chingwa Posted June 13, 2009 Share #1 Posted June 13, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've been using aperture priority on my dslr cameras for years and have been using the "auto" mode on the m8 most of the time since I got it a couple years ago. Every so often when using the m8 I will take an auto reading and then based on what the viewfinder displays I might manually change the shutter speed setting dial... often times I find I have better results by manually setting the dial as opposed to the auto, especially when tricky lighting is involved. Is this a normal way to work with the m8? I'm curious as to whether most m8 shooters use the auto setting or manually dial in their shutter speed based on situation. If you use the manual setting then how do you know what settings to use? is it just long years of experience informing your shutter speed decisions? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 Hi chingwa, Take a look here manual shutter speed. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
lars_bergquist Posted June 13, 2009 Share #2 Posted June 13, 2009 I do usually carry my M8 set to Auto, as a kind of 'quick action setting' (with a suitable f-stop, of course). One learns what kinds of situations the camera handles well on Auto -- many, in fact -- and where manual control is mandatory. It is well to remember that a reflected light reading, as by the camera meter, is just a quick-and-dirty approximation; it rests on the assumption that the subject is a 18 percent reflectance grey card, an assumption which is often unfounded ... If you want a really reliable reading, use a hand meter set to incident. That way you will never blow a highlight. And I do never ever use exposure compensation. That's just guesswork. Sometimes you do guess right. If you would guess right most of the time, you would not need an exposure meter. And most of us old dogs can expose ar least negative film by experience. But few of us would do that with slide film, and none with a digital sensor. The old man from the Age of Selenium Meters Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MV8 Posted June 13, 2009 Share #3 Posted June 13, 2009 Is this a normal way to work with the m8? I'm curious as to whether most m8 shooters use the auto setting or manually dial in their shutter speed based on situation. If you use the manual setting then how do you know what settings to use? is it just long years of experience informing your shutter speed decisions? I don't know if there is a "normal way" but my guess is that most M8 user (myself included) use manual settings and probably auto for lighting conditions that are changing. A quick guide that can be helpful to shooting manual is the F16 rule (F22). If you what to use a shutter speed of say 125 with an ISO of 160 on a sunny day try using F16 or F22 and adjust from there depending on lighting conditions or shutter speed you what. Keep in mind this is just a rule of thumb, the best way is to just keep taking pictures and observing the results. Now with digital all your capture info is there for you to take note of. best, Manny Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted June 13, 2009 Share #4 Posted June 13, 2009 I hate to say it but I use A-mode most of the time except if I'm in low light with fiarly stable (unchanging) lighting. With A-mode I still use the camera somewhat manually. I frame what I want, look at the scene and determine (think about) the scene lighting for the shot i want and then either go with the meter reading ot point the camera at something brighter or darker to raise or lower the shutter speed and then lock it and reframe the shot. I like to work with a set aperture but sometimes I will lock whatever shutter speed I get from the meter and increase or decrease the aperture. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmk60 Posted June 14, 2009 Share #5 Posted June 14, 2009 My case = non pro I use my light meter most of the time, incident or spot. ISO setting is as follows below which is based on my experience and preference. Camera /Light meter 160 /100 320 /250 640 /640 I find that ISO setting, 160 and 320, on my M8 is a little less sensitive and the above 'comp' has been working great for me. When I do NOT use the light meter, I find something in neutral grey (in grey scale), such as well lit grass, and find the exposure in the viewfinder, or use my hand and adjust the exposure accordingly. In low light conditions, I might use the A mode, look at the histogram and adjust the exposure in order to shift the histogram to the right just until the highlight starts clipping. In normal light conditions, I try NOT to look at the display and histogram on my M8. I feel that it is a good practice to get back to the basics of photography as I have started shooting with films more often these days. cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted June 14, 2009 Share #6 Posted June 14, 2009 Oh for an AE-Lock control that we could lock in for an entire sequence of shots, and re-set to straight auto when we were done. The best solution would be a two way lever under the speed dial. A blinking 'C' in the finder of course. Also, the lever should be a spring return one, so that exposure would reset itself automatically when we switch off or when the camera goes on standby. Exotic? Difficult? My Olympus OM cameras have it. It works just great. Listen, ye gnomes of Solms! You do not seem to have gotten the message even with the S2. Try harder. The old man from the Age of Exposure Control Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
underground Posted June 14, 2009 Share #7 Posted June 14, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've been using aperture priority on my dslr cameras for years and have been using the "auto" mode on the m8 most of the time since I got it a couple years ago. Every so often when using the m8 I will take an auto reading and then based on what the viewfinder displays I might manually change the shutter speed setting dial... often times I find I have better results by manually setting the dial as opposed to the auto, especially when tricky lighting is involved. Is this a normal way to work with the m8? I'm curious as to whether most m8 shooters use the auto setting or manually dial in their shutter speed based on situation. If you use the manual setting then how do you know what settings to use? is it just long years of experience informing your shutter speed decisions? I have not noticed that I get different results. What I do quiet often is use the auto mode to meter the scene and give me some shutter speed readings , Then set my shutter speed accordingly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Thompson Posted June 14, 2009 Share #8 Posted June 14, 2009 I'm like underground - I use the meter in the camera to give me an idea where it thinks I should be. I am getting better at making my own choice though. As you say it's just practice I guess! Also, I have noticed that when shooting into the light source that's when (fairly obviously I suppose) the meter on the camera struggles the most and you're going to have to make your own choices! (To meter the highlights? To meter the shadows? - To compromise manually?) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Thompson Posted June 14, 2009 Share #9 Posted June 14, 2009 Oh for an AE-Lock control that we could lock in for an entire sequence of shots, and re-set to straight auto when we were done. The best solution would be a two way lever under the speed dial. A blinking 'C' in the finder of course. Also, the lever should be a spring return one, so that exposure would reset itself automatically when we switch off or when the camera goes on standby. Exotic? Difficult? My Olympus OM cameras have it. It works just great. Listen, ye gnomes of Solms! You do not seem to have gotten the message even with the S2. Try harder. The old man from the Age of Exposure Control Lars - just curious - why not just do what I do in this case? Use the meter/auto for a reading and then whizz the shutter speed dial to the speed you want? I can't see why we need another control when you already have one control that's very easy to change? It would be nice to have the shutter speed displayed in the window though so you could do it without looking at the camera! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
giordano Posted June 14, 2009 Share #10 Posted June 14, 2009 Lars - just curious - why not just do what I do in this case? Use the meter/auto for a reading and then whizz the shutter speed dial to the speed you want? I can't see why we need another control when you already have one control that's very easy to change? It would be nice to have the shutter speed displayed in the window though so you could do it without looking at the camera! I'm with Lars on this one. With a non-volatile AE lock (which I have configured on my GX100 and D700) you can freeze the auto exposure for a sequence of shots with a press of a button, and then unfreeze it just as readily. Enormously less mental effort involved than continually switching between A and a manual shutter speed setting, which for me is more taxing than staying in manual the whole time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noah_addis Posted June 14, 2009 Share #11 Posted June 14, 2009 I've always used all Manual, all the time. Just the way I learned I guess. I was always a handheld meter user but now with digital I have to admit I rarely use one. I'll normally shoot manual using the camera meter as a guide and then I'll check the histogram once in a while to make sure my exposure is correct. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chingwa Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share #12 Posted June 20, 2009 Thanks for all the responses.... I thought I was missing out on some part of the leica experience by relying the in-camera meter. Lately I'vebeen using it more as a guide to picking my own exposure timing, and it's worked pretty well that way. So... here's another question for you manual-only users. is it possible to use manual-only if you don't have an external light meter? Do you just know from experience what settings to use? and if so, do you find you blow your shots by doing this? Or is a light meter in one form or another a necessity? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted June 20, 2009 Share #13 Posted June 20, 2009 The meter is still working in full manual mode. So I use that and adjust shutter speed and or aperture to get the exposure I want. Some others use a external hand held meter but for me I find it just to much the carry around. People that actually take picture for a living must get it right. So those people use whatever is needed to get the exposure correct. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted June 20, 2009 Share #14 Posted June 20, 2009 I hate to say it but I use A-mode most of the time [ ... ] Now why this self-hate? Because no real macho M man ever uses auto exposure (just as no real macho M man ever uses flash ...) A pro -- meaning not a paid camera-bearer but somebody who knows what he is doing -- wants to get the picture. By any means and methods that does the job. The picture is all that matters. Nobody will be grateful to you if you wore a hairshirt, or stood on your head on top of a pillar in the desert, when you took it. As long as you took it. There are many situations where auto exposure is the easiest and fastest way of doing the job. Now if we want to be real machos, we still have the option to coat our own glass plates with collodion emulsion. I wonder why so few people take it up? The cissies! The old man from the Age of Glass Plates (seriously!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted June 20, 2009 Share #15 Posted June 20, 2009 Now why this self-hate? Because no real macho M man ever uses auto exposure (just as no real macho M man ever uses flash ...) A pro -- meaning not a paid camera-bearer but somebody who knows what he is doing -- wants to get the picture. By any means and methods that does the job. The picture is all that matters. Nobody will be grateful to you if you wore a hairshirt, or stood on your head on top of a pillar in the desert, when you took it. As long as you took it. There are many situations where auto exposure is the easiest and fastest way of doing the job. Now if we want to be real machos, we still have the option to coat our own glass plates with collodion emulsion. I wonder why so few people take it up? The cissies! The old man from the Age of Glass Plates (seriously!) Agree...as long as the shooter understands the principles of working manually first. Then, going to auto mode is just another means of getting the shot, and adjusting when necessary. When someone shoots auto as a "crutch" because they don't know the basics (one hopes not many M users), then it's not that auto isn't macho, it's that it's based on ignorance. I'm not attributing this to the OP, just a general comment about some who might use auto incorrectly. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
underground Posted June 20, 2009 Share #16 Posted June 20, 2009 Agree...as long as the shooter understands the principles of working manually first. Then, going to auto mode is just another means of getting the shot, and adjusting when necessary. When someone shoots auto as a "crutch" because they don't know the basics (one hopes not many M users), then it's not that auto isn't macho, it's that it's based on ignorance. I'm not attributing this to the OP, just a general comment about some who might use auto incorrectly. Jeff Also agree. IMO It takes a particular mind-set to get Framing, Focus, Aperture, Shutter speed Put together Quickly and correctly for any given moment Manually. Aperture Priority saves big time in those quick moments. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
modamachina Posted June 20, 2009 Share #17 Posted June 20, 2009 I tend to switch from auto to manual fairly often. Specially in backlight situations. I point the camera down a bit, get an auto reading and then set it manually. Light situations without too much or no backlight at all, the auto setting handles well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
underground Posted June 20, 2009 Share #18 Posted June 20, 2009 I tend to switch from auto to manual fairly often. Specially in backlight situations. I point the camera down a bit, get an auto reading and then set it manually. Light situations without too much or no backlight at all, the auto setting handles well. What I have done in that situation is , In auto use exposure lock and compensate by adjusting aperture before I depress fully on the shutter release. It works well when in a hurry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Thompson Posted June 21, 2009 Share #19 Posted June 21, 2009 So I can frame my own skill level with this and get an understanding of how much I have to learn... Can I ask truthfully how many people here can, without a light meter, (and without 'chimping' or manual bracketing) - actually set the shutter speed manually better than the A mode on the camera just by thinking about the conditions, aperture selected and ISO speed you want to use? What I mean is if you took 100 shots over a few days in different conditions and never looked at the camera A mode recommendation and never checked the histogram after shooting who would beat the A mode on balance of number of shots that got close to what you intended? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJP Posted June 21, 2009 Share #20 Posted June 21, 2009 For those that wish to use manual exposure gueswork I made a small spreadsheet. This is primarily intended for my M2 & film ISO values but should be easy enough to transpose for M8 - will be happy to add & expand if there is interest. Note it also contains a flash guide nr. calculator. I have this file installed on my organiser but I guess that a printed version stuffed into the camera bag would be even more robust when all electricity has failed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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