Which modes do you shoot with?

[SP-LPB]

MODERATOR NOTE: MESSAGE WAS SPLIT FROM ANOTHER TOPIC

Let me ask all of you, which modes do you shoot with?

[pgengler]

It depends on what I'm shooting. For general shots of planes, I usually stick the camera (a Canon) into "P" mode (which I describe as "like Auto, but better"). I think I might try going into Av (aperture priority) for that, though, just so I can keep around f/11 for a little extra sharpness with my 100-300mm. I switch to Tv (shutter priority) when I'm trying to do panning or get prop blur.

Some of the other photography I've been doing lately is around one of the parks here in Hoboken. I usually keep the camera in Av, with a wide-open aperture, to try to get the subject in focus and blur the background (it's why I want the 70-200 f/2.8L).

[PhilDernerJr]

I shoot at Av 8.0 usually, and will switch to Tv 60 for prop planes (when I remember).

[Derf]

I shoot at Av 8.0 usually, and will switch to Tv 60 for prop planes (when I remember).

I always pick the AV mode too, every lens has a sweet spot and it is
usually about 2 stops from wide open.... Wide open tends to be soft with
most Len's unless you are spending a ton of money on L glass like most of
you guys here...then it really does not matter nearly as much!

I find that
F6-F11 range works best for my kit lens

F3 and up on my 50mm 1.8 is tack sharp

and F9-F11 on the Tamron 70-300 Macro is best

I watch the shutter speed and will adjust to the lowest possible ISO for
my desired shutter speed...

#1- I want the images sharp so I select the Aperture
#2- I want a good shutter speed so I adjust the ISO to fit speed I want the
shutter to be at
1+2=ISO and noise....I do not have a choice here....what I get is what I
am stuck with....You can not have it all in photography!!!!

I would rather a nosy sharp image than a soft smooth image.... It is what
you are looking for.

I have not shot in P mode in over 3 years... I hate it, I shoot how I want
it to come out. Sometimes I will shoot shutter priority but it is rare....I will
do this If I am looking for a look like 1/10 of a second for rims to blur on
a car.... But that I usually do not need to be that exact and can do with
aperture and stopping the lens wayyy down to like F-20 in AV mode

I will start another thread about my night shots so I do not confuse as
much..... sorry if I am going over the top!

[Derf]

I take LOTS of night shots... and people always ask me how I am able
to figure out that under certain lighting conditions I know to make it
say a 10 minute exposure

http://www.longislandwallpapers.com/photos/75852368-M.jpg

Here is what I do with my Rebel XT....

My way is not correct....but this works for me

Bump up your ISO way up....we will use 400ISO
Open up your lens...lets say f-3.5

lets say your camera want to take the picture at 5 seconds

Bump the ISO down to 200 and change the camera to 10 seconds
then 100 20 seconds (Double for EACH STEP)

then go from f 3.5 skip4.0 and stop at 4.5 double the time to 40 seconds

then go from f 4.5 skip 5.0 and stop at 5.6 double the time to 80 seconds

See the pattern? Take a quick shot at High ISO wide aperture and you can figure the rest out...

if you take a shot this ISO 100 at F-22, I would get 560 seconds or over 9
minutes!!! I would set my watch to 8 and underexpose just a bit....the
F/22 will get you a nice star type pattern on the lights.
Star pattern on lights from closing the aperture

Now if you are using noise reduction...the same shot would take you
9 minutes to process so that would mean that you camera is tied up in
one picture for 18 minutes for 1 PICTURE! This long for one shot, you
want to make sure that you do not need a retake...

NOW LETS TALK ABOUT NOISE REDUCTION!!!

KNOW ABOUT IT BEFORE YOU SHOOT and if in a rush, know why or why not to use it

Noise reduction will NOT make an image soft. Lets say that you take a
picture for 5 seconds. The camera will close the shutter when the picture
is taken and record the same amount of time (5 sec in this case) with NO
LIGHT at all and use the image to see any Hot or dead pixels. It will then
FIX the dead or hot pixels in the image making a MUCH cleaner image.
The only downside is that the shot we just took of 5 seconds took 5 more
seconds to process. Not bad but when you leave the shutter open for 20
minutes and then have to wait 20 minutes before you can do anything
with your camera....well, the image quality is still worth it...BUT
FRUSTRATING!

It has absolutely no effect on sharpness. Hope this helps.

When noise reduction will allow to run if set to on depends on the camera
My rebel XT will use noise reduction for 30 seconds or more OR if the ISO
is set to 1600.

My old Olympus was anything over 1 second.

It is really dependant on the camera, camera maker and how bad the
noise on the CCD or CMOS is. Take the longest exposure you can without
using bulb and then do it again without nose reduction....prepare to be
amazed when you blow it up on your monitor!

Hope this helps