Manual Camera Operation

Sask2005

I have a digital SLR and for a year now I have been trying to find someone to give me some good help on how to take photos using it's manual functions. While some have told me how they put the camera on auto, check the F stop and speed settings, turn the camera to manual setting these this doesn't help.

Can anyone please give some basic steps which i can practise for using the camera on totlly manual without needing to cheap with auto settings?

For example taking a pic of a beach at first light - I'm guessing the aperture needs to be as open as possible but how do I work out the speed? Is there charts somewhere that I could download or buy? How does one learn this stuff.

Many thanks
Bruce :dunno

marlof

You use a light meter. Either the one built in your camera (that will show you if you're underexposing or overexposing with your current set of aperture and shutter speed, even when you use the manual settings), or use an external one. This light meter will tell you which shutter speed and aperture combinations you could use. And then, it's up to you if you follow that, or like a little under- or overexposure to suit the image you want to take. What combination of aperture and speed you end up using is up to you. Depending on what you're after, you pick one of the two at a preferred setting, and adjust the other to match that setting in those lighting conditions.

Sometimes you'll want to control the aperture, when you want to control depth of field (DOF). That means that the wider open the aperture (low numbers), the more shallow your depth of field will be, and more parts of your images will be out of focus. You can use that creatively, to go for a certain image. Many want their landscapes to be as sharp as possible, from front to end. You can take beautiful images at f11 of landscape in a sunrise, but you might have a slow shutter speed. Adding a tripod to the mix will still allow you to take the image at f11, but with the slow shutter speed.

It's mostly when you're handholding your camera, or you want to freeze subject movement that you'd need a faster shutter speed. Right then you need to see what shutter speed would be best for you. For instance when it comes to handholding, a rule of thumb is that you can handhold a shutter speed that equals the field of view your lens would have in 35mm equivalence. That means for Canon 1.6 (Nikon and Konica Minolta: 1.5, Olympus: 2.0) times the number on your lens. So if you have a Digital Rebel XT with the kit 18-55 lens at full zoom, you'll be able to handhold a shutter speed of 1.6x55=88 and faster. With practicing of your shooting technique, you might go even slower.

And if you really would like to go for a certain faster shutter speed, but can't get there with your current range in aperture (your lens isn't fast enough) or there simply isn't enough light, in digital cameras you can always adjust the ISO, and go for a higher ISO. Depending on your camera, image quality might be a bit less, but most of the times you'll be surprised about the quality of your images at higher ISOs.

More info is to be found in the basic photography thread Michiel de Brieder put up on Dgrin a while ago, explaining a lot of this stuff.

afmdmc

New York Institute Of Photography.
I started the New York Institute of photography correspondence course last year, it was the best thing that i've done. i've learn so much, they teach it in such a way that it make a lot more sense. i'd read a lot of books and thought i had a basic under standing but after starting the course i have a much better under standing of how thing work and what i did wrong if not. i can't reