Learning Direction needed

[seminolewind]

I'm having a lot of fun with autofocus. I'm learning menus, and attempting to get the menus onto live control. What would be the next step in learning how to do?

 

[ARShutterbug]

Learning photography would probably be good, instead of trying to modify the camera's menu system.

 

[hotdog321]

Learn how to control aperture and shutter speed to manually control depth of field, exposure and freeze action.

 

[photosen]

What hotdog said! Manual can be a lot of fun when you realize you nailed it, and understand why.

 

[seminolewind]

ARShutterbug wrote:

Learning photography would probably be good, instead of trying to modify the camera's menu system.

 

[seminolewind]

hotdog321 wrote:

Learn how to control aperture and shutter speed to manually control depth of field, exposure and freeze action.

That sounds like a lot, but the good thing is, unlike film, you can take a zillion pictures experimenting.

 

[Rich Rosen]

seminolewind wrote:

hotdog321 wrote:

Learn how to control aperture and shutter speed to manually control depth of field, exposure and freeze action.

That sounds like a lot, but the good thing is, unlike film, you can take a zillion pictures experimenting.

Learning the art of photography is a lifelong experience. It's not about the buttons and menus on the camera, about accumulating the the coolest equipment. It is about capturing the moment , the story, or simply a beautiful image of the family. Hotdog is suggesting that you start with the basics. You could use the automatic mode but that won't teach you a thing. And believe or not there will come a situation which will completely fool the automatic modeFg yeah it sounds like a lot, but it's a lot of fun.

 

[seminolewind]

What can I do with the "P" setting of PASM? Books I've read are just too generalized . What would be interesting ?

 

[hotdog321]

Not sure what you mean by "interesting." "P" is just sort of a default no-brainer setting that will give you a decent image under most common circumstances. Basically:


"A" or "Av" s for aperture when depth of field is most important.

"T" or "Tv" is for shutter speed when freezing action is most important.

"M" or "manual" is for when you really want to control what is happening in the image--exposure, shutter speed, depth of field. You really need to learn how these elements interact to start doing creative photography.

 

[Rich Rosen]

seminolewind wrote:

What can I do with the "P" setting of PASM? Books I've read are just too generalized . What would be interesting ?

On my camera, the program mode sets both aperture and shutter speed, but it goes a little further. If I don't like the program I can change it to better accommodate my requirements. I set the ISO, and white balance, the camera sets the rest. Your manual will give you the parameters the mode works within.

I don't use Program at all.. I prefer more control than what that mode gives me. Yes, I will use Aperture priority, or shutter priority.

 

[happysnapper64]

IMHO, learning the menu system is part of learning photography, like learning about the clutch, accelerator hand brake etc is necessary in learning to drive a vehicle. On the other hand, I would not spend TOO much time on this, as it is likely that you may never use some of the settings in there. I would suggest the focus modes & the white ballance would be ones to look into. I personally don't like flying blind in things I am not familliar with, so I would suggest you get hold of some literature on digital photography, particularly to learn about exposure, how aperture, shutter speed & ISO are ballanced to give the most acceptable results. I went straight to M mode, not because I am clever, far from it, but I read, re-read, & read again about the relationship of these 3 settings to set exposure [Ap-SS-ISO] I must have shot & deleted thousands of images just trying to understand how it all works. I admit it will not be many peoples idea of how to learn, but it is working [gradually!!] for me. You have to find what method of learning works for you. One thing about me, I LOVE a challenge. It is such a blast being able to go out & set the camera up & take good/great shots that a month ago I would never have been able to work out how. It's when you realise "Hey I'm getting better at this" that gives me the urge to learn more. My only regret is that I didn't take it up years ago.

 

[Thorbard]

hotdog321 wrote:

Not sure what you mean by "interesting." "P" is just sort of a default no-brainer setting that will give you a decent image under most common circumstances. Basically:

"A" or "Av" s for aperture when depth of field is most important.

"T" or "Tv" is for shutter speed when freezing action is most important.

"M" or "manual" is for when you really want to control what is happening in the image--exposure, shutter speed, depth of field. You really need to learn how these elements interact to start doing creative photography.

I never quite understand the obsession with "manual" being for true control of the image beyond what Av or Tv can do.


If you're using the lightmeter that is build into the camera, then M mode is no different than Av or Tv. If you're just setting correct exposure with no desires about the particular aperture or shutter speed, them M is actually worse than P because it takes longer to set up.

P is still a step up from full auto ("green box" on Canon) because it gives you more control over things other than aperture and shutter speed.


Here is how I use each mode that should illustrate some of the uses of each mode;

P - Used when I'm "recording" something for reference or record keeping. I'm not too bothered about aperture and I just want a shutter speed that will freeze any camera shake.

I can set ISO to something about right but often just use it on auto. The camera will juggle the three variables to get a reasonably crisp, in focus shot.

I can set exposure compensation if I think I want a lighter or darker image and can use bracketing too. I also get a choice of autofocus modes and points.

Av - My most commonly used mode in my photography. I can force the camera to high shutter speed (wide aperture) or low shutter speed (narrow aperture) and will use the ISO setting to control this further, if necessary. I've recently started using Av + auto ISO to keep shutter speeds higher and avoid motion blur.

I have full control over exposure compensation, autofocus mode and autofocus points.

Tv - I use ocassionally, where I want a certain shutter speed no matter what. I'll often set 1/320 or 1/500 for airshows or 1/8 to get some motion blur on water or in panning.

Again full control over focus and end exposure.

M - I'll use where I want a certain result and have control over the light. If the light varies, I'll use exposure compensation and Av mode. I use it during long exposures where the metering can't cope very well and when shooting light trails or similar. I find it less useful than Av as I'll be constantly adjusting the shutter speed to get correct exposure instead of concentrating on composition and results.

Obviously these are only some of the possible uses, but I hope it gets you thinking in the right direction.


In short, if you're just starting out and learning, Av and Tv will be a far more useful learning area alongside a good book than trying to fight manual mode all the way.

Composition and style are far more important to impressive photography anyway. Use P or even auto to get good exposure while you work on those.

 

[gwlaw99]

Read these to start

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm

 

[KCook]

seminolewind wrote:

What can I do with the "P" setting of PASM? Books I've read are just too generalized . What would be interesting ?

Here is a link to a good article on Program mode -

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www.picturecorrect.com

I use Program mainly for TTL flash photography. Which happens to be what you are doing when you use your camera's built-in flash. TTL flash is also in effect for a lot of the popular external flash units. Just how useful Program mode may turn out to be for you depends on the camera. Each camera brand has its own idea on the AE profiles for their Program mode, they will not be all the same. Unfortunately the camera reviews do not really delve into these differences.

Kelly Cook