DPReview readers are not typical DSLR users

[Eggolander]

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

Definitely the chicken.

Nah... its neither.
It was Col. Sanders that invented the chicken that by chance laid eggs.

 

[MWCT]

Would beg to differ. There are a lot of ppl who argue that for 90% of the pictures there is simply no reason to go to the "creative" zone. In fact I think Canon named that zone quite aptly, because the main reason to use it is to get creative with the camera. Now if you are shooting for the Art Institute of Chicago, then I would say you will probably be in creative all the time but otherwise, consider that setting to Portrait mode makes the aperture to shallow DOF, WB to highlight skin tones, and a low ISO. Landscape would give you a deep DOF, highlighting greens and blues and reds. As far as I know, I do exactly the same thing when shooting in AV mode. And if you are in sports mode, the camera selects high ISO, high shutter speed, and continuous mode shooting. That's how I use my TV mode too. So for the most part, preset modes are just fine. Full Auto is I must admit a little useless. And Program mode does most of what you need except you have to set it each time you press the trigger. As for manual mode, I will wholeheartedly disagree with "once you have tried manual you never go back." For me its more "never again". I thank my lucky stars every time I shoot and not have to manually adjust my shutter speed to match my aperture (or vice versa) and spend several seconds adjusting the focus ring so that I get a perfectly in focus shot (my first camera had no automated modes, it was fully manual only, and I don't miss it at all.)
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/freezingrain/

 

[love_them_all]

doesn't mean that they are good drivers. Young kids who just learnt how to drive a stick always laugh at others who don't.

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[JohnAugust]

So for the most part, preset modes are just fine.

How does the camera know how to select the correct aperture in portrait mode when you're taking photos of groups versus individuals? How does the camera know what shutter speed to select in sports mode when you're shooting golf versus racquetball?

The truth is, the camera has no idea what you're shooting. In basic mode, it makes the best guess it can giving a priority to aperture or shutter speed based on which mode you're in.

There is nothing "creative" about creative modes. It's just a marketing term to differentiate between basic and advanced modes. The difference between the 2 sets of modes is whether you take control or you let the camera guess for you. That's all there is to it.

 

[Eggolander]

Would beg to differ. There are a lot of ppl who argue that for 90%
of the pictures there is simply no reason to go to the "creative"
zone.

 

[Anthony de Vries]

So for the most part, preset modes are just fine.

How does the camera know how to select the correct aperture in
portrait mode when you're taking photos of groups versus individuals?

And how much difference does f/2.8 vs. f/4 make for most portraits? Does it make or brake the portrait? No, it doesn't.

Most important is still the composition, the pose, being at ease with the subject, etc etc. Sure... DoF can help... but it's no magic wand, and definately overrated on these forums.

Check the lighting forum, and see how many (or few) shots are done with shallow DoF.

Sure.. to create the perfect shot, you want to be in full control of the camera. But let's not pretend that just because you're giving some control away, you can't create stunning pictures anymore.

I'd rather have people concentrate on the artistic side of photography, than on the technical side.

 

[Stollen123]

if the setting was on automatic doesnt mean they just used at the automatic setting...

i use the automatting setting to get an idea about the setting then go over to AV or M mode which i usually use pretty much all the time...

your observation is meaningless ...it shows only how popular canon is

 

[SteveDuff]

...that four days on, you lot are still in here arguing about this one.

 

[husky91]

So for the most part, preset modes are just fine.

How does the camera know how to select the correct aperture in
portrait mode when you're taking photos of groups versus individuals?

In the EOS Discovery Day seminar I went to, Canon instructs users to use Landscape mode for large groups of people, not portrait.

The poor Auto ISO mode hurts the XTi in the preset modes since it doesn't go above ISO 400.

 

[lokimon]

So it's wrong to use the auto buttons? Most of the times when I'm with my kids, I'll have the camera set on P. Do you guys really follow kids around with anything but? I can't imagine how you would be able to set the correct exposure in one of the manual modes fast enough. Or should I really be trying to learn how to do this? They go from shade, to back lighting, to front lighting so fast.

 

[formerpro]

Although you may well end up using the camera on P, there is an advantage to learning the theory.

If you learn the theory, you'll be able to glance quickly at the settings of the camera, and figure out if the picture is likely to be sharp, before taking it.

And it's a question of both f-stop and shutter speed.

If you learn the theory, you'll also be able to know ahead of time what effect you'll get - and decide what works best with what subject.

Shooting on the fly is fine in P is fine, as long as you gauge movement against shutter speed. Which in turn means setting the iso ahead of time, so you can be sure to have a reasonable chance of getting a sharp shot.

 

[Macro]

Don't like the pop-up flash popping up when you least want it to???

Keep a hot shoe cover installed and your pop-up flash will never surprise you. The cover actuates the hot shoe side rail micro-switch so that the camera thinks there is an external flash attached. When you need flash, just slip the cover off and put it your pocket.

I haven't seen a cover made by Canon in recent years. This Nikon BS-1 Hot Shoe Cover model fits my Canon cameras perfectly.

$3 from B&H.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/207371-USA/Nikon_4731_BS_1_Hot_Shoe_Cover.html

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Macro-
http://www.pbase.com/dbh/galleries