Get to know camera using auto first or straight to manual?

[MarthaRuby]

Just bought the EM1 for hubby and then decided on the EM5 for myself. We are traditional compact camera holiday snappers but fancied a new hobby and photography would suit our camping/hiking lifestyle. Spent the weekend getting used to the feel of the cameras. What I would like opinions on though - should we get to know the auto settings first or completely bypass and learn how to use the manual settings straight off! Booked the shop day class and have a couple of books for starters. Thanks in advance.

 

[mpgxsvcd]

For Panasonic cameras I have always said “No” to their full auto mode and even their Program priority mode. The auto ISO logic Panasonic uses has always used too slow of a shutter speed in the past. That should all change with the LX100 though.

However, you are using Olympus cameras. Their program priority mode with Auto ISO is actually very good once you set a min shutter speed with the flash synch setting.

I typically recommend starting with Program Priority mode if the Auto ISO logic is good. It is the most Automatic mode that still offers some control over aperture and shutter speed. Once you master that mode you will find the other modes are now easier to learn.

That being said I also believe that if the Program Priority mode’s Auto ISO logic is good enough you should only need the other modes in rare occasions. A good Program Priority mode should always set you up for the ideal parameters.

 

[Trevor Carpenter]

I'm just guessing but I don't think the manual is what you are looking for. That is not to say you shouldn't read it. In fact I suggest that you print off a copy and use it for your bedtime reading. The problem is that the manual tells you how your camera works and not how to take pictures. I recommend a good book that explains it all, I'm very much a fan of Bryan Peterson Understanding Exposure. In the meantime I would go for P learn how to adjust your aperture and shutter speed and play.

 

[Macx]

When you have the time for it, experiment, learn to use it in manual. When not, don't be afraid to use it in full automatic mode, whether iAuto or one of the scene modes. Nothing worse than an opportunity lost because of fiddling with settings that you're still unfamiliar with.

 

[RaymondR]

this is spot on advice. I became a Program mode shooter years ago with Nikon DX and found when I moved to Oly m4/3 that that mode did indeed do an excellent job of setting up the right exposure. I tweak with exposure compensation to my taste. And when the situation calls for it, I will move to either aperture priority or shutter priority.

 

[Aberaeron]

Only a very small minority of modern camera users use manual mode, and then normally for particular situation that probably calls for it.

Most photographers use one of the auto exposure modes, either P, A, or S priority auto exposure. Exposure can easily be adjusted from what the camera chooses by using the EV control which, along with ISO, White Balance, and exposure area choice [evaluative/area, centre-weighted or spot] should be your most used controls apart from zoom, focus area and mode and drive options, cover most eventualities.

That lot should keep you more than occupied for a while. At first use auto ISO and auto White Balance until you have mastered the other parameters or notice that either of these are not quite right from the automatic adjustments.

As someone else has mentioned, don't be afraid to use fully Auto or scene modes rather than miss a shot while under pressure. You will have plenty of time to get to know the more demanding modes later.

 

[Chas2]

Just bought the EM1 for hubby and then decided on the EM5 for myself. We are traditional compact camera holiday snappers but fancied a new hobby and photography would suit our camping/hiking lifestyle. Spent the weekend getting used to the feel of the cameras. What I would like opinions on though - should we get to know the auto settings first or completely bypass and learn how to use the manual settings straight off! Booked the shop day class and have a couple of books for starters. Thanks in advance.

Start with P and work from there. Different situations demand different modes. I would not use the M (manual) until you more comfortable with P, A and S modes.

I would take a chance on this book from Amazon. It is small, not that expensive, and gives you the run down on what mode to use when. Great little book, not complicated, and can be used with advanced compact to DSLR. If you actually spend some time with each of the one page scenarios playing with the settings he recommends so you can see the effects, it will make you a better photographer. It might actually be worthwhile to spend $5 to get the binding cut, and have the book spiral bound with a front and back plastic cover. I did that at FedExKinkos and it makes a handy dandy little manual of style.

Take the Shots that Make Jaws Drop by Steve Canale

 

[Martin.au]

I would mess around in A and S modes (probably with auto-ISO) first as I don't think you can learn much from Auto.

