switch to 'M'

Today I am a very happy person indeed!

I've never been particularly ahppy with my D80, and I always put that down to the fact that it is my first SLR, i don't get to shoot everyday, I have a broad subject interest, it's got lots of controls to become familiar with etc. etc. just too many excuses.

Like lots of budding amateurs, for me there was a degree of wariness in ever turning the dial to 'M' mode and taking full control but today I decided it was time......and boy what have I been missing out on!!!!!! All of a sudden my photos (and i've just been snapping around today) seem to be a level above what I could manage in the other modes. They are properly exposed, depth of field is well controlled etc.

Not much point in this post really, I just had to share this revelation and try to encourage anyone else who has not given any time to the Manual mode to give it a try....now!

Feels good to have that wheel firmly in your hand...dosnt it?

Dosnt make the other controls obsolete....if your shooting fast subjects...some automation is still desired...but when you have time to actually make choices and take the shot......it is a good feeling indeed.

Roman
--

The Law Of Attraction is ALWAYS working. Your only choice is whether you drive 'it'...or 'it' drives you.
-Me
http://www.pbase.com/romansphotos/

I agree... I've owned my D50 for about 14 months and after a couple outtings with it set to 'P' I quickly learned that even if I had no idea what I was doing, the results I got by manually controlling the settings were better and much more satisfying. Very very rarely do I use anything but 'M', on the occasion I'll use A when I'm trying to photograph birds in flight but that's about it.
--
Nikon D50 (soon to be D300)
18-55mm
50mm f1.8
85mm f1.8
300mm f4 AF-S
SB800
SB600
http://www.joshodonnell.com

I'm starting to make the transition to full manual myself. It is a different feeling for certain.
--
Craig
D80 w/
18-135mm, SB600
Manfrotto 190XDB tripod
http://taallyn.zenfolio.com

Congrats! I'll do the same soon, I think. Did you experiment with flash? How do you do with the flash on? Do you always use 1/60 or use any speed?
I'm a begginer and need advice. Thanks in advance.

--
Ramiro Escobar - La Paz - Bolivia - Nikon D80
Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8
Nikon 50mm f/1.8
SB-600

joewatson03 said:

Like lots of budding amateurs, for me there was a degree of wariness
in ever turning the dial to 'M' mode and taking full control but
today I decided it was time......and boy what have I been missing out
on!!!!!! All of a sudden my photos (and i've just been snapping
around today) seem to be a level above what I could manage in the
other modes. They are properly exposed, depth of field is well
controlled etc.

Click to expand...

1. Depth of field. Had you been using "A" mode, or otherwise paying attention to your aperture settings prior to switching to "M"? Reason I ask is, aperture and the resulting DOF can be controlled in any mode, even P. Just wondering why DOF was suddenly improved upon switching to "M".

2. Exposure. Now that you are experimenting in "M", how are you using your meter? Are you setting the shutter speed and aperture dials so the meter is centered at the "0" (zero) point? Have you changed metering mode as well, like moving from matrix to center-weight? Just asking because if you use the meter to simply center the meter on "0", this will be the same exact exposure value that the camera would have provided in any of the other P, S or A modes. Now if you're using some judgment based on the scene to vary exposure from the "0" point, then I can understand how your exposures may be looking different than your "norm" in the auto exposure modes.

I also am interested in what the difference would be from M shooting to A or S. I would think doing it manual would be like shooting from a tripod....more thought goes into composition.....more thought goes into DOF, shutter, apeture, ISO, etc.

So basically...going manual would require more mental work verses just shooting the subject.

Mark O

Only at first...now this dostn mean subjects in rapidly changing conditions....then you want to begin to leverage the "auto" type controls....

If the light isnt changing much....manual will give you MUCH more consistancy in your output.

Roman

markinvictoria said:

I also am interested in what the difference would be from M shooting
to A or S. I would think doing it manual would be like shooting from
a tripod....more thought goes into composition.....more thought goes
into DOF, shutter, apeture, ISO, etc.
So basically...going manual would require more mental work verses
just shooting the subject.

Mark O

Click to expand...

--

The Law Of Attraction is ALWAYS working. Your only choice is whether you drive 'it'...or 'it' drives you.
-Me
http://www.pbase.com/romansphotos/

Mark53 said:

1. Depth of field. Had you been using "A" mode, or otherwise paying
attention to your aperture settings prior to switching to "M"?
Reason I ask is, aperture and the resulting DOF can be controlled in
any mode, even P. Just wondering why DOF was suddenly improved upon
switching to "M".

2. Exposure. Now that you are experimenting in "M", how are you
using your meter? Are you setting the shutter speed and aperture
dials so the meter is centered at the "0" (zero) point? Have you
changed metering mode as well, like moving from matrix to
center-weight? Just asking because if you use the meter to simply
center the meter on "0", this will be the same exact exposure value
that the camera would have provided in any of the other P, S or A
modes. Now if you're using some judgment based on the scene to vary
exposure from the "0" point, then I can understand how your exposures
may be looking different than your "norm" in the auto exposure modes.

Click to expand...

1. Prior to my trying the M mode I was always using A or S depending on what I was shooting. i.e. A to try and control dof in landscapes and S to control shutter speed for action shots (you know..the kind of stuff it tells you in books.) What I have seen already with the M mode, and i'm not sure why, is that it is easier to get a handle on both settings simultaneously, and hence have a feeling of more control over the final outcome. You may note that I am my own critic in this case and a shot that felt good to take has invariably now felt good to look at, i like the sharp areas more, and i like the bokeh in the unsharp areas more.....hence, why i said I thought my DoF control improved.

