Three settings for everything!

[Dennis]

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Less is more!

Since I discovered photography more than 20 years ago, my way to see the world, my techniques, my gear, my workflow are obviously changed: evolution 🙂 I was struggling so much at the beginning with numbers, values, reviews, calculations, etc. Until I found out my truth: just shoot shoot shoot, don't think so much, find your own voice, be YOU, do what you love, with purpose.

Now, coming back to the numbers 😅, I think I'm a better photographer since I made a decision that changed my way to work and shoot: in a few word, minimalism on settings. Beside the fact that the camera menu is set once, with no need to change nothing again, I found out that I'm faster, more productive and happier, when I use ONLY a few settings. And I'm talking about shutter speed, ISO and F/stop values. Based on Sunny 16, and my way to shoot exposing for the highlights, I use 95% of the time only a few settings, in a different combination according to the scene I'm shooting. Here mine:

SS: 1/4000 + 1/500 + 1/60

ISO: 200  + 800 + 3200

F/stop:  2.8 + 5.6  + 11

It works well for me and my way to shoot, and I achieve 95% of the times same results with less effort. Now, I'm curious to know if there are certain settings that you ALWAYS use, in general of for specific lenses, and the reason why. Something like ... "When I do street I pout f/11 all day long, no matter what" ... or "I always use 1/30 for the night, and 1/1000 by day that's it" ... or  " My 50 Cron has a tape at f/5.6, because ... " 

Which are YOURS numbers?

Edited April 28, 2020 by Dennis

[adan]

Back in my film days, with a meterless M4-2/P, with Fuji Velvia 50 or Ilford Pan F, in sunlight, I shot virtually one setting: 1/250th at f/6.8 (half-stop between f/5.6 and f/8 ). Worked for 21, 28, 35, 90, 135 lenses.

Nowadays, I generally use four settings on the M10: Auto-ISO, Auto shutter speed (at 4x focal length), aperture wide-open, or aperture at f/8. Similar lens range.

[250swb]

Shooting on the fly with film it's something very similar to Andy, each film type had a base setting which could be varied as the light changed. With a digital M10 unless it is on a tripod I generally set the slowest shutter speed I want in the menu and then ISO and Shutter to Auto. Aperture chosen is based either on effect (such as deep or shallow DOF) or where the particular lens works best. 

I'm certainly not going to bust a gut guessing or twiddling through shutter dials and aperture rings to get the perfect manual exposure now I don't need to, besides which Auto is a holiday with the M10 as I still do all that careful metering malarkey with film anyway. Generally though I'm against arbitrary 'rules', each situation is different and using the best setting for the picture you have in your minds eye is the difference between making a photograph and snapping a photograph.

[evikne]

I always shoot completely manually, so I have to keep things as simple as possible (my brain is not a computer 😉). Because I love wide apertures, I've reversed the sunny 16 rule. My starting point is f/2.8 - 1/4000 - ISO 200. This is sufficient for bright sunlight here where I live (I know it's one stop above the sunny 16 rule). Then I just count how many stops I have to open up when it gets darker, for example 5 stops in the shadow and 10 stops indoors.

Lately I've started to leave the ISO at 200 in all situations and instead I lighten the exposure in Lightroom if the images get too dark. In all normal situations this gives very good results, and there is even one less thing to think about.

[AndreasG]

I keep the settings of my M10-D on Auto ISO and Auto shutter speed, the aperture I set to 5.6, on sunny conditions outside to 8, for almost any of my lenses, that's my kind of snapshot setting. If for the composition I need a reduced FOD, I adjust the aperture accordingly.

[John Miranda]

I like to modulate depth of field often, so set ISO to automatic and set shutter speed to 1/4x or faster. then just adjust focus on aperture as I like.  I often like shallow depth of fields and will bracket a shot at 2-3 apertures.

[Dennis]

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I'm surprised reading your comments. I thought there was more fully manual shooters.At the end, doesn't matter the setting, the goal is the photo right?

I have a similar starting than @evikne , but two stops darker. My starting point in a sunny day is 1/4000 at 200 ISO and F/5.6 , exposing for the highlights ... I prefer to keep the same ISO when is possible and then recovery in Capture One.

In my case, I don't use Auto ISO because I know that I can work for a while in the same condition with the same setting. For example 200 ISO outdoor, 800 indoor, and 3200 in low light situation. And I know that in my M10, I have better performance at ISO 800 than 640, or 12800 that is better than 6400. So that's why form 3200, if I really need it, I switch directly to 12500 iSO .. This according to the DR and ISO noise of the charts https://www.photonstophotos.net/index.htm

@adan, you are using Auto ISO and Auto Shutter speed because you fully trust your Leica M10 and you're more free to shoot without thinking at settings? You don't care about Leica using @worst" ISO settings? Or you are just fine with whatever your camera choose for you? Which are your ISO limit in AUTO? (if you don't mind). I tried to use it for a while, to set the Maximum Auto ISO to 800 (according to what I said above), but I still don't match with the Maximum exposure time "mood" of Leica. I still don't follow it.

I don't like the AUTO settings because sometimes, tilting the camera a little, or slightly change the frame, my setting changes. But when I set all in manual, all the pictures I'm taking in the same situation have the same exact exposure. Does it make sense what I'm saying or am I loosing something?

 

[adan]

My auto-ISO limit is 10000 - highest speed that avoids banding.

But I'm a long-time "Tri-X pushed to 3200"  photojournalist, so noise/grain don't scare me (but digital banding does!)

When the light is really dim, and I am using my f/4.0 135mm, then I go manual with a shutter speed of 1/125-1/250, and use the M-for-Menu setting at ISO 12500. And use my secret-sauce post-processing to suppress the shadows and banding (looks like push-processed film "chalk and charcoal" tones) - but again that is something I "grew up with" and find acceptable when required.

Conversely, there are times when the brightness range is really excessive, and I go to manual metering/ISO for the main subject, and let the highlights blow.

Graphically effective "negative white space" doesn't scare me either - when it enhances the subject.

75 Summilux, M10, f/2, ISO 400, manually exposed for main subject.

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[Kwesi]

7 hours ago, Dennis said:

I'm surprised reading your comments. I thought there was more fully manual shooters.At the end, doesn't matter the setting, the goal is the photo right?

I have a similar starting than @evikne , but two stops darker. My starting point in a sunny day is 1/4000 at 200 ISO and F/5.6 , exposing for the highlights ... I prefer to keep the same ISO when is possible and then recovery in Capture One.

In my case, I don't use Auto ISO because I know that I can work for a while in the same condition with the same setting. For example 200 ISO outdoor, 800 indoor, and 3200 in low light situation. And I know that in my M10, I have better performance at ISO 800 than 640, or 12800 that is better than 6400. So that's why form 3200, if I really need it, I switch directly to 12500 iSO .. This according to the DR and ISO noise of the charts https://www.photonstophotos.net/index.htm

@adan, you are using Auto ISO and Auto Shutter speed because you fully trust your Leica M10 and you're more free to shoot without thinking at settings? You don't care about Leica using @worst" ISO settings? Or you are just fine with whatever your camera choose for you? Which are your ISO limit in AUTO? (if you don't mind). I tried to use it for a while, to set the Maximum Auto ISO to 800 (according to what I said above), but I still don't match with the Maximum exposure time "mood" of Leica. I still don't follow it.

I don't like the AUTO settings because sometimes, tilting the camera a little, or slightly change the frame, my setting changes. But when I set all in manual, all the pictures I'm taking in the same situation have the same exact exposure. Does it make sense what I'm saying or am I loosing something?

 

Hey Dennis,

Great topic! As you can see we are all "chefs of light" with our secret recipes 😀. So here is mine:

Camera - M10P

Daytime Outdoors, ISO 200 F5.6, 1/750s. This will get me within 1/2 stop of the cameras suggested setting then I just decide wether I want normal, lighter, or richer color- all available within half stop of my manual setting.

Indoors,  Auto Iso(Max 6400), Lens Wide Open, Minimum Shutter 1/125s.