Use A modes for landscapes and "normal photography". Use S mode for action, people, wildife, etc, where you want to specify a fast shutter speed to freeze motion.

Finally, if you find a shot that you aren't confident of getting with the A and S modes, then try auto mode. Maybe take two shots, one with your settings, and one in auto.

Auto is very good on the Olympus cameras, but they still can't read minds.

 

[ahaslett]

Martin's advice is good but you still should read a book.

You don't say what kind of photographs you want to take. If landscapes then you should consider a tripod. On a tripod you can use long exposures, in which case you should set ISO to 200 on the EM1, as that gives you the widest range of sensitivity between shadows and highlights.

Also I would advise using the highest quality settings for your jpegs and also shooting RAW, so you have more ability to alter the image if you want. Olympus Viewer 3 is free and gives you basic ability to adjust your images.

With digital there are no bad pictures, only ones you deleted.

have fun

Andrew

 

[Mike_PEAT]

Before I went digital I never used any automatic mode including, P, A, or S. I set everything myself. I don't know your skill level so I can't answer for you. How much do you want to learn the camera?

 

[jeffharris]

Just bought the EM1 for hubby and then decided on the EM5 for myself. We are traditional compact camera holiday snappers but fancied a new hobby and photography would suit our camping/hiking lifestyle. Spent the weekend getting used to the feel of the cameras. What I would like opinions on though - should we get to know the auto settings first or completely bypass and learn how to use the manual settings straight off! Booked the shop day class and have a couple of books for starters. Thanks in advance.

As far as I'm concerned, the best way to understand how to shoot is in M mode. YOU control everything. When you mess up, you'll learn to understand where you went wrong.

Auto mode results never seem quite the same, although Panasonic's iAuto mode is considered to be about the best around.

It's a good idea to get a book , like Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson

Loading…

www.amazon.com

 

[Jason1500]

I would say learn manual first to understand how the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO work together to get exposure. Auto mode doesn't know if you want to freeze motion, if you're taking a landscape shot and want the lens at it's sweet spot for maximum sharpness, or if you're taking a portrait and want to blur the background. Of course they're are times to go with full auto if you see a shot and don't have anytime but to flick the switch and fire. I would say learn manual first and then learn shutter and aperture priority modes. For example I'm learning shoot birds with my 100-300mm lens so I use shutter priority and set the ISO to auto with maximum of 3200...so the camera will automatically select my aperture & pick and ISO between 200-3200. This way I only have to pick the appropriate shutter speed and do my best to get focus and take the picture.

 

[Eric Nepean]

What I do with a new camera is sit down with the camera in one hand and the manual in the other; then I will try each function described in the manual, with a focus on becoming familiar with the basic modes and functions first, in this approximate order (taking pictures of the room I'm in in each mode) - simplest and most basic stuff first:

• Identify each control
• Full programmable mode, related settings
• Operator selected Aperture, auto shutter speed
• Operator selected Shutter speed, auto aperture
• Viewfinder and LCD modes
• Flash settings
• ISO settings
• Exposure offset
• Autofocus modes - focus area selectio
• Manual focus
• Auto exposure modes - exposure meter area selection
• RAW/JPEG
• Antivibration settings
• Self Timer, Autobracket
• Full Manual mode
• White balance controls
• Video mode
• Full Auto mode ("bystander mode")

Once I understand these basic functions, I'll start doing some more serious shooting.

After a few shooting sessions I'll start thinking how to set up the camera - which buttons do what, how to set up the menus :

• review parts of the manual again that I've forgotten
• try a few more advanced functions
• start setting up buttons and menus

Now I have good basic understanding of the camera, I may look at books and articles about the camera and look for information on workflow, setup and performance limits.

 

[natattack]

Just bought the EM1 for hubby and then decided on the EM5 for myself. We are traditional compact camera holiday snappers but fancied a new hobby and photography would suit our camping/hiking lifestyle. Spent the weekend getting used to the feel of the cameras. What I would like opinions on though - should we get to know the auto settings first or completely bypass and learn how to use the manual settings straight off! Booked the shop day class and have a couple of books for starters. Thanks in advance.

