Coming from a Point and Shoot versus a Film SLR Path
I got thinking of the path that one follows to the SLR path, and what really got me thinking was when I was forced to use a CoolPix PS for my underwater and well just wet conditions, or situations where I was not allowed to bring my SLR.
The function of the PS is really limited, and so, I found myself having to depend and use the scene mode to get the camera to expose right. There is like 25 scenes, and you had to scroll down looking for the right scene, cloudy, sunny, underwater, backlit, etc. Pick the right scene and the camera had a potential of getting it right.
Contrast that to the manual film guys (i.e. the old folks), they basically learned via light meter, and changine the speed and aperature to get a shot (M). Done 1000's of times, it becomes natural, and well, one just continues with the DSLR.
So, I better understand for folks that are transitioning from PS to SLRs, Perhaps after years and years, the scene flipping is as natural as the old timers use of the speed/aperature controls. So,, it is a natural tendency to stick to what one is used to and continue to use
the scene modes once switched over to DSLR, but .......
in a sense, so much control is not being used, so,, the transition begins to the other modes,
and the more the transition to manual mode, the more natural it becomes, and well
less thinking (in a weird sort of way).
It is my premise that the fastest way is Manual, because the camera is well, always ready,
and you just look thru the view finder, dial the speed/aperature (quickly) for the type of shot, and shoot.
But, depending on the path of the photographer, it might not be the natural path, and it feels like a complete relearning.
A good exercise, is to set up a tripod, and vary the scenes, and see how the computer is setting up the shot, is it slowing down the exposure, speeding up the ISO, etc, because essentially, it is doing all the same things as well you would be doing in M mode. So, essentially you can have the computer programmer (since they are the ones that programmed the CPU) teach you photography! using this method.
And then try to take this lesson into your own control, remembering how/what the computer did, but then having vastly more control to get the picture you are trying for.
I got thinking of the path that one follows to the SLR path, and what really got me thinking was when I was forced to use a CoolPix PS for my underwater and well just wet conditions, or situations where I was not allowed to bring my SLR.
The function of the PS is really limited, and so, I found myself having to depend and use the scene mode to get the camera to expose right. There is like 25 scenes, and you had to scroll down looking for the right scene, cloudy, sunny, underwater, backlit, etc. Pick the right scene and the camera had a potential of getting it right.
Contrast that to the manual film guys (i.e. the old folks), they basically learned via light meter, and changine the speed and aperature to get a shot (M). Done 1000's of times, it becomes natural, and well, one just continues with the DSLR.
So, I better understand for folks that are transitioning from PS to SLRs, Perhaps after years and years, the scene flipping is as natural as the old timers use of the speed/aperature controls. So,, it is a natural tendency to stick to what one is used to and continue to use
the scene modes once switched over to DSLR, but .......
in a sense, so much control is not being used, so,, the transition begins to the other modes,
and the more the transition to manual mode, the more natural it becomes, and well
less thinking (in a weird sort of way).
It is my premise that the fastest way is Manual, because the camera is well, always ready,
and you just look thru the view finder, dial the speed/aperature (quickly) for the type of shot, and shoot.
But, depending on the path of the photographer, it might not be the natural path, and it feels like a complete relearning.
A good exercise, is to set up a tripod, and vary the scenes, and see how the computer is setting up the shot, is it slowing down the exposure, speeding up the ISO, etc, because essentially, it is doing all the same things as well you would be doing in M mode. So, essentially you can have the computer programmer (since they are the ones that programmed the CPU) teach you photography! using this method.
And then try to take this lesson into your own control, remembering how/what the computer did, but then having vastly more control to get the picture you are trying for.
