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Nikon D40 AUTO mode vs. MANUAL mode. Am I missing out?

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Pianist718

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Hi there,

As a novice 1st time SLR owner (as I was disappointed at the pics my P&S Canon camera took compared to my friend's Canon 30D SLR ... I know bad comparison) I am going through the users manual of my new Nikon D40 carefully.

What I noticed is that AUTO mode is excellent for standard pictures of people at the vacation spots (or just your regular family pics) which is great.

My question to the SLR pro is....

If one is not a photo "fanatic" and just wants clear quality pictures with little manual involvement isn't he better off with using AUTO mode OR is there a whole different world out there for MANUAL mode user that I just haven't learned yet???

I know this is a strange question, BUT I would appreciate your comment and maybe suggestions/tips for MANUAL control use.

Thanks.
 
If you don't understand or appreciate the benefits of manual mode than you are probably best not using it. ;)
 
Programed or Auto mode will usually provide you with good results. This is especially true if you do not have time to make adjustments between shots.

However, to get your exposure "dead on" manual mode is best. I assume the D40 is like the D200 and in manual mode provides a meter to show over/under esposure. With the meter on zero exposure is optimized with very few exceptions - one exception is snow.

--

FINE PRINT: I reserve the right to be wrong. Should you prove me wrong, I reserve the right to change my mind.
 
Hi,

I would put it like this. Do you know those whistle stop tours that do Rome, Venice and Vienna in 3 days by coach, people stop take a few snaps and their off to the next destination.

Then they they can say I've been there done that. That's auto everything, no involvement with place or subject.

Then there's the tourist who arrives at there destination and finds it hard to leave until they have walked every street, visited every monument, drunk coffee in every bar and tried to speak to everyone they come across.

They come away with as much knowledge as they could possibly consume. That's manual.
--
Regards,

Robert
 
Bill, "With the meter on zero exposure is optimized with very few exceptions" Manual and the other modes are using the same meter. The auto and psa modes "zero" the meter for you so your exposure won't be any better.

Pianist, There are a lot of different settings that you can change with the p,s,a and m modes that you can't change in full auto. The most important is that you can change the aperture and shutter speed to attain the effect that you want. Understanding Exposure is a great book to describe how changing these affects your pictures. The p,s,a, and m modes are basically variations of the same theme. p mode will select an aperture and shutter speed for you but you can adjust it (you can't do this in full auto). In s mode you choose the shutter speed and the camera chooses the aperture. In a mode you choose the aperture and the camera chooses the shutter speed. In all three p a and s, if you don't like the meter reading you can overide it with exposure compensation. In m you choose the shutter speed and aperture so you don't need to use exposure compensation to override what the meter says.
 
I'd only recommend that you use Manual if you really know what you're doing. In and of itself, Manual doesn't give you better results. You need to know when you would want to use a given ISO, aperture, or shutter setting, and when to use exposure compensation to really take advantage of Manual mode.

And similar results can be gotten from P, A, and S, in conjunction with exp. comp. settings.

larsbc
 
"P Mode" will give you auto exposure (similar to Auto mode) but also flexible program function and access to other camera settings. Auto mode disables Optimize Image settings, Exposure compensation, and other stuff that will limit your camera's performance. In good light, you will need to use some neg. exposure comp. to avoid overexposure. Optimize image settings will give better out of camera results. A, S, M, modes will give you even more control. You have a good little camera-learn to use it.
 
Most of the time you will be shooting in A, S, or P mode depending on your goal. However, the camera's programming is usually correct and you can let the camera decide on the needed setting. The LCD is used then to review and tweek your settings if you have an opportunity for a second shot (i.e exposure compensation).

Manual give you more control. However, if you don't know what you are doing then you will miss your shot.

