manually working with the D700

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heathpill

New member
This may seem like a sill question.....:confused:
If you are shooting in complete manual mode...how can set specific SS and Fstop combinations without throwing your meter off? For instance I shoot almost everything at an F4 and lower but because I photograph kids I need a higher SS. If I adjust one and try to keep my meter at zero...it throws the other off. Does that make sense?
 
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stmv

Senior Member
Manual means just that, you set the aperature, in this case say F4, look in the viewfinder, and adjust the shutter speed until the light meter is in the center, and then shoot.

If the speed is too slow for you to capture moving kids, well, you can

1. increase the ISO (double the ISO for example to double the speed),

2. use flash.
 
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Robert Mitchell

Senior Member
You always have the 'exposure triangle' of aperture, shutter speed and ISO. If you adjust one, you must adjust another to maintain the same exposure. If you want to lock one variable in, then you can adjust one or both of the other two. If you want to lock two variables then you have the third to adjust, but no matter what, they all work together to affect your exposures.
 
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heathpill

New member
So, If I want an Fstop of F2 and a SS of 1500 and my meter still doesn't come to zero...then I should adjust my ISO? I know many photogs who shoot manually and never pay attention to the meter. That just doesn't make sense to me.
 
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Eye-level

Banned
Well if you know your shooting conditions like the back of your hand you can get away with not metering. I still like to get a good initial reading before I shoot anything. Sometimes I just chimp around until I get the right the histogram though and completely disregard the meter.
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
heathpill said:
So, If I want an Fstop of F2 and a SS of 1500 and my meter still doesn't come to zero...then I should adjust my ISO? I know many photogs who shoot manually and never pay attention to the meter. That just doesn't make sense to me.
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I think you've been around too many professional photographers who make the difficult look easy. If you're shooting film you're right, you don't pay attention to the ISO, it's pretty much locked in stone. But not in digital. If you want properly exposed images you have to have all three (shutter speed, aperture and ISO) lined up in order to get a properly exposed image. Consider letting your ISO float by turning on auto-ISO so that you can keep your other two variables constant (aperture and shutter speed).
 
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Robert Mitchell

Senior Member
FredKingston said:
With digital, and post processing software... some folks just get exposure close, and fine tune in post processing...
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Yes but I find that to be a very poor approach. It's far better to develop the skills needed to be exposure perfect or near perfect in camera. Sure, we can pull out detail in highlights and shadows and adjust exposure in post but it should be what you do when you just couldn't nail it or you're making adjustments for the purpose of a creative exposure rather than a technically correct one.
 
sunwharf

sunwharf

Senior Member
I just set my D700 on Auto ISO. For most situations it works just fine when shooting manual.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
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STM

Senior Member
In manual anything, a change in shutter speed will require a reciprocal change in aperture for the equivalent exposure and the same ASA. It is just an unavoidable way of life, like death and taxes. I shoot my D700 in manual about 95% of the time and I use AI and AIS lenses exclusively. Set your shutter speed or aperture and then adjust the other until you have centered the bar
 
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STM

Senior Member
FredKingston said:
With digital, and post processing software... some folks just get exposure close, and fine tune in post processing...
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From someone who has been doing photography for over 40 years, I can say without reservation that that is a very bad habit to get into regardless of experience level. About the only exception would be the BSD rule, f/16 and 1/ASA. You should always strive to get the best possible image on either the film or the sensor. With as narrow as the latitude is with most slide films, that kind of philosophy would shoot you in the foot with a 12 gauge and 00 buck shot nearly every single time. If you only get it "in the ballpark" in the camera, not only will you spend a lot more time in PS trying to get it right, but you may not be able to get the image right now matter how much post-processing you do because either the highlights are blown out or the lows are void of detail.

Sloppy camera work will yield sloppy images every single time, it is a direct cause and effect relationship.
 
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stmv

Senior Member
all depends on if I am hand carrying or using a tripod and which lens. I have a decent stance, and steady stance, so depending upon the lens (shorter lens can hand hold well to 1/30th, yes, sometimes to 1/15th but taking a chance, longer lens start doupling the speed, until I am not comfortable to hand carry less than 1/250th or faster.

and then next I think aperature,,, do I want shallow dof, best accuracy/quality, or for some reason want to miminize fstop to min opening,, etc

then see how low I can have the ISO for the conditions above, always striving to keep the ISO as low as possible DEPENDING ON CAMERA.

When I first started, beyound ISO 200 could see degrade,, but each generation seems to double
what I call the natural design point of the sensor,

Now I seem to be able to push to say ISO 800 with almost no degrade in quality, but much beyound ISO 1200, and I can still see noise enter into the equation.

So,, I never shoot in auto ISO,,

and just decide where I want to be, and while it takes more than a minute to summarize, the actual effort is in seconds, and well at this point, automatic even (manual mode of course).

Only time I shoot auto is in cases where I don't have much time.
 
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STM

Senior Member
stmv said:
all depends on if I am hand carrying or using a tripod and which lens. I have a decent stance, and steady stance, so depending upon the lens (shorter lens can hand hold well to 1/30th, yes, sometimes to 1/15th but taking a chance, longer lens start doupling the speed, until I am not comfortable to hand carry less than 1/250th or faster.

and then next I think aperature,,, do I want shallow dof, best accuracy/quality, or for some reason want to miminize fstop to min opening,, etc

then see how low I can have the ISO for the conditions above, always striving to keep the ISO as low as possible DEPENDING ON CAMERA.

When I first started, beyound ISO 200 could see degrade,, but each generation seems to double
what I call the natural design point of the sensor,

Now I seem to be able to push to say ISO 800 with almost no degrade in quality, but much beyound ISO 1200, and I can still see noise enter into the equation.

So,, I never shoot in auto ISO,,

and just decide where I want to be, and while it takes more than a minute to summarize, the actual effort is in seconds, and well at this point, automatic even (manual mode of course).

Only time I shoot auto is in cases where I don't have much time.
Click to expand...

I guess I am just too "old school", that "old dog, new tricks" thing but when you have been doing things very successfully for the last 40+ years I tend to go with the 'if it is not broken, no need to fix it" philosophy. I do not shoot in auto anything with my D700 except in the most infrequent of circumstances. In fact, I rarely use the camera's meter either. I prefer to use a Sekonic L-358 flash/ambient meter and my venerable 30+ year old Pentax Spotmeter V. In fact, all I shot was film until about 2 years ago when I finally got the D700. All of my lenses are AI or AIS and I doubt I will ever change away from that. I can get used AIS on Fleabay for a fraction of what they cost when they were new (taking account inflation). For my personal work I still shoot film about 75% of the time and about 66% of the time it is with my Hasselblad unless I nave a need for a very wide or long lens. I would be the first to admit I really know very little about all the capabilities of the camera because I would never use them. For me it is little more than a digital F2.
 
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