Aperture priority OR Manual

[Leslie22]

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For many years I have used Aperture Priority with control via the compensation dial. Now I’m “flirting” with full manual on the SL3. I love the dedicated ISO dial.

BUT , In full manual I’m missing more shots , it slows me down, but makes me think more (I like that).

I’m wondering am I wasting my time , do many people shoot full manual ?

Love to hear oth

 

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[Leslie22]

SORRY , I meant other people’s experience …. Hit it too early 

[Simone_DF]

For me, it depends on the situation. If I expect "action", have limited time or I want to be sure I won't miss the shot, AP + compensation all the way, I find it faster.

But if I can take my time, I definitely go for Manual, because I find it more enjoyable.  

You are not wasting your time. Using different options at your disposal will only increase your knowledge of the various tools. 

[hoolyproductions]

I shoot exclusively in M mode, it’s been a long time since I used A or S and I have never used P.

i like having full control and use the histogram to verify exposure. It suits the type of shooting I do and with practice is quite fast. On the other hand in fast paced situations I can fully understand why people prefer S or A (not only fast paced, some people simple prefer it and still use histogram and compensation dial to get it right). 
 

I guess in many situations it takes about the same amount of time to adjust via exposure compensation as it does to simply adjust the manual settings.

 

[Viv]

As has been said, it depends on the situation.

Practice makes perfect.

[frame-it]

1 hour ago, Leslie22 said:

do many people shoot full manual ?

 

 

only full manual mode with manual focus lenses.

[THEME]

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Attempting to go full manual these days, even using the ISO scroll wheel.

With an M camera. Wouldn't buy an SL camera for going manual.

Edited August 7, 2024 by THEME

[spydrxx]

I generally use aperture priority for most of my shots, switching to manual where there is either unusual lighting I want to preserve, or for macro and near macro work.

[stephenmick]

4 minutes ago, spydrxx said:

I generally use aperture priority for most of my shots, switching to manual where there is either unusual lighting I want to preserve, or for macro and near macro work.

Same here.

[Photoworks]

anytime you want to use lighting, location, studio, and so on, Everything is set to manual.

[BernardC]

I use manual whenever I am at a location for more than a few shots. Automatic exposure, as good as it is, can't tell the difference between a change of composition and a change of lighting. Plus it can't tell high-key from low-key lighting. The advantage of manual in this situation is that you don't have to apply exposure correction to each frame in a series.

I use automatic exposure otherwise, it's good enough.

[luetz]

Aperture Priority......always

[Robins213]

Manual. Always. 

[Jean-Michel]

A, S or M all give you full 'manual' control on exposure. And, 'full manual' also means selecting a set ISO and not Auto ISO.

The in-camera light meter, great as it is, is sort of a non-manual part of the exposure as it selects what it measures. A 'full manual' would really mean no in-camera exposure meter, and using a hand-held meter instead. Remember the days of reflected/incident/spot metering?

You always have a reason to select a particular aperture — narrow or deeper dof — or a particular exposure time and therefore adjust the other one to expose correctly or as you wish. If your need is to photograph at , say, f/8 then whether you set that in A or M the exposure time will still be calculated by the exposure meter, and you still get to make whatever plus or minus time you want. And vice-versa in S

In the end, it really does not matter, whatever method you are more comfortable with is the one to use.

[Leslie22]

Thank you Jean Michel , you brought back wonderful memories of using my M2 with a handheld meter , I still have it and it still works , but gets zero use.

Thank you to all who responded .... my updated story is with the SL3 , two profiles Aperture priority where I select the aperture & Shutter speed (125 or 250) and the camera selects the ISO (while I override with exposure compensation) Good for quick photography e.g. travel when in a hurry.

The second profile is Manual ... I set everything ... I enjoy this way because it makes me think , and slows me down. It's good that I can quickly change from one profile to the other.

CONFESSION I didn't like user profiles until two weeks ago !!

 

 

 

 

[Chuck Albertson]

Manual mode, with auto ISO. For the stuff I shoot, it really doesn't matter if it's shot at ISO 100 or 6400, and there's still very little to adjust in post-processing until you get into the super-high indices.