--
Using auto is usually a good way to learn an Olympus camera, but I found it wasn't the case with my E-P3 or new EM10. These two cameras shoot beautiful quality images, but can also produce smeared details with lots of sharpening artifacts, making the image quality look pretty terrible. I was so appalled by my E-P3 on the first day i bought it, i almost didnt give it a chance (coming from an EP-L1, which shot gorgeous Jpg's by default up to ISO 1600).

I noticed on `auto' mode on my EM10, sharpening is dialed up and noise reduction left on standard. Those two settings in particular are best switched to minimum to get the best IQ IMO (then you can ajust them in post processing)

My EM10 is a fiddly camera so far. Sometimes i think M43 sensor was better with 12MP, but at other times I'm extremely happy with 16mp.

 

[Elemental Photography]

Before I went digital I never used any automatic mode including, P, A, or S. I set everything myself. I don't know your skill level so I can't answer for you. How much do you want to learn the camera?

Pretty much this. You can practice composition and framing in auto, but to take full creative control I believe it is necessary to take the camera out of full auto exposure. Of course, until you understand the visual impact of aperture and shutter speed on the final output, there's not much point in making those decisions.

 

[olybrit]

Just bought the EM1 for hubby and then decided on the EM5 for myself. We are traditional compact camera holiday snappers but fancied a new hobby and photography would suit our camping/hiking lifestyle. Spent the weekend getting used to the feel of the cameras. What I would like opinions on though - should we get to know the auto settings first or completely bypass and learn how to use the manual settings straight off! Booked the shop day class and have a couple of books for starters. Thanks in advance.

With both of the cameras you have, I'd add another vote for starting with Program mode, with auto ISO/WB, then start taking pics of the things that appeal to you - someone else on DPR has a tag line "digital film is cheap" - the cost of discards is next to nothing.

In P mode, you can switch to manual control of any parameter very quickly and books/workshops (see other replies for recommendations) will help understanding of what to change to improve what you didn't like about results. I guess you will learn quite quickly when you might have used A,S or (rarely) M mode; art filters, scene modes etc.

I'd be interested in what others here expect, but if I produce anything much more than 1% of keepers, I think I've done ok , but a lot depends on what you wanted from the pic; e.g personal memories or aesthetically pleasing for you and others.

Just my pennyworth - hope it helps.

Regards, Paul

 

[olybrit]

Just bought the EM1 for hubby and then decided on the EM5 for myself. We are traditional compact camera holiday snappers but fancied a new hobby and photography would suit our camping/hiking lifestyle. Spent the weekend getting used to the feel of the cameras. What I would like opinions on though - should we get to know the auto settings first or completely bypass and learn how to use the manual settings straight off! Booked the shop day class and have a couple of books for starters. Thanks in advance.

With both of the cameras you have, I'd add another vote for starting with Program mode, with auto ISO/WB, then start taking pics of the things that appeal to you - someone else on DPR has a tag line "digital film is cheap" - the cost of discards is next to nothing.

In P mode, you can switch to manual control of any parameter very quickly and books/workshops (see other replies for recommendations) will help understanding of what to change to improve what you didn't like about results. I guess you will learn quite quickly when you might have used A,S or (rarely) M mode; art filters, scene modes etc.

I'd be interested in what others here expect, but if I produce anything much more than 1% of keepers, I think I've done ok , but a lot depends on what you wanted from the pic; e.g personal memories or aesthetically pleasing for you and others.

Just my pennyworth - hope it helps.

Regards, Paul

Afterthought - why Program mode?

For grab shots especially, it will come up with settings that do a decent job in a wide variety of conditions. You can see the settings the camera has chosen and will flash at you when it has reached its limits - good starting point for making your own decisions/settings (with Live Control on) when you have time to review and think.

Regards, Paul

 

[Chas2]

I would say learn manual first to understand how the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO work together to get exposure. Auto mode doesn't know if you want to freeze motion, if you're taking a landscape shot and want the lens at it's sweet spot for maximum sharpness, or if you're taking a portrait and want to blur the background. Of course they're are times to go with full auto if you see a shot and don't have anytime but to flick the switch and fire. I would say learn manual first and then learn shutter and aperture priority modes. For example I'm learning shoot birds with my 100-300mm lens so I use shutter priority and set the ISO to auto with maximum of 3200...so the camera will automatically select my aperture & pick and ISO between 200-3200. This way I only have to pick the appropriate shutter speed and do my best to get focus and take the picture.

