From fully automated shooting modes to full manual and a variety of semi-automatic modes in between, which is best for your photography? Is using manual mode the only way to go? Or are there better modes to help you focus on your creativity instead of the technical aspects of the camera?
Mark Denney talks about a camera mode he tried in the past and stopped using because he was unhappy with the results. Before he shares this option, Denney reviews some of the other semi-auto modes on our cameras, including shutter priority and aperture priority, and explains what those specific modes do for your camera.
Denney then shares how he has started experimenting with using Auto ISO while in manual mode to find a balance he likes. This allows him manual control of his shutter speed and aperture while letting the camera handle the ISO automatically. Denney also reviews the setting he didn’t use the first time he tried this and explains how making this additional setting change helped change his mind about photographing with these settings.
I know a lot of photographers say to only photograph in manual mode. I appreciated Denney’s view on how letting the camera do some of the work can free your mind to focus on the creative elements of photography. I truly believe the fun of photography is the creative composition and image capture, and if you can use certain camera settings to help focus on the creative side, then use those tools to their fullest.
What about you? Do you think these semi-automatic modes help you focus more on creativity, or is it manual only for you?
This is a great explanation for landscape photography. With the Nikon Z8 in Auto ISO you can set the minimum shutter speed and the maximum ISO. If you do any wildlife photography and use a variable aperture lens, you can use aperture preferred mode and set the minimum F stop value of the lens. Use auto ISO and set the minimum shutter speed to whatever value is preferred for the subject. When I use the Nikon 180-600 f/5.6-6.3 I set the minimum shutter speed to 1/1200 which follows the "rule" of doubling the focal length to set the shutter speed. When I'm chasing faster moving subjects such as small birds, I set the minimum shutter higher. For that, I commonly use 1/3200 to keep the images sharp. I set the ISO value to whatever corresponds to the available light. I've used ISO 6400 as the max and have been satisfied with noise reduction in post processing. When chasing birds of other fast movers, I prefer having a set of auto functions to allow me to focus on the targets not the settings. On my Z8, I have the Auto ISO function set up on the "I" menu and can quickly change any variable easily as needed. I'm not sure what other camera brands have that is similar, Mark shows us the Nikon Z8 which is what I use so his explanation is right on target for me.
I think auto-ISO is great for wildlife, I have one of my custom slots set with that for those occasions wildlife wanders into my landscape photo... ;)
I played a little bit with Mark's technique in my office when I first watched the video. I need to play with it some more, as auto-ISO didn't seem as intuitive to me for slow-moving landscapes. Probably more of a practice in the field thing and just something for me to play with a bit more.
I find manual mode and using the histogram pretty great for landscapes and everything just makes sense in my head as I make various setting changes for the scene - whether it be depth of field or shutter speed, etc. And I say that as someone that often uses Aperture priority mode when photographing handheld.
Always something to think about and consider!