[lykaman]

Surely The Essence Of Leica Photography....

[Guest]

Aperture priority always.

People f5.6 to f 8    iso 400-1600

places/landscape f8 to f16   iso 200..

Do wide aperture photos with my olympus with portrait lens.

Enjoy zone focus with my 35mm summarit and also like using rangefinder to focus with people.

Like hyperfocal focus with zeiss 28mm and 25mm as well as summarit on a tripod with landscape/places.

I prefer exposure compensation in aperture priority to full manual as i am used to that with my old minolta film cameras,

good thread.

[earleygallery]

I only shoot film with Leica. The settings depend on the film, the light and what I want to acheive. There's no fixed settings as far as I'm concerned. It's also why the shutter and aperture dials have more than one or two options.

 

[ChicagoMatthew]

10 hours ago, Dennis said:

 

In my case, I don't use Auto ISO because I know that I can work for a while in the same condition with the same setting. For example 200 ISO outdoor, 800 indoor, and 3200 in low light situation. And I know that in my M10, I have better performance at ISO 800 than 640, or 12800 that is better than 6400. So that's why form 3200, if I really need it, I switch directly to 12500 iSO .. This according to the DR and ISO noise of the charts https://www.photonstophotos.net/index.htm

 

 

Is this true? Is 12800, better than 6400? 

[Dennis]

3 hours ago, Kwesi said:

Daytime Outdoors, ISO 200 F5.6, 1/750s

As you said, we are all chefs of light, and I think your daytime settings is overexposed 😂 unless if you like it like this, because it's. I expose for example for the highlights, and the rest of the photo is a disaster 😂 And I love it. Which kind of Chef are you? I can't cook.

2 hours ago, lykaman said:

Surely The Essence Of Leica Photography....

Totally agree. It's literally another world.

52 minutes ago, ChicagoMatthew said:

Is this true? Is 12800, better than 6400? 

Yes, according to this chart

I'm not the expert here, but from what I understood so far, from 1600 ISO, it's when the M10 become ISO less. If you see at 3200 has the exact same amount of Input Referred Read Noise than 12800, but less than 6400. Please expert correct me if I'm wrong, or just explain it better 😅

[lykaman]

1 hour ago, ChicagoMatthew said:

Is this true? Is 12800, better than 6400? 

In Dollar Amounts  

[erniethemilk]

Great topic, thanks for posting. I bought my M10-P as I wanted absolute simplicity and all of the thoughts here have helped no end! 

[Dennis]

2 minutes ago, erniethemilk said:

Great topic, thanks for posting. I bought my M10-P as I wanted absolute simplicity and all of the thoughts here have helped no end! 

Thank you! It's great to see how all of us are using different settings. Which are your favorite "value"?

 

Edited April 29, 2020 by Dennis

[Dennis]

If you had to choose only one lens, which one would be? For many of us the answer could be obvious.

But once we talk about settings, is not so obvious, I guess. 

For example, about DOP, if I have to chose only one value for my 35mm and 50mm, it would be f/5.6. For some, it could be 1.4, because the super shallow DOP.

For ISO, for a mix between indoor and outdoor photos, landscapes and portraits and street Photography, I would choose 800 ISO.

 

Which is your MUST F/stop, ISO and Shutter speed?

 

[erniethemilk]

24 minutes ago, Dennis said:

Thank you! It's great to see how all of us are using different settings. Which are your favorite "value"?

 

No, thank you Sir. It’s a great topic for us newcomers to Leica!  

I’m still going through that shooting everything wide open stage cos it’s about trying to get ‘that Leica look’ but in truth I think stopping down would serve my apprenticeship far better 😂

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[evikne]

10 minutes ago, Dennis said:

Which is your MUST F/stop, ISO and Shutter speed?

When using my Summiluxes I have two fixed values as long as it goes: f/1.4 and ISO 200. Then I just change the shutter speed depending on the light. Only when the light requires faster than 1/4000 I have to stop down a little. 

When I'm shooting with my Noctilux I put on an ND filter so I can shoot at f/1.0 all the time. 😊