What shooting mode is best?

[Cullen]

Hi,

I'm getting a bit confused about which way is best to learn photography from scratch, regarding shooting modes.

I'm really new to photography and am still playing around with settings etc, but I've heard different things. Should I be using a manual setting straight up? Or should I be playing around and learning through the Av and Tv settings first, then 'upgrade' to the manual settings once I get a better handle of things. Or is it just personal preference?

I ask only because I guess I'm trying to find the most efficient way of learning how to get the exposure right as I'm pretty time constrained and really want to learn quickly.

Thanks all!

[crf529]

My take on it is that you should stick with Av when your looking to shoot portrait/landscape type work as you main concern is sharpness and control of DOF. Use the Tv mode when you want to have control over the shutter speed for sports work. And manual mode is easiest to be left alone except when your in a more 'complex' situation such as night photography or studio work with multiple lighting sources.

There is no reason to shoot manual as opposed to Av or Tv modes unless your trying to shoot panoramas/HDR or in some other complex type of situation as mentioned above. Manual isn't an 'upgrade' so much from Av or Tv, just useful in different, less standard situations.

[ricktas]

Have a read of the NTP Library references. It is setup to guide you in how to move from Auto to Manual, in steps. Learning each camera feature by itself will help you understand how each works and how it interacts with the others. Learn slowly and eventually move to full manual.

http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showlibrary.php?title=Indexes:New_To_Photography_Book

Start at the top (number 1) and slowly work down through them. The entire NTP resource has been setup to make your learning easy, and step-by step, in a manner that will allow everyone to come to grips with their camera, its features and functions and how to take photos.

[Bright Eye]

I just purchased a Sony AX2000 AVCHD camera and was just wondering what the best shooting mode would be for every day use. At this point I'm not planning on making any HD Blueray DVD's of my grandson's birthday or soccer games. I just want to minimize the hassle when editing, rendering, etc. I'm running Vegas 7 on an older PC but have purchased a better one to eventually move my projects to. At that time I'll attempt the HD.
Appreciate any advise you can give.

[enigmatic]

definately have a look at the learning plan on here, ive sorta followed it (im still not in the habit of getting on this forum often!)

play around with a combo of aperature and shutterspeed modes, following the guidelines in the learning plan :)

[Doninoz]

Best thing is to just go out ans shoot lots of photos...experiment and with all modes and see which impress you the most.

[geoffsta]

I always say start with AV. Say f7.1. But watch the shutter speed as changes per image. Move the ISO up and down and again watch the shutter speed. After a while you'll get a feel for what goes with what.
But also go through the library, it will help you understand why things happen the way it does.

[swifty]

This is just my preference for shooting. In non-changing light conditions I use manual and once I have exposure spot on I just tweak from shot to shot.
In dynamic light conditions my preference is Apertre priority (Av).
I start at base ISO and my chosen aperture and read what my corresponding shutter speed is based on the metering mode i have chosen. If it's inadequate, I'll boost the ISO until it's enough up to my acceptable limit depending on the camera I'm using. I'll then use exposure compensation to vary how dark or bright I want the shot to be.
Of course there is no correct or best mode..it's horses for courses.
When shutter speed is the creative or critical determinant of a shot then I would switch to Tv instead in dynamic lighting conditions or again M, when the light's essentially static.

[Mat]

If you want to have a play with a simulator then have a look at this link http://dryreading.com/camera/index.html Click on the buttons and you can see the differences in the images supplied. If you are realy new to photography then just try to understand one setting at at time and put the rest in auto (i.e. Av mode has shutter in auto and you can set the ISO to auto so you just see the effects of the aperture) practice and soon you can move between modes with confidence and ease.

[wazonthehill]

If you are as you say really new to photgraphy, then it is easiest to change one thing at a time.

Set up a shot and shoot it in P mode.
Then go to av mode and take the same shot. Try it at f 2.8 , at f11, and at f22 (or what ever your lens can do)
do same with speed (tv mode), take a shot at 40th, 80th, 200th of a second.

Go back and look at the pictures (ensure your software shows the exif data (ie camera settings)

see if you can see the differences.

Try this on differnt shots (along a fence, moving traffic) etc and see how each setting affects the shot.

[Dylan & Marianne]

HEhee, the age old question.
I think the answer lies in what you are comfortable with at the current level of your progression.
When you're starting out, the automatic modes are probably getting you the best results while focussing on composition without having to worry about lighting etc
When you know a little more, the control of another variable such as TV and AV modes will start to get you better results than when you were on full auto
Once you are very comfortable AND when the situation demands adjustment of both variables and ISO, the you'll start to get better results in full manual than all of the above.

I'm a control freak so I just have everything in manual but who knows, maybe automode may have taken the better picture for me! I'll never know lol but I enjoy moving all those dials ;)

[cherie]

I usually use AV mode for shooting ;)

[wferris]

I struggle getting basketball action shots but since changing to shutter priority i have had a big improvement.:)

Enjoyed getting on the following link http://dryreading.com/camera/index.html

Thanks Mat,

[ving]

there is not best mode... it all depends on what you want to control. depth of field? freeze frame? motion blur? darkness? lightness? contrast?

[dwvr]

MY preferences:
Static = Aperture
Sports/Action = Shutter
low light sport = manual

works for me :)

[kroppkaka]

I have been using Av mode for static and even sports inside and set it to smallest number for maximum light in for fastest speed. I controlled the ISO setting to get the shutter time to a decent setting.