2. You hit the nail here, I have been gaining experience with the camera for a few months and hence I am starting to gain an appreciation for how the meter might react to certain lighting situations. I have immediatley noticed that using M mode gives me more confidence that I can control the final exposeure by judging if what the camera tells me is 'neutral' might produce an under, or overexposed shot. Shooting with M allows me to control where the limitations of the dynamic range of the camera will lie in relation to the lighting of the scene.

markinvictoria said:

I also am interested in what the difference would be from M shooting
to A or S. I would think doing it manual would be like shooting from
a tripod....more thought goes into composition.....more thought goes
into DOF, shutter, apeture, ISO, etc.
So basically...going manual would require more mental work verses
just shooting the subject.

Mark O

Click to expand...

Exactly! There are times for considered shooting and times for snapping, which is why the camera comes equipped for doing both. As the op I am expressing my happiness that perhaps I am now expanding my ability to think more about the subject before I take a picture of it.

Roman,
what is this law of atraction? some kind of M mode or a curve? ;-)
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emilanos
http://www.efrainvidal.com

no text

Sorry, that last "no text" reply was a little terse. I hadn't meant to imply that I was testing you by asking my couple of questions. I just wanted to hear your thoughts as to what the difference was for your images when moving to "M". It sounds like you're getting a finer approach to your photography by thinking about things more in M mode. Good luck w/ your shooting!

I had enough training with pure M (Leica M3), and stripping down automation is the best way to learn things. Later you'll probably go back to A mode, which gives you full control of DOF and also make it quicker to shoot, especially people in candid photog. Then S is also useful, especially for sports or flash.

Other nice trick, now to train composition, is to use a fixed lens length, like 24mm, or 35mm, or 105mm (FF equiv), for a whole session, so that you see how things fit into the frame, DOF, etc. This is a hint by Brenda Tharp in her very good book on Nature Photoghraphy.

Good luck.

Tampajosh said:

I agree... I've owned my D50 for about 14 months and after a couple
outtings with it set to 'P' I quickly learned that even if I had no
idea what I was doing, the results I got by manually controlling the
settings were better and much more satisfying. Very very rarely do I
use anything but 'M', on the occasion I'll use A when I'm trying to
photograph birds in flight but that's about it.
--
Nikon D50 (soon to be D300)
18-55mm
50mm f1.8
85mm f1.8
300mm f4 AF-S
SB800
SB600
http://www.joshodonnell.com

Click to expand...

--
rhlpetrus
equipment in profile

joewatson03 wrote:
[snip]

joewatson03 said:

2. You hit the nail here, I have been gaining experience with the
camera for a few months and hence I am starting to gain an
appreciation for how the meter might react to certain lighting
situations. I have immediatley noticed that using M mode gives me
more confidence that I can control the final exposeure by judging if
what the camera tells me is 'neutral' might produce an under, or
overexposed shot. Shooting with M allows me to control where the
limitations of the dynamic range of the camera will lie in relation
to the lighting of the scene.

Click to expand...

Shooting with P, A or S and using exposure compensation allows you to do the same thing. I have no problem with your preference for M mode, but I think, for the sake of newbies who are reading this, we should point out that similar results can be achieved using other modes.

larsbc

Hi Joe,

I did the same recently and it makes such a difference. On 'A' mode (which I almost used exclusively) I found I was always having to use exposure compensation to fight the metering... I know there are other ways to do things but it seemed the logical step to move on to Manual. It also envigorated my photography enthusiasim, which can't be a bad thing

Todd
--

• ToneUp Author -

http://www.ToneUpStudio.com

• Gallery -

http://www.OxfordEye.co.uk

welcome to the club of intelligent dslr users!
--
http://dimensionseven.deviantart.com

joewatson03 said:

Exactly! There are times for considered shooting and times for
snapping, which is why the camera comes equipped for doing both. As
the op I am expressing my happiness that perhaps I am now expanding
my ability to think more about the subject before I take a picture of
it.

Click to expand...

Yes, this is it. M is a great training option. Not really that you'll get better exp because of it, but the attitude changes completely, you start thinking of light as your painting brush, you pay attention to nuances, etc, especially if you started in the auto-everything style of today's photog.

Keep doing it until you feel you control it completely. I once read a story about a famous photographer who, when started, only took pics in situations of absolutely no contrast, for a long time. Then switched to only high-contrast scenes. Then started really developing his style.

This is valid for all aspects of photography, lens length (avoid changing your zoom for a whole day, eg), aperture (choose one and take a lot of pics with it), speed (same), etc. You'll start to feel the limits each aspect imposes on your photog.

Good luck
--
rhlpetrus
equipment in profile

I also recently started using M (after using A and S), and I have to say, I really like the creative freedom M gives me to deviate from the "preferred" settings from the camera.

Congratulations on your newfound creative tool!

--
Albert-O
http://www.berto.zenfolio.com

Hi

I shoot most of my shots in manual mode with the exception of when I am trying to capture something that is moving relatively fast and then I use shutter priority mode.

The reason I like MM so much is that I find it is the simplest and fastest way to adjust exposure. In any of the other modes to use exposure composition you have to press the button and then turn a command dial which I cannot do with the viewfinder up to my eye. However in MM I can simple either adjust the shutter speed (rear command dial on my D80) or the aperture (front command dial). I have meter setup for 1/3 of a stop adjustments.

This way if necessary I can take a shot, make a quick exposure adjustment with the camera still to my eye, and take another shot.

I think there are certainly times when both A and S modes come in handy, but I think M mode give you more flexibility, and control to get the shot you want.

Just my two cents worth.

--
Dan
London, Canada
http://www.flickr.com/photos/d_bolger/
http://www.fotos4you.com/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=28&g2_itemId=2284