Aperture priority

[Pudda]

Is it true learners should use aperature priorty the majority of the time until they are confident??

[jim]

What a huge multi-faceted question stated baldly in [counts] 17 words.

Yes.

[kiwi]

Learners should use auto until they are confident...learn focus and some composition and lighting basics first in my opinion.

Then learn the rest according to genre

[Louise Jamieson]

I've just muddled though until i started to get the pictures I wanted with some help from a few mags, Isn't lots of trial and error and some luck in the beginning?

[Kym]

Stick to the plan... http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showlibrary.php?title=New_To_Photography:Learning_Plan_Details


The learning plan is also very practical in that it asks those participating to post images and get feedback
(constructive critique a.k.a CC) whereby they can quickly improve their skills.


We start with the camera in full auto (with fixed ISO sensitivity of 400, and JPEG mode) while learning to hold the camera and compose shots
We then progress to Aperture Priority (with fixed ISO) while learning Depth of Field (DoF)
We add Shutter Priority to the skills (with fixed ISO) while learning movement control
Once the above are understood we process to changing ISO (100 through 1600) using mainly Aperture Priority while learning about sensitivity and noise
The participant is now ready to use full manual control of the Exposure Triangle (ISO sensitivity, Aperture, Shutter speed)
We advance to control of white balance using raw mode instead of JPEG
Finally we add other aspects such as flash, stabilisation (tripod) and other creative options


The above sequence provides a sound base to further explore the joy of photography.
All AusPhotography members can feel free to assist with the NTP process by commenting to NTP posts and providing CC to NTP participants.

[ricktas]

Use whatever setting you are comfortable using, including Auto, to get the photo you want. But don't rest on that, learn how the other functions and features work. The best setting is the one that produces a photo that you are happy with.

[Katt]

I started out on Auto but now move between Aperture Priority & Shutter speed. I am still only learning shutter speed but found using Aperture Priority really assisted me with understanding my camera more than relying on Auto. It helped me understand how to blur portraits & also what the best aperture on my camera was for landscapes, through trial & error.
Katt

[Tannin]

Is it true learners should use aperature priorty the majority of the time until they are confident??

Nope. Learners should use aperture priority the majority of the time until they are experts and can use aperture priority the majority of the time.

[William]

:D Wish I could put something useful in this thread, I started that long ago I cant remember :( Kodak Box Brownie, probably got me learning composition, There was no settings , So long as you had the right daylight film, The Pentax Spotmatic was one of the first to have a built in light meter (Hence Spotmatic) , From memory I just set the aperture and ASA for whatever film, We used Kodak Tri-X 1600 asa for the surfing shots and got the Light meter to sit in the middle of the scale , Wish I had some Exif data for all my early Surfing shots to see the settings on Film, Digital seemed to come naturally , Sorry for this useless post , But IMO start out with an Auto setting that suits your needs AV or TV and keep on playing - Cheers Bill :)

[AndreaB]

For me it depends on what I am shooting. If i am working on bettering my protraits or my son playing sports I play with Av to blur or focus my backgrounds. If it is say a waterfall then i want to play with my shutter speed and use Tv. It all depends on what you are practicing in the moment, or what result you want to obtain from that photograph or photo session.

[mish13]

Stick to the plan... http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showlibrary.php?title=New_To_Photography:Learning_Plan_Details

I am going to print this out, looks like a good plan.

[Grumby]

I don't know if Auto is the same as Program(med?) mode, but that's what I suggest you start with... let the camera make the decisions to start with, while you concentrate on what's in the picture... Once you start to gain a bit of confidence (and feel adventurous), you can start to adjust either aperture or shutter speed while the camera compensates with the other to maintain the exposure. That gives you the option to start experimenting and see how varying the balance affects the outcome. Once you start to get a feel for that, it's time to move on to aperture or shutter priority modes depending on the type of image you are after. Just my 2c worth...

The other good feature I've seen (though I don't know if it is specific to just certain Nikons) is 'Guided' mode. The camera asks you questions about the kind of picture you want,and then advises on the appropriate settings to choose. Once you start to gain experience, you'll find that you are asking yourself exactly those same questions when making decisions about your settings.

Grum

[jackdaw]

I found using AP in the beginning was fine for learning how aperture and shutter speed relate to each other. After you master this concept its an easy move onto manual mode.

[Nikkie]

Hi I am just learning myself I use auto and aperture priority when you get a good photo try using the exif data and then try manual using the same settings on that there is so much to learn and then putting it together to take great photos practice practice practice even if there is nothing much to take photos of anything will do that you can find to shoot will mean practice that is what I do I shoot anything and everything post for CC and that is the best way of learning I found some people will say that is just in auto but they forget when they were learning they would have used auto as well at one time or another :th3:

[habro]

I always recommend Av as the go-to mode for new shooters who are actually interested learning. It forces you to (easily) learn about DoF (although also depends on the camera, not much point telling someone with a P&S who can go between f/3.5-6.3 about DoF because it doesn't exist), and at the same time you quickly pick up the relationship between aperture size & shutter speed. Plus for most intents and purposes, with how sophisticated the meters are on SLR's, you don't need to stray from Av mode barely at all down the line

[James02]

I think it's more important to learn shutter speed first. You can screw up more photos by ignoring shutter speed than you can with dof.

