tony_craig Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I'd like to know the best steps to take for a novice to jump out of auto mode and into manual with raw images. Suggestions please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_barbu1 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Turn the dial from the green square to M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_white2 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I agree with M. Use the rear LCD to check your work and learn by doing. And google "expose to the right" and "histogram", then read the articles you find on digital exposure techniques. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknagel Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Change settings to raw+jpg. Play in photoshop. Manual mode has its time and place. Play in AV and TV modes first. I only use M for flash work, studio strobe work and/or if I have my meter with me (sometimes use camera meter and view LCD to find in exposure settings). I mainly do this at the motorcycle races I shoot because the different color bikes change the exposure too much. Tight shots shooting multiple fames per second from a white bike to a black bike, can be a bit too much for the on camera metering vs locking the exposure. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awindsor Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Except for very low light and flash I almost never use M mode. Are you sure you want to ? Before switching from the green square to M try Av or Tv. My camera sits in Av most of the time. If necessary I dial in exposure compensation. One guy I talked to was very proud that he used only M mode. Of course he used the matchstick display to set his shutter speed. The result was the same as Av but 10 times slower. Unless you was to completely disregard the camera meter for some reason (flash and low light are classic examples) stay away from M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourfa Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Bruce Fraser's book "Real World Camera RAW" is an outstanding place to start. It's focused on photoshop but the principles apply to most RAW converters. I rarely use manual mode, most photographers use Av for general shooting and Tv for sports/action Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_craig Posted July 25, 2006 Author Share Posted July 25, 2006 I used the term manual, when I should have just said I wanted to graduate from auto. Thanks for your suggestions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neild Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I use Av mode first off, but find it easier (for me personally) to switch to M if Av doesn't cut it, rather than using exposure compensation. Each to their own... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill poole Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 More and more I find myself switching to manual after I understand the lighting of a particular situation. This seems to be good discipline, since it forces me to understand the light. I start in Av, and when I have found an exposure that is working for a particular situation (by reviewing the histogram), I switch to M, set that exposure, and change it only as the subject changes or to change exposure combinations for creative purposes. Working this way, I make fewer exposures, especially in backlit or other difficult situations, in which the camera is easily "fooled." I have been taking pictures since before automatic exposure was available, and I believe that working in manual is a great way for new photographers to learn the craft--and for old photographers to rediscover it. For what it's worth. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven_fuller1 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Crank it to "Manual" and shoot anything and everything. Use your meter. You'll learn a lot from bad exposures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_christiansen Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 I used to shoot with Contax gear which had a really convenient way of locking the exposure in Av/Tv mode. Just turn the on/off switch another notch and the exposure was locked until you turned the switch back. I shot exclusively in Av mode aside from flash which I did in manual mode. On my Canon gear there's a button I can push but the exposure is only locked as long as the viewfinder display is on. Once the display times out after six seconds, the exposure information is lost. Well, forgive me, but I can't get the camera onto the head of the tripod and recompose in only six seconds. Thus, the Canon way of exposure lock is useless to me. Hence, I use manual mode 99.999 % of the time. Some people have been led to believe that manual (M) mode is for experts only. That's pretty far from the truth. What manual mode (and Av, Tv) does, however, is giving you complete creative control. In order to get consistent, predictable results you need to train your eye to see medium tone. Or at least to recognize the tonality of a subject. Is it light, dark, medium, etc. And secondly, do you want it to appear light, dark, medium in the picture? Once that way of thinking has become second nature, exposure is really easy. This is where spot meters come in handy (no you don't have to be an expert to use a spot meter). A spot meter allows you to meter a select part of a scene with a tonality that you recognize and set the exposure accordingly. Yeah, it's slower in many cases than the point & click approach of program mode, but it's more consistent. That said, there are many pros and others who use program (P) mode with matrix metering and get great results. I'd say shoot in whatever mode gives you predictable results with the amount of creative control you are comfortable with. Shoot raw or jpg. It's the pictures that matter. Not how you got there. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilkka Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 The two most useful functions to learn in any modern camera for greater control is the A setting where you select the aperture (for desired depth of field) and the exposure compensation setting where you can dial in + or - compensation to the automatically selected shutter speed. Manual setting does not bring anything more to this, unless you use a separate light meter and with digital camera this would not be very useful anyway. Look at the histogram and practice setting the exposure right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cham Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Back in my day (i'm only 26) I learned using a pentax MX so there wasn't an auto option... or a Av Tv mode... personally i'd agree with the consensus though just switch it to manual start taking pictures and learn from your mistakes... you'll learn more by making mistakes than always getting perfect. one other thing though if you're going to use a manual mode use a custom white balance it can make all the difference! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric_lawson1 Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Yes, yes, yes, use M mode and take bad pictures "not on purpose though" Look at the bad ones along with the exif and figure out what you did wrong. You wont always be able to tell but most of the time you will. It's a good exercise to learn from and has helped me a lot over time. Looking at the good ones and exif helps as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savas_kyprianides Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Bad pictures I shot have always been my teacher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekoppel Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Take a look at this article: http://www.photo.net/learn/making-photographs/ Especially the part about lighting and exposure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad_w Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Tony, I'd start with one or the other - manual or raw, but doing both at the same time could create lots of confusion and it'd be easy to learn bad habits as you try to correct problems in post. I shot manual mode jpg's for a few years and it taught me a lot about exposure (how to get it right and why it's so important) and about white balance (how subtle changes can make the difference between really really nice colors and adequate colors). Learn to read a histogram and blinking highlights and you'll figure out exposure relatively quickly. I'd start there. Once you get some experience and learn how the sensor responds to various conditions, you'll be able to use raw capture more effectively. If you don't know what you're doing, or what you're trying to do, all raw offers is more ways to screw up. Be patient, and it'll pay off as you figure things out. Good luck!- B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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