Preferred shooting mode?

I've been using shutter priority recently. I can set higher shutter speeds and still use exposure compensation-when in manual I cannot use EC! Just wondering what your preferred mode is for shooting and why you prefer it. Paul

tea2085 said:

I've been using shutter priority recently. I can set higher shutter speeds and still use exposure compensation-when in manual I cannot use EC! Just wondering what your preferred mode is for shooting and why you prefer it.

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At least 90% of my shooting is done in Manual mode with Auto-ISO enabled.

I do this because it allows me to control the two aspects of exposure that matter most to me: shutter-speed and aperture. ISO is less of a concern for me because its downside, digital "noise", I can easily and effectively correct for during post-processing. The Auto-ISO menu options also allow for a certain degree of control so I can almost stop thinking about ISO altogether. The downside of using a shutter speed that was too slow (unwanted motion-blur) and/or an aperture that was too wide (softness) or too narrow (busy background, lack of bokeh) are not easily corrected for during post-processing. Yes, there are things you can try to correct for shooting-errors here but in my opinion these are the two aspects that really need to gotten right in-camera.

As for Exposure Compensation, when shooting in manual you do that manually as well but you'll need to disengage from using Auto-ISO. Then you choose what you want to adjust to get the shot you want. You can adjust the aperture, shutter speed or ISO; singly or in combination... Your choice. But this requires a really, *really* solid understanding of exposure and exposure reciprocity.

Shooting in Manual with Auto-ISO enabled allows me to concentrate on the aesthetics of my shot.

Horoscope Fish said:

At least 90% of my shooting is done in Manual mode with Auto-ISO enabled. .........

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X2.

My U1 is set up that way. When I come across a difficult lighting situation, U2 is set up the same but with manual ISO.

I favor shutter priority. A shaky image is unacceptable under any condition. So with shutter priority I can insure my shutter speed is never too low. I am comfortable watching my aperture in shutter priority if need be. If I need to extensively watch my aperture, I will switch to aperture priority and of course watch my shutter too.

When I shoot macro or my 150-600, I like manual to force the minimum shutter for hand holding and force the aperture I need. If I am not using flash, I will use auto iso with manual mode so my forced shutter and aperture expose properly. If I am using flash with manual mode, I prefer a fixed iso and let the ttl flash adjust the exposure.

What do you guys use for noise reduction in post processing?

I don't prefer any of the modes over one another. Each mode has a purpose for the type of shooting I happen to be doing at the time.

For BIF or action shots ,I prefer to be in manual with auto ISO, because conditions change very quickly and I want to make sure my shutter speed stays high enough.

For static and landscape shots, I;m in Aperture priority always. I like to control the aperture and the ISO myself.

tea2085 said:

What do you guys use for noise reduction in post processing?

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I use only Lightroom. I have NIK plugins installed, but I am hesitant to use because I don't feel I've fully mastered the LR built in tools yet.

tea2085 said:

What do you guys use for noise reduction in post processing?

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The NIK Tools Dfine plug-in works well but I'm also pretty handy with the sharpening tools in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop's Unsharp Mask filter.

Nasim's article, How to Properly Sharpen Images in Lightroom, is a very good one if you're unfamiliar with how to sharpen and use Lightroom.

The settings I use depends on what I am shooting, how long is a piece of string so to speak...........

I am like Blacktop and JH Foto. How i shoot depends on what I am shooting. Each mode (Except Full AUTO) has its usage. I paid a lot of money for my camera because it is smart so I try to use all of it for my shooting.

In manual constantly. For planes and birding i'll use auto ISO, but for anything else i turn it off

x3 or x4 on the manual mode with auto-iso on a good part of the time. I still adjust my metering mode to suit my situation. While I'm shooting I pay close attention to what the camera "meters for" and then I typically use that as a reference to base my settings on what I feel I want to expose for.

I like shooting in raw, full manual with a 3 shot bracket in aperture position. I'm not that good in post processing so the bracket shots helps me narrow down what I can or cant work with. I've tried using 5 and even 7 brackets but that was just too much for me.


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I use aperture priority the majority of the time with some manual mode every so often. I only use shutter priority if something is in motion and I need to use a certain shutter speed to capture the image (such as panning a boat on a river).

I use Aperture priority for lots of things when I'm concerned with DOF. Granted I can do the same thing in manual mode, but for me, it's pretty quick to apply the +/- button if I need to adjust my exposure.

My first SLR was by Minolta, and it only offered aperture priority or manual mode. So I am much more accustomed to working in those modes over shutter priority.

I use the program mode quite a bit because it allows me to instantly and easily change either the aperture or shutter speed if I don't like what the camera selects. I will also select between manual, aperture or shutter priority depending on the subject and my desires.

I tend to use manual almost all the time, but I do engage AutoISO depending on what I am shooting. For the birds I like AutoISO, for the reasons Blacktop stated. But for sunrises and landscapes I prefer to set the ISO manually, but that is what I have gotten comfortable with. I limit AutoISO when I am shooting outdoors to 2000 if I am doing something indoor I will pull it up to 3200.

To manage noise I use Define2 which is one of the NIK plugins in LR and PS. It is pretty much automatic.

I learn a lot looking at photos here as well. will look at a shot and look at the settings and consider how I might apply them. You do not have the actual image but with the ISO, Shutter and Aperture numbers as a starting point when you come to a similar scene you have some place to start.

I have found that when I use auto ISO that the auto always selects the highest number I set as maximum. So I set it low (1600) and use exposure compensation. Paul

Well, thanks guys for all your input. After reading what was written, I think I'll do specific modes for specific purposes-makes sense to me!!Paul

I use AV mode and P mode (if unsure of light etc)