James

[ricktas]

I think it's more important to learn shutter speed first. You can screw up more photos by ignoring shutter speed than you can with dof.

James

BUT, if you are using Aperture Priority, as this thread title states, the camera will be setting shutter speed for you. This is about understanding how aperture and DOF affects your results, which is just as important for a good end result, as shutter speed. Beginners need to come to grips with all the aspects of how a camera functions, and this discussion is about Aperture Priority.

[KeeFy]

If you set your ISO to auto, the camera will set the optimal ISO and Shutter speed. I don't know how Nikon's algo works, but i reckon it should be similar if not the same.

The camera will try to set the lowest ISO possible and the shutter speed at hand-holdable values untill it reaches the ceiling for ISO (which in the case of the 7D, 60D, 600D is 3200ISO).
Hand holding speeds is known as 1/focal length. IE @ 50mm the minimum hand holding speed is 1/50s

Example:

With a aperture set and fixed at f2.8 and the scene exactly the same (well as close as possible due to variation of FOV due to zooming).

17mm(crop)/28mm(FullFrame) = 1/30, ISO400
35mm(crop)/56mm(FF) = 1/50, ISO640
55mm(crop)/80mm(FF) = 1/80, ISO1000

If you were to fix your ISO and aperture to say ISO100 with aperture f2.8, your camera, the resultant shutter speed would not be able to match the handholding speeds.
For the same scene above:

17mm(crop)/28mm(FullFrame) = 1/8 , ISO100
35mm(crop)/56mm(FF) = 1/8, ISO100
55mm(crop)/80mm(FF) = 1/8, ISO100

If you were to increase the Aperture from the same scene by 3 stops (more on that later) which is f8.

Original @ 2.8:
17mm(crop)/28mm(FullFrame) = 1/30, ISO400
35mm(crop)/56mm(FF) = 1/50, ISO640
55mm(crop)/80mm(FF) = 1/80, ISO1000

@ f8
17mm(crop)/28mm(FullFrame) =1/30s, ISO2500
35mm(crop)/56mm(FF) = 1/40s, ISO3200
55mm(crop)/80mm(FF) = 1/40s, ISO3200

Due to the camera hitting the set limit for usable ISO being 3200, the camera selects the fastest shutter speed possible.




Stops:
It is a set interval.
Generally they are known as F-stop (aperture), and T-stop (Shutter speed). ISO can be occasionally call an ISO stop but there is no real name for it other than ISO.

T-stop:
A full T-stop is each number shown below:

8 seconds 4 seconds 2 seconds 1 second 1/2 second 1/4 1/8 1/15 1/30 1/60 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000

Each of them roughly is double the neighbour. Why i say roughly because you'll notice 1/8 to 1/15 is not exactly double.

F-Stops:
A full F-stop is shown below:

1.0 1.4 2.0 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 22

I know this seems a little bit confusing but all you need to remember is 1.0 , 1.4 and 11. Each doubling of the number is 2 stops. So 1, 2, 4, 8, 16,32 = exactly 2x stops. 1.4, 1.8, 5.6 = 2x. Then remember 11, 22 also double.


ISO

This one is easy, it just doubles.

100 200 400 800 1600 3200 6400 12800 25600

Each interval can also be know as a "stop of ISO" just to make life easier.



Co-relation:
Shutter speed - Aperture - ISO is known as the holy trinity to cameras and the modification of any single one aspect of it will affect another or both as shown above.

To get the EXACT same exposure.
1/30, f2.8, ISO100

If i were to change the Shutter speed to 1/60.
I can either get : 1/60, f2, ISO100 or 1/30, f2.8, ISO200.

If i were to change the Aperture to f4.
I can get either: 1/15, f4, ISO100 or 1/30, f4, ISO200

If i were to change ISO to 200
I can get either: 1/60, f2.8 ISO200 or 1/30, f4, ISO200

Hope this helps and feel free to correct me if i got anything wrong.

[Blueywa]

Pudda:- Is it true learners should use aperature priorty the majority of the time until they are confident??

I dont know that anyone 'should do' when they are learning - by all means use Aperture Priority, but not always.
Learning for me was attempting to capture the same or similar subject using all the different modes..... ;)

[William W]

Is it true learners should use [aperture] priority the majority of the time until they are confident??
No.
If you have a DSLR then mistakes don’t cost much.
Use any and every CAMERA MODE you like to make the Photograph and to learn as much as you can about each – BUT critically analyse the mistakes – that’s the key ask “WHY?”.

***



Stops:
It is a set interval.
Generally they are known as F-stop (aperture), and T-stop (Shutter speed). ISO can be occasionally call an ISO stop but there is no real name for it other than ISO.
T-stop:
A full T-stop is each number shown below:
8 seconds 4 seconds 2 seconds 1 second 1/2 second 1/4 1/8 1/15 1/30 1/60 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000
Hope this helps and feel free to correct me if i got anything wrong.


This is the first occasion, that I have seen mentioned that Shutter Speeds are generally referred to as “T-Stops”.

T-Numbers are the numerical indication of the transmission of light through a lens at any given f/stop value – this is because any lens will have light loss as the light travels through the lens.

The resultant “click” is referred to as the “T-Stop”

The f/number represents the true geometric measure of the relative aperture of the lens.

The T/number is a photo-metrically determined measure taking into account both the geometry of the lens and its light transmission.

Although T/numbers are more often noted in Cinematography – there is still an application in still photography.

To win 100% in the written exam (do they have them anymore?) - the examiner would be looking for:
"f-number" and "f/stop" and "T-number" and "T/stop" - noting that the "f" is lower case and the "T" is upper-case and that when used to refer to the "stop", the "/" is used to represent the "ratio" whereas the hyphen (-) is used to make the words "tee-number" and "ef-number", representing the two names (nouns).

WW

PS -

and you have a typo here:

"To get the EXACT same exposure.
1/30, f2.8, ISO100

If i were to change the Shutter speed to 1/60.
I can either get : 1/60, f2, ISO100 or 1/60, f2.8, ISO200"

[Paraport]

Kym,
I have pretty much followed this graduated plan for the last 6 months or so. Without a doubt I am more confident and unfazed when I am faced with capturing those important shots that just have to be 'keepers' eg. orangatangs in Sarawak (Northern Borneo). Step 8 for me includes being prepared to take multiple exposures. I also feel that 'computer enhancing', other than cropping, is still a while down the track for me. In fact my challenge is to avoid it as long as possible.

[Glenda]

The easiest way I've read to remember f stops is: Remember 1 and 1.4. Then double the second last number ie double 1 = 2, now you have 1, 1.4, 2 - double 1.4= 2.8, double 2= 4 etc.

[mowgli]

I see people talking about EXIF data in this thread, how do people gather this data once the photo's are taken?

[ricktas]

I see people talking about EXIF data in this thread, how do people gather this data once the photo's are taken?

1. It is included at time of capture
2. People can remove/delete it during their post processing
3. If EXIF is available, it can be made visible to others
4. You need an EXIF add-on, for our browser. Use Google "Firefox EXIF add-on" search, for example
5. Once installed, right click a photo, and use the menu option to view EXIF

We do not enforce EXIF being required, so members may/may not have EXIF data attached to their photos.

[Ezookiel]

I'm new to SLR photography, but not overly new to photography as a whole. (I've used P&S cameras for years). For me the thing that is the "newest" and therefore the most exciting in the recent move to SLR and DSLR cameras, is the ability to control DOF, so I use Av much more than most other settings, because that's something I most want to play with, but not because it's something a person learning should use most, but because that aspect interests me the most.

What I do with Av that really helps (and with Tv if the shot calls for it), is wherever the photo I'm taking is a static shot with lots of time to play around, I first go to Av mode and take the same shot OVER AND OVER using every single f/stop (well every stop till the camera complains).
I then load the photos onto the computer and look at the image with the EXIF data showing next to it so I can see what setting I was on, and look at how the image has changed. This is a fantastic learning tool as I can scroll back and forth through the shots and see the result immediately and start to drum into my head how much to change the Aperture to get a specific result.
Doing this from a Tripod helps the most, as it means very little else will skew the results and confuse me such as having the camera meter on some other point.

[Mark L]

I see people talking about EXIF data in this thread, how do people gather this data once the photo's are taken?

Further to what Rick said, try this link http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showlibrary.php?title=Technology:EXIF_and_Other_Plugins
Download something there and it will help you see Exif for photos on the w.w.w..
If you were referring to Exif for your own photos, then depending on the software you use it can be found under information or properties or something. Sometimes accessed through file or image.:confused013 If this is what you wanted, say the software and someone will know.

[mowgli]

Thanks for the replies. I am only using piant.net at the moment but scored some software for christmas, don't know what it is yet but i'll drive down to my parents place to pick it up and then read the manual and hopefully i find it.

[ricktas]

I would suggest downloading The Gimp, if cost is a factor and you want a good free photo editor.

[soulman]

When I first studied photography, auto exposure was very new and it only came in one variety - aperture priority. There was no full auto. The tutors recommended that even those who could afford a camera with such a facility should not use it because it got in the way of learning what were then considered the basic skills of photography. Lots of people have learned photography without having any kind of auto exposure or auto focus. Some of the older guys I knew then even looked down on us young folks for relying on the inbuilt light meters in our modern cameras, preferring their Weston Vs, which didn't need a battery. I still like to play with the Weston every now and then, but the days of being able to keep making pictures with a flat battery are of course long gone for most of us.

My point is that today's recommended way to start - full auto mode usually - was frowned upon not too long ago. The "right" way to do it is very much a matter of opinion and this changes over time.

There is a lot to get your head around at first, so some people might be better off in full auto, but getting your hands dirty and going full manual has never been cheaper to make a hash of. I still remember the disappointment of the 1st year students getting whole rolls of film back from the lab with nothing useful on them because they forgot to get the needle in the middle, i.e set the exposure. It was a costly, and sometimes heartbreaking experience that nobody has to worry about now.