Manual mode,more and more

TammyL.Campbell

TammyL.Campbell

Senior Member
I'm just finding it easier to do this. Because to many times in the other modes and with auto focus. It just takes so long or it will refuse to actuate for whatever reason.:mad: Too close, low light, not enough contrast. Am I just asking too much from my D5100? :confused:
Also last nights lightening photos were a bust for me . The one good shot happened right when I was wiping my lens down.. :hopelessness:Oh well nature of the beast of natural photography.. Luck has a bit to do with it also. :cool-new:
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
TammyL.Campbell said:
I'm just finding it easier to do this. Because to many times in the other modes and with auto focus. It just takes so long or it will refuse to actuate for whatever reason. Too close, low light, not enough contrast. Am I just asking too much from my D5100?
Click to expand...
Are you saying you're having trouble with auto-focus being slow, or unable to achieve focus-lock, on your D5100?

...
 
TammyL.Campbell

TammyL.Campbell

Senior Member
Mostly my 18-55 lens the one that came with the camera. I rarely use my long lens. But sometimes. It does it too. I'm sure it's my own user error that is causing me pain..
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Auto focus is simply not magical. It does need light and contrast in order to work properly, specially with smaller aperture lenses.
 
S

SteveL54

Senior Member
I have the same setup as you, and, yes, I've had the same problems. If the camera doesn't like it, it just ain't gonna go. You're not asking too much of the camera. The camera is just looking for the proper information. I kept on practicing and learning the basics of the ISO triangle. I still have some failures, but I love the learning curve. Once you fully understand the theory, you will use manual mode nearly all of the time.
 
TammyL.Campbell

TammyL.Campbell

Senior Member
Absolutely ..lol. Magical.. I wish.. I'm sure this is just my growing pains.. Still less than a year of me shooting raw ,dslr and anything other than point and shoot.
 
E

Englischdude

Senior Member
Tammy do you have a local club or interest group, or is there a course you could enroll in? This would give you some valuable first hand support to help you through some of these teething trouble. Of course the community is always willing to help but you cant beat live support!
 
TammyL.Campbell

TammyL.Campbell

Senior Member
They're probably groups around. An Audubon society. .metroparks group.. Columbus is actually pretty cosmopolitan in certain areas.. Here's a moon shot I took last night,again manual mode..what else?
Cheers..
 

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aroy

Senior Member
TammyL.Campbell said:
They're probably groups around. An Audubon society. .metroparks group.. Columbus is actually pretty cosmopolitan in certain areas.. Here's a moon shot I took last night,again manual mode..what else?
Cheers..
Click to expand...
The camera rarely focus or expose correctly in moon shots. Both are better done manually. I find that F8 and 1/200 sec does a fair job.

Here is one done at high speed with 35mm prime

_DSC5306.jpg
 
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