Starting point for camera settings

I'm a long-time frustrated point-and-shooter who has been continually disappointed with the results of my cameras set on auto. I've talked with pro photographers about what settings to use on my cameras as a "starting point", so I don't have to think about it all when I see that Kodak moment. But I've received conflicting input from the pros, including something as basic as aperture priority or shutter priority. What do the photo experts here suggest?

FWIW I have Canon DSLR and bridge cameras.

I don't claim to be an expert, but different situations require different settings. If your Kodak moment is a motorcycle race, fast shutter speed to "freeze" the action. If it is a flower or sunset, slow shutter and higher aperture. It is hard to make a general "one size fits all" statement.   

Thanks Jim, that's been part of my issue, although a static scene like a flower would allow more thinking time.

Tom, it's hard to go wrong if you line up that little green rectangle with the wee white dash.  That throws you into the pre-programmed mode which does most of the thinking for you.  If you act quickly you can pick up this course for a mere ten bucks:  https://www.udemy.com/the-complete-digital-photography-course-amazon-top-seller/

You spend four times that much on a decent bottle of Scotch.  (And as an added bonus, most of the instruction is done by folks with a UK accent.).

One word of advice I will share is this:  Always gently press the shutter button.  Half press gives you auto focus and full press operates the shutter.  It pains me to watch people SNAPPING the shutter.  You just know they are going to get an out of focus mess as a result.

If you act quickly you can pick up this course for a mere ten bucks

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10 minutes after your post it says $99  ???

Tom,

Here is an simple idea to try.  On the little wheel where you can choose various settings such as P (program) or iA (automatic) you might set the P setting for SPOT focus and spot metering (F stops).  This means that your camera will auto focus and auto meter on center spot area, the point where the dot or x appears when you look through the viewfinder or LCD screen.  Also, for metering set it for spot metering.  Make sure your stabilizer is on.

This allows you to instantly turn the wheel to either P for center spot focus and center metering or iA to let the camera do it all.

Over the years I have found that the P setting does the best job most of the time for me but I do still use the iA setting too.

On my new camera I am using the iA whenever there is a background that is to bright because, as you know, when the background is to bright the focus point in the foreground is way to dark.  If this is the case, the new camera first displays a short note that says the background is to bright so the camera automatically takes several pictures and blends them together into a single picture so the brightness is evenly spread across the photo.  BTW, it does a great job so the photo looks great.  Also, it only saves the final picture and not the several photos it took and blended together.

Here is an example of that feature.  The attached PIC 1 was taken using the P Program setting with a too bright background.  The attached PIC 2 was taken using the iA automatic setting with a too bright background and the camera recognized that the background was to bright and did the rest automatically.

JerryF   

Tom,

There is an old saying "F8 and be there".  Using aperture priority at F8 isn't perfect, but it is a good starting point. You can easily move up or down from there when needed.

Jerry and Bill,

Thank you both very much; I now have a couple of of things to try.

Hi Tom, 

Eric, my DH, and I are still new to the RV world and this forum has been an incredible source of information and advice. 

I am a Canon shooter and have a college degree in professional photography.  I am a portrait photography with some commercial photography experience.  For fun I enjoy conceptual fine art photography.  I am NOT a landscape photographer.

If there is anything I can do to help you in return for all the valuable info we have received from the forum, please don't hesitate to email me.  To start out, it would be helpful to know what Canon model you use and the specs on the lens you are using. 

I respectfully disagree with Jerry on several points.  First, I would not recommend P mode aka Program.  There is some truth to what Photog said about f/8 however it depends on many factors including the "look" you are trying to achieve, lighting, etc. 

Let me know if I can help.  Pick a subject you want to photograph and let's go from there and have some fun!

Hi Max. A big thanks for the offer of help.

Part of my issue is my point-and-shoot approach; I'll see something I wish to capture, whether it's a landscape, a bird, some action, grandkids, pets, or a group of people, raise my camera and 'click'; Then be disappointed with the result. I've watched pros and experienced amateurs appear to do the same thing and get far superior results. At the other extreme, I've read about folks who take 500 shots a day and throw away 499; I have neither the time nor the patience to do that.

