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#1 |
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Got the Canon 450D,
Right, should i use 'Auto' when taking pics or go straight into M mode? I don't want to get stuck using Auto all the time so i would like to learn how to use the camera properly. I have bought the book 'Understanding Exposure'. Would 'P' mode be the best one to use? |
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#2 |
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My advice is: it depends on whether you need to get the shot or have time to learn and experiment. If you need to get the shot and don't have time for trial and error, use a scene mode. If you have more time for trial and error and learning, then go strait to Aperture Priority or Manual. Those will force you to learn more about depth-of-field and the exposure triangle as a whole.
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#3 |
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Good luck with the 450D. That's a nice camera.
After a while of using AUTO, you'll get frustrated, so switch to P, so it saves your settings from one session to the next. But otherwise, I agree with JohnG.
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#4 |
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Thanks
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#5 |
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You brought a dslr, start in P then when you feel comfortable go to A and M
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Super Frequent Flyer, no joke. Ex Patriot and loving it. Canon Eos 60D, T1i/500D, Eos1, Eos 630, Olympus EPL-1, and a part time Pentax K-X shooter. |
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#6 |
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Tried 'M' tonight, indoors. Lots of settings! I will try 'P' mode tomorrow.
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#7 |
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ln low light, shoot in A, so you can control the aperture size. It will let you choose a larger aperture, to let more light in. Do not be afraid of 1600iso with the 450d, it is pretty good up there. Bigger aperture and higher iso, my keep you shutter speed up.
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Super Frequent Flyer, no joke. Ex Patriot and loving it. Canon Eos 60D, T1i/500D, Eos1, Eos 630, Olympus EPL-1, and a part time Pentax K-X shooter. Last edited by shoturtle; Aug 4, 2010 at 6:28 PM. |
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#8 | |||
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Hello Koolpc.
I was wondering where you'd got to, but I was afraid to ask ![]() Quote:
in full Auto, just to see how they turn out. Quote:
The 'P' mode behaves similarly to Auto except that it allows you some manual control. Aperture priority 'Av' lets you manually select an aperture value and then automatically selects shutter speed and ISO for a correct exposure. This allows you to have control over depth-of-field. Shutter priority 'Tv' allows you to manually set shutter speed and automatically adjusts aperture and ISO for a correct exposure. A fast (short) shutter time will freeze fast action, birds in flight, sports etc... Slower shutter speeds can be used to deliberately create motion blur. This can give an impression of speed to something like a swinging golf club or moving train. Slow shutter speeds can also result in interesting effects like a blurred waterfall or fountain in an otherwise sharp picture. Quote:
shutter speed, aperture and ISO are used to control exposure. I always found the O'Reilly technical books about computer programming and operating systems to be very good. When I got my 500D, I discovered that there is an O'Reilly book specifically for the T1i/500D. I just checked their website and discovered that there is also a version for the 450D written by the same author. http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596520878 These books are not just a bigger and better version of the user manual. There is a lot of general information about exposure, composition etc. I got mine in Waterstones. Would 'P' mode be the best one to use? As good a place as any to start. I found the full auto mode a bit irritating. Camera metering systems are not very smart. On the 500D the flash tends to pop up in the most ridiculous situations, like a distant front-lit scene at midday. At least 'P' mode disables that particular annoyance. The auto modes often fail to find reasonable exposure settings. After a while, you will learn how and when to use exposure compensation or manual settings for trickier situations. Take a few pictures and experiment a little. Take note of the aperture, shutter and ISO settings chosen by the camera in the automatic modes. Try to figure out why these settings were chosen. Any time you see a photo you really like, check the EXIF tags (if available) to see if you can figure out what settings the photographer used. Above all, take as many bad photographs as possible. You will always learn more from the bad ones than you do from the good ones. Study the ones you don't like. Try to figure out what you don't like about them, check the EXIF, try to figure out what went wrong. Is there a technical problem? Wrong settings, camera shake etc. Is there something artistically or aesthetically wrong? Poor composition, bad angle, wrong light.... You will probably never get to a point where the good shots outnumber the bad, but you will find that your hit rate improves with experience. |
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#9 |
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Above all, take as many bad photographs as
possible. Corkpix: I can see your good intentions, but that was a funny reading! |
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#10 |
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Superb advice! Thanks guys.
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