My main use of manual is with flash photography: I set the aperture and shutter and let the camera decide on the flash output.
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D 8 0, D 7 0, 1 8 - 2 0 0 v r, 5 0 f 1 . 4, 1 8 - 7 0 (sold)
1 0 5 v r, T o k i n a 2 8 - 7 0 f 2 . 8 p r o - s v, S B 6 0 0
N X, N V, N C, P P, P S E 4
 
Pianist718 said:
My question to the SLR pro is....

If one is not a photo "fanatic" and just wants clear quality
pictures with little manual involvement isn't he better off with
using AUTO mode OR is there a whole different world out there for
MANUAL mode user that I just haven't learned yet???

I know this is a strange question, BUT I would appreciate your
comment and maybe suggestions/tips for MANUAL control use.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I would suggest that you look at the photos that you are taking in full auto mode and identify things that you do not like about them. If you can't find anything, there is no need for you to change. If you can find things that you don't like, post some questions on this site with the photos that you'd like to improve. Often the suggestion will be to take it out of auto mode and make an adjustment.

Generally speaking, you'll be able to make a transition gradually. I would suggest switching to "P" mode first, and eventually "A" mode. You may never need to switch to full manual. I use "A" mode and exposure compensation to tweak exposure almost exclusively. For my style of shooting, I don't feel the need to use full manual.

Digital adds the complexity of white balance, color mode, saturation control, etc. etc. I suggest letting the camera deal with those until you have mastered the ability to get the exposure that you want. If you shoot a lot of flash photos, work on controlling the exposure with flash too. Next, experiment with getting better control over your depth of field and shutter speed. Learn to use various combinations of apertures and shutter speeds to improve your photos. Usually, you'll need to do one of these things: use a faster shutter speed to eliminate blurring, or use a different aperture to control depth of field. Less depth of field will help your subjects stand out and more depth of field will allow you to keep more things in focus. IMO, depth of field control is one of the most important aspects of SLR photography that is a big difference from P&S photography.

After that add control of white balance, color, and other things.
 
As you learn about exposue, you will come to know the benefits of using a particular aperture or a certain shutter speed to maximize certain effects you may want in a photo. No need to rush, or try to learn everything at once - "P" mode (or Auto) will give pretty good results in many situations.
Pianist718 said:
Hi there,

As a novice 1st time SLR owner (as I was disappointed at the pics
my P&S Canon camera took compared to my friend's Canon 30D SLR ...
I know bad comparison) I am going through the users manual of my
new Nikon D40 carefully.

What I noticed is that AUTO mode is excellent for standard pictures
of people at the vacation spots (or just your regular family pics)
which is great.

My question to the SLR pro is....

If one is not a photo "fanatic" and just wants clear quality
pictures with little manual involvement isn't he better off with
using AUTO mode OR is there a whole different world out there for
MANUAL mode user that I just haven't learned yet???

I know this is a strange question, BUT I would appreciate your
comment and maybe suggestions/tips for MANUAL control use.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
--
Patco
A photograph is more than a bunch of pixels
 
Auto is a good start for a novice. As you learn move onto more complex settings.

If the more complex settings were dead easy then auto wouldn;t be there in the first place.
--
Bluenose
 
[U] Doug_B said:
Bill, "With the meter on zero exposure is optimized with very few
exceptions" Manual and the other modes are using the same meter.
The auto and psa modes "zero" the meter for you so your exposure
won't be any better.

Pianist, There are a lot of different settings that you can change
with the p,s,a and m modes that you can't change in full auto. The
most important is that you can change the aperture and shutter
speed to attain the effect that you want. Understanding Exposure
is a great book to describe how changing these affects your
pictures. The p,s,a, and m modes are basically variations of the
same theme. p mode will select an aperture and shutter speed for
you but you can adjust it (you can't do this in full auto). In s
mode you choose the shutter speed and the camera chooses the
aperture. In a mode you choose the aperture and the camera chooses
the shutter speed. In all three p a and s, if you don't like the
meter reading you can overide it with exposure compensation. In m
you choose the shutter speed and aperture so you don't need to use
exposure compensation to override what the meter says.
Click to expand...
While they may all use the same meter, P,S, and A modes adjust shutter speed and aperture. This adjustment may be correct in many situations, but not all. You have a fixed number of shutter speeds and apertures. In manual mode the meter shows (again I am using a D200) if the shutter and aperture have got it dead on or not. If not, applying Exposure Compensation results in an accurate exposure. The meter (which shows in manual mode but not P, S, and A) indicates how much exposure compensation to apply.

