Thursday, February 10, 2011

Manual

Today I tried using the manual mode on my camera for something other than the "bulb" mode, and I found it much easier than I anticipated.  I now actually had to pay attention to the exposure indicator, and when I did, it was simple to get properly exposed images.  It looks like I might be using manual more often nowadays (instead of AV, which I usually use).

3 comments:

Ashley Sisk said...

Once you go manual, you won't go back. I tried it once and I'm not kidding...I can't do it any other way. :)

Joshua Horn said...

I almost never use manual because it takes significantly longer, and you really just choose what the camera could choose for you. I don't understand it when people always use manual... I only use it for a studio-type stuff.

Maximillian said...

Thanks for the tip, Ashley. :)
I'm still figuring out advanced techniques with my camera, so I'll hopefully get to the point where I won't want to go back.

Joshua, after using manual for just a little while, I have a feeling that it's like shooting in RAW: it has its advantages, but there are times when it's better to use something else. For instance, I shot in JPEG a little today for action shots (my XS gets about 3 fps with JPEG but only around 1 fps with RAW).

If using the exposure indicator and manual mode is basically the same as using AV or TV except you control everything by yourself and simply take longer to get the right settings, I can see why it doesn't make much sense to use it; however, I think it must be something like using a custom white balance - there are times where the camera doesn't deliver the precise results you want.