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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-10-2012, 04:39 PM
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This thread, resurrected after nearly a year!
The TAv mode on my K20D -- but I knew about that already.
More Green-button options on my K20D that I still haven't played with -- I'm lazy.
Manual modes that aren't really manual -- what a world!
And just where will we go from here?
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
04-11-2010, 02:33 AM
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So it does. Aw shucks. I just hadn't bothered with jiggering the Green button options. So many functions, so few buttons. So we have (on my K20D) a Manual mode that's really Auto. Is there also an Up that's really Down? [/me scratches head with right hand. No, the OTHER right hand.]
Now is about the time where I'll start to rant about hidden & obscure functions & options, about menu systems concealing more than they reveal, about how EVERY FUNCTION SHOULD HAVE ITS OWN BUTTON, et cetera. But I don't have the strength.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
04-10-2010, 01:54 PM
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I don't really have any emotional investment. I just wanted to throw in the Mark Twain quote.
Wait, may I *am* emotional about this. Maybe I'm tired of stuff being called what it ain't. It's manual, except when it ain't. We ain't pregnant, except when we are. It's new and improved, except when it ain't. We're honest and dependable, except when we ain't. We ain't damned, except when we are. Everything is just fine, except when it ain't. Et cetera.
But my critique is aimed at marketing-propaganda-spinning in toto, not just Nikon's terminology. Nikon can call it Fred, for all I care. Disinfo makes my head spin. Too much disinfo induces insanity. OK, so I'll just have to learn how to make my psychoses work for me. The voices in my head say, "Press the shutter." I'll do that. I always listen to my voices.
"It all depends on what the meaning of is is."
--WJ Clinton EDIT:
And my point is that the Green button (metering) is ADVISING the shooter of a shutter speed, not DECIDING shutter and aperture. I just tried it. K20D, DA18-250, aperture previously set to f/3.5, switch to M mode, press the Green button. It reports a shutter speed. I point it elsewhere. It shows another shutter speed. The aperture remains at f/3.5. I change the aperture to f/6.7, repeat the test. The camera reports various shutter speeds, doesn't change aperture or ISO. If I don't like the shutter speed (like my subject is backlit), I can change it. The camera robot HASN'T decided the exposure; I have.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
04-10-2010, 12:27 PM
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Ah yes, the magic manual ISO adjustment, no menus necessary. Great stuff!
Meanwhile, back to Auto ISO in manual mode:
If something is Auto in a Manual world, is it still Manual?
Mark Twain asked, "If you count the tail, how many legs does a dog have?"
And he answered, "Just four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."
If the camera controls a decisive parameter, that's an Auto mode, not Manual. Manual means that the shooter has control. The shooter may ask the camera's advise (ie, press the Green button for a meter reading), and may go with that advise, or override it. It's still manual control, the shooter's responsibility, not the camera's robot brain.
There's a parallel in JPEG vs RAW output. Many shooters choose JPEG only, and tweak the image settings to suit their taste, but the image is rendered by the cam's limited-capacity (dumber than an ant) robot brain. They've set the parms for automatic processing. Many other shooters choose RAW only, leave as many camera settings as possible to default or neutral values, and completely develop the picture in PP. Minimal auto processing there -- manual output.
I go halfway: I'll set the image parms for a shot, but choose RAW only output. Those settings are embedded in the RAW file; they're effectively suggestions for me on how to develop the RAW image, and I can accept or override those suggestions. It's sort of like auto-assist manual output. I make the decisions; I'm in cortrol; it's my responsibility. If I f*ck it up, I can't blame the robot brain.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
04-07-2010, 07:19 AM
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In M(anual) mode, with or without a manual lens, pressing the Green button just stops down the lens (if possible) and takes an exposure reading. It's up to you to decide what to do with that reading. If you're in a hurry, go with it. If not, look at it and decide whether it's something you agree with, then adjust the settings accordingly. You could have pre-set the EV up or down to accommodate a specific lens to the reading. Looking at a reading and the subject, you can adjust the shutter and aperture for motion or backlighting or contrast or whatever, and adjust the ISO to suit your noise/detail comfort level. It's your call, not the camera's. That's why it's M(anual).
Using a manual lens (but not an A-type) when you want the camera to decide your ISO for you, just go to Av mode and set Auto-ISO. If you're not in a hurry, half-press the shutter and see what ISO it's chosen. If you're OK with that, shoot. If not, go back to M(anual) and set the exposure and ISO to your taste. YOU get to choose which decisions you want the camera to make. YOU get to decide whether to override its choices. Look at it this way: in any of the auto modes, you let the camera decide on the exposure, while you're busy composing and grabbing the image. In M(anual) mode, the camera advises you, but you make all the decisions yourself.
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