Question about shooting in Manual mode.

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scoobychief

Senior Member
Hi I might be answering my own question here but here goes, I decided to have a go shooting in manual mode I understand about aperture and shutter speed and iso etc and you should get your meter reading as close to zero etc and also understand that sometimes circumstances are that you might have to overexpose and under expose etc. all well and done so decided to shoot in maual and all pictures came our blurresd is that because I was hand holding the camera?. also I had the lens set to manual and using the front focus ring to focus and it appeared in focus in the view finder but later they came out blurry, is it possible to have the camera in manual mode but the lens in auto mode and focusing using the shutter button or back button?
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
scoobychief said:
Hi I might be answering my own question here but here goes, I decided to have a go shooting in manual mode I understand about aperture and shutter speed and iso etc and you should get your meter reading as close to zero etc and also understand that sometimes circumstances are that you might have to overexpose and under expose etc. all well and done so decided to shoot in maual and all pictures came our blurresd is that because I was hand holding the camera?. also I had the lens set to manual and using the front focus ring to focus and it appeared in focus in the view finder but later they came out blurry, is it possible to have the camera in manual mode but the lens in auto mode and focusing using the shutter button or back button?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can use Autofocus in Manual mode and I suggest you try that first. Using BBF (Back-Button Focus) is an option as well if you want to set that up.

Second, keep your shutter speed at, or above, 1/125 for handheld shots and you should be okay generally speaking. If you're shooting with a zoom or telephoto lens it's a good idea to keep your shutter speed at 1.5X the focal length of the lens. This means, for example, if you're shooting at 200mm, shutter speed should be 1/300 or better.

....
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
scoobychief said:
Hi I might be answering my own question here but here goes, I decided to have a go shooting in manual mode I understand about aperture and shutter speed and iso etc and you should get your meter reading as close to zero etc and also understand that sometimes circumstances are that you might have to overexpose and under expose etc. all well and done so decided to shoot in maual and all pictures came our blurresd is that because I was hand holding the camera?. also I had the lens set to manual and using the front focus ring to focus and it appeared in focus in the view finder but later they came out blurry, is it possible to have the camera in manual mode but the lens in auto mode and focusing using the shutter button or back button?
Click to expand...

It all really depends on the details. What lens were you using, what conditions, what settings did you dial in? Common rule of thumb would be to keep the shutter speed equal to or higher than the max focal length of your lens (i.e. 50mm prime = shutter speed of 1/50 or faster). Also, it's more than reasonable to use auto-focus even when manually controlling other settings. I tend to avoid manual focus except for specific needs, which are rare on most occasions, and the two lenses I do use it on have manual override, so I can auto-focus then slightly adjust if needed.

Maybe post some pics with the exif data? With that, we can dive in a bit more.
 
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wreckdiver1321

Senior Member
Yep, you can use AF in manual mode, not a problem. I trust the camera more than my eye to really dial in the focus. As for hand hand holding the camera, it depends a bit on focal length and your own hands. I have pretty steady hands, so I can usually hand hold down to 1/20 for still stuff, but the general rule I use (YMMV) is to have the shutter speed equal to or above your focal length. So, at or above 1/20 at 18mm, 1/40 at 35mm, 1/60 at 55mm, etc. This will keep you out of trouble usually.

Don't be afraid to bump the ISO up either, this camera can handle it. Even up at 3200 the files are pretty clean, so if you need to raise your ISO to get a better shutter speed, go for it.
 
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scoobychief

Senior Member
I was using standard kit lens 18-55 just been out again and tried with lens in auto mode much much better was quite surprised with myself, and the 1st reply to my post said something which opened my eyes also in relevant to shutter speed and focal lens. cheers guys
 
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DraganDL

Senior Member
"all pictures came our blurresd is that because I was hand holding the camera?"
So, where are those "blurred" photos? If you post them, we might decide on whether the blur came as a result of camera's vibration or not...
 
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