...that is what the various scene modes are for. Jason is absolutely correct, the camera does not know what you want to do, but the scene modes are designed to help in that.

Portrait, e-Portrait, Landscape, Landscape + Portrait, Sport, Night, Night + Portrait, Children, High Key, Low Key, DIS mode, Macro, Nature Macro, Candle, Sunset, Documents, Panorama, Fireworks, Beach & Snow.

These modes optimize the auto program for these situations...experiment with them, and what they do, and you can replicate some of these settings in the P, A, S, and M modes, and develop your own styles. But if you are in a pinch, these scene modes can be very helpful to you...many will scoff at this recommendation, but it is another way to learn, and understand the Olympus approach to many different situations...which can ultimately help you make better pictures.

Your camera is really a camera combined with a very sophisticated computer, and these are akin to different photo situation apps.

This book I recommended discusses this in more detail, and has a page per typical photo situation an amatuer is likely to come across, and how to use PASM modes or Scene Modes to help you take better photos.

Take the Shots that Make Jaws Drop by Steve Canale

The book is not an end all solution, but it rapidly allows a novice to figure out what direction to go in when coming across typical photo situations...If you can spend 20 minutes playing with each situation, it will help you understand your camera settings so much better, and give you a foundation for moving forward with less frustration. This is really one of the few practical books I have come across that is not too complicated and not too voluminous. It is the size of a notepad, hence my previous recommendation of spiral binding it and sticking it your camera bag.

 

[wansai]

go straight to manual. it actually is as easy auto while giving u more control.

start off with aperture at a fixed number, say, f2.8. set your iso to auto. all u will need to do is determine your shutter speed. the camera will do everything else for you to get the exposure. heck if you're a reaal novice, just keep your shutter at 1/100. the em1 auto iso will sort out the exposure for you. just be wary about daylight. if it's very bright, crank up your shutter. use the lcd or viewfinder to see the live view. olympus live view is very accurate. if the scene looks right onscreen, focus and shoot.

the hardest part right now is figuring out and setting the camera to your taste.

 

[MarthaRuby]

go straight to manual. it actually is as easy auto while giving u more control.

start off with aperture at a fixed number, say, f2.8. set your iso to auto. all u will need to do is determine your shutter speed. the camera will do everything else for you to get the exposure. heck if you're a reaal novice, just keep your shutter at 1/100. the em1 auto iso will sort out the exposure for you. just be wary about daylight. if it's very bright, crank up your shutter. use the lcd or viewfinder to see the live view. olympus live view is very accurate. if the scene looks right onscreen, focus and shoot.

the hardest part right now is figuring out and setting the camera to your taste.

Firstly, thaks so much for all your replies - I have narrowed it down so far to P mode or going straight in at manual (keeping auto for quick snaps).

We are absolute and complete beginners. But though we are of a certain age we are no strangers to technology - me in particular - I am a serial gadget buyer and make sure I learn how to use them. Photography though is a strange new world for us. I only know what aperature, exposure and shutter mean through what I've read this week. Hubby knows even less. However, we WANT to learn. I have absorbed most of what I've researched and now know what all the words mean and what they relate to. Joining them all up is the next step then the actual practice.

Ive sat for hours with the manual getting to know the buttons. And read one of the books. And then I'll read the manual and book again and again.

The type of photographs we are most likely to take are landscapes - mountains, lochs, beaches etc. and our one human subject - toddler grandson.

The reason I chose the above reply as a quote is - we really are that basic and need a starting point for manual and this reply jumped out at me....."start off with aperature of fixed number, say, f2.8, set your iso to auto..............if you're a real novice keep your shutter at 1/100........... A book as basic as this would be good. I'll check out the book recommended

Ideally we would like to go on something like a 6 month course but there are none near us. Only option is the one-day shop course that will most likely just familiarise us with the actual camera. Hubby is joining the local camera club so he will hopefully learn stuff there. Unfortunately it is on the only night of the week I can't go so that option is closed to me.

Once again, many thanks.

ps, the book Take the Shots that Makes Jaws Drop- Steve Canale - doesnt seem to be available in the UK