly inappropriate, given the "normal" guidelines, but I did it intentionally because I wanted a particular look for the image that I was trying to create/capture using the camera. So some settings require some knowledge by experimentation. Unless the plan is to simply try to exactly copy something someone else has done. Here's another example:
What shutter speed should I use to shoot my child playing sports?
Again, it seems like such a simple question. But the answer is: "It depends." Do you want to freeze the movement? Or do you want to capture some blur to enhance the feeling of motion? To freeze the action you would want to stay near the higher shutter speeds such as 1/500 or shorter. To capture an image that suggest movement with some blur, you will probably need to experiment a little, probably starting at 1/60 or less and moving down. Maybe the image that you want will need a shutter speed of 1/15 or 1/8, but I can't tell you that, not because I don't want to help, but because what I want from an image may not be what you want from an image. Unfortunately there isn't anyway that I can tell someone what they want, or even knowing what they want, I'm not sure if I told them "Set ISO to 200, aperture to f8 and shutter speed to 1/8, then frame with the subject 2.5 centimeters from the left edge of the viewfinder and pan from right to left at a rate of 50 cm/sec" that it would actually be the most pleasing way to capture the image. (This is of course all made up in my head)
Unfortunately, I think this is what most people want to hear, but it isn't always simple. And the other problem is, sometimes the answer is simple.
Here's one I got in the camera store frequently, I think most people who have worked in a camera store will be familiar with it.
"There is something wrong with my camera, why won't it turn on?"
Usually it WAS batteries. Except for the one's who dropped theirs in the lake or ocean. Occasionally it was something that had broken, but this was fairly rare.
BTW: I saw the Nikon/AK/D60 commercial last night, and I started wondering how many people are going to rush out and buy the D60, and then be disappointed with the photos they have because they were out of range of the flash, or they didn't have a fast enough shutter speed or the white balance got thrown off or one of the myriad other things that has to be considered...