--

FINE PRINT: I reserve the right to be wrong. Should you prove me wrong, I reserve the right to change my mind.[/U]
 
I disagree-without access to exposure compensation many , if not most of your shots with the D40 will suffer from blown highlights and overexposure.
 
The “A” mode selects an aperture and shutter speed to match the metered light. The “P” Mode does the same thing only it allows you to move the Command Dial to change the selection, however the selection will always be correct for the metered light conditions, i.e. if you select a faster shutter speed the camera will open the aperture the appropriate amount to compensate. The camera will not select an aperture and a shutter speed that won’t result in a zeroed meter. Keep in mind that the camera does not take in to account the focal length of the lens being used (like a telephoto lens) and that will come up shortly.

However the camera doesn’t know what it is you are trying to photograph, and what it is you are trying to accomplish. Maybe you are photographing a person standing by the Grand Canyon and you want the both the person and the canyon in focus. Maybe you are photographing a person standing in front of a hedge and you want the person in focus but not the hedge; you want the hedge to appear blurry. For the first example you want a smaller aperture, maybe F/8 to F/11; for the second example you want the aperture more open maybe something like f/2.8. By selecting the “A” Mode (Aperture Priority) you select the aperture and the camera will come up with the appropriate shutter speed.

If you are photographing a moving object the shutter speed may be more important than the aperture to you. You want a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the action. This is also true if you are using a telephoto lens where you want to ensure that the shutter speed is adequate for the focal length to minimize camera shake if you are hand holding. This is when you would use the “S” Mode (Shutter priority) and you set a shutter speed of your choosing and let the camera come up with the appropriate aperture.

In the first paragraph I mentioned the “metered light” and as you progress with your photographic skills there will be times when the metered light is not what you are after. There are times when the metered light isn’t correct, the camera has been fooled; a couple of examples would be a scene in the snow or on a beach, a person standing in the shade but the background is bright and sunny. The “M” Mode comes in handy at these times.

--
Brooks

http://www.bmiddleton.smugmug.com

I daresay one profits more by the mistakes one makes off one's own bat than by doing the right thing on somebody's else advice.
— W. Somerset Maugham
 
You posted your reply specifically to Raymondox, yet Raymondox made no mention of “exposure compensation”, so your “point” was miss-placed. If you have something to add to a specific poster’s comments, other than the OP, then reply to that poster. You say you disagree, but with whom do you disagree?
--
Brooks

http://www.bmiddleton.smugmug.com

I daresay one profits more by the mistakes one makes off one's own bat than by doing the right thing on somebody's else advice.
— W. Somerset Maugham
 
Wow, I am amazed how fast people reply here with great feedback.

I've been a member of many different forums (car, car audio, web design, marketing, etc) and this photography forum is far more dedicated and responsive than any others I've used. I truly appreciate it.

From what I understand now, not using AUTO mode will allow me to fade the background or focus on it as well (A mode), shutter speed (S Mode) will allow me to make the waterfall look smooshed or show every drop of watter (sports and car race pics). Few other controls can make the photo lighter or darker (but that can also be done with Photoshop). I know ISO. ......... what else did I leave out?

I am reading the Ken Rockwell's Nikon D40 manual as well as the one that came with the camera. I've also ordered 2 video tutorials (each over 1 hour long) on eBay made by few photographer "gurus".

Once again .... thank you guys.

P.S. I am leaving for Pocono Mountains next week. Hopefully will get some interesting photos.
 
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