When I've talked with pros about the subject of this topic, I've received different answers (e.g. aperture priority with f=x, or shutter priority with shutter speed = 1/x). Others tell me I should balance aperture (f) and ISO. I've watched several Nikon-shooting pros attempt to use or demonstrate something on one of my Canon cameras, and have seen them be totally lost because they were unfamiliar with Canon.

Over the years, I've read various books and watched videos, including those produced by Canon; They all make sense at the time but, when I raise the camera to take the shot, my mind goes blank.

Some info on my cameras:

1. My go-to camera for the last few years has been a Canon SX20 IS with a non-interchangeable Canon 5-100mm lens. I walk around with this camera in one hand, not necessarily intending to take shots but, when I see something of interest, the camera is right there.

2. Hoping to get better results and extend the range, I subsequently bought a Canon Rebel XSi with Canon 55-250mm and Canon 18-55mm image stabilized lenses. I find this camera less convenient to use, and usually only bring it along if I have the intent to take photos.

Almost in desperation, I catalyzed the forming of a "photography club" within our local retired guys club, hoping to learn from the experts. We have a small core of 5-7 folks with widely different competence, equipment and interests. A couple of the guys are very active astro photographers, and a few are P&S guys like me. I failed to get any of the retired pros to join the group, partly because they felt they'd be spending their time teaching the rest of us and wouldn't get anything out of it.

125th at F-8 is a standard for sunny day shooting...

Quite frankly I have my DSLR set on "P" most of the time and use "spot metering" and single focus spot so whatever I focus on is what the meter reads...through years of experience if I see a dark spot or very bright spot I avoid that for the meter reading and meter and focus in a more average area then while holding the shutter button half way down to hold metering and focus move the camera to frame the pic I want...surprisingly this can be done in a second or two...not for fast action stuff but can get great scenic landscape shots using this method....

Practice makes perfect -

• Fast action = shutter priority
• Slow Action - and to add depth of field - Aperture priority and high number for large depth of field and small number for shallow depth of field.
• The above lets the camera choose the exposure while holding the selected shutter speed or aperture chosen.

Good Luck,


Jim

Thanks Jim, much appreciated.

FWIW I've never really understood why I've had varying degrees of success while set on 'P'. In fact, the two cameras shooting the same scene give different results.

Tom said:

Thanks Jim, much appreciated.

FWIW I've never really understood why I've had varying degrees of success while set on 'P'. In fact, the two cameras shooting the same scene give different results.

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They're Canons....LOL

Every sensor is a little different and every meter reads a touch different...one reason why I shoot everything in RAW and Jpg and then I can at least compensate some on post.

My Olympus Point and shoot is much more contrasty then my Olympus DSLR...that is just the way it is....I rarely shoot both at the same scene so never compare - the point and shoot is waterproof and my boat camera...my "real" camera is my DSLR Olympus E-5 and I love it and can usually get the shot I am looking for.

Learning to identify hard to shoot stuff is the real art and then being able to manually tell the camera what to do. Severe back lighting or shooting into the sun or shooting into to dark areas with a bright sky takes some skill to manually set the camera to compensate. I am lucky the E-5 can generally get me where I want with the spot metering - point the spot at the area you want to expose for and then move to frame the shot works about 80% of the time - quick preview and I decide if I need to get more creative.

Have fun.

Jim

Tom, I'll let you in on a secret Anybody can take "good" photos. "Great" photos are not taken. Rather, they are made.

I once read an interview with Cole Weston, talking about his father Edward https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Weston. He said that he recalled watching his dad spend an entire day in the field to take a single photo. He would then spend an entire week in the darkroom making a single print.

I have seen two prints by Ansel Adams, from the same negative, but made several years apart. They look amazingly different.

Today's digital darkroom is just as important, and it is a whole lot less smelly.

I think I can prove it to you. Pick out one of your photos that you had hoped would be great, but isn't. Email it to me. I'll tweak it a little and post the before and after.

Joel

Thanks Joel. I've used PhotoShop for a number of years, although I didn't graduate beyond the beta of LightRoom. As newsletter editor for several clubs, I "fix" lots of pictures taken by various folks, although it's not one of my favorite pastimes.

Grew up with my Dad spending lots of time prior to taking shots and lots more time in the dark room. That was in the days of B & W film and pre-film glass slides; Colors he added to post-processed prints with a brush (called it "tinting" IIRC). I didn't inherit that set of photographic genes from him.

This is a great thread.

Before hitting the road, I worked in IT for a camera retailer, and could buy at cost - so I have fairly high-end gear, but it's wasted on me.  I have a full-frame Canon (6D) and six L series lens - a 50mm, a wide-angle, a macro, the new 24-75 2.8, and the bad boy - 70-200M.  They are all super-fast.  I have nearly every accessory you can think of - from fold-up reflectors, to external flash, to remote flash, to a gizmo that lets me see the LCD even in full sunlight...

I pull the Canon out when I'm in "shooting" mode - where I have the time and inclination to spend trying to figure out how to "create" the look I have in my head before putting eye to camera.  When it works - there's nothing like it.  I'm hoping to get a lot more use out of it now that I've got more time.

But to catch those fleeting moments?  I have an Olympus P&S - and of course - my trusty smartphone.  I rarely bring the Canon with me when we're sight-seeing, unless I think that I'm going to be in a setting where taking 30 minutes to take a shot won't be a problem for anyone else.

BTW - my "bible" and go-to book is UNDERSTANDING EXPOSURE by Bryan Peterson.  I always pick it up and thumb through it before I go out shooting.

Great discussion!!

The best advice I got for a DSLR was from Ron Marabito at a rally, who does some pretty interesting work with images, is to capture everything in Raw mode and get all the pixels you can. Now that assumes you don't mind touching up a bit with a Photoshop type program to get the crop, or the view, or the exact light you wanted.

I don't have the patience to work every single picture for hours nor do I usually have time, so I set my Nikons on Raw, aperture priority, change the metering if I need to, change the ISO where appropriate, and bang away.

I find I get the kind of stuff I need which won't win any prizes internationally, but if I have to work that hard at it, it takes the fun out of capturing a moment, even if it is not perfect.

It's probably like cooking, everyone has a style, and you have to suit your own tastes with the finished product. So are you into the cooking part, or the eating part?

Michele, I have Bryan Peterson's book, but forgot I had it. Thanks for the reminder.

Wigpro said:

125th at F-8 is a standard for sunny day shooting...

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Jim are you referring to the "Sunny 16 Rule" that uses f/16?  On a sunny day f/8 would probably be two stops overexposed with a shutter speed of 125... although I'm not sure what ISO you use with your f/8 at 125th standard sunny day shoot.

Jerry F, what camera are you using?  The terminology you used in your post makes me think that you aren't using a Canon DSLR.

MicheleF said:

BTW - my "bible" and go-to book is UNDERSTANDING EXPOSURE by Bryan Peterson. 

Click to expand...

 

Michele, UNDERSTANDING EXPOSURE by Bryan Peterson was the first photography book I read before I started by formal photography education.  At the time the book was way over my head in spite of Bryan's very simple explanations.  I had only owned my DSLR camera for ten days and I had only taken 10 shots.  Bryan has some interesting free You Tube videos online.  It might be fun to pick a few of his topics and use them for group discussions and experiments.  What do you think?

Tom,  if there are any RV Forum members who would like to learn more about photography using a DSLR, I would gladly help lead some discussions and photography experiments.  Sort of an online RV Forum Camera Club for DSLR users ???

Great Horned Owl said:

I have seen two prints by Ansel Adams, from the same negative, but made several years apart. They look amazingly different.

Today's digital darkroom is just as important,

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Joel, I totally agree.  Digital Darkroom is very important for serious photographers.  It's easy for me to lose track of time when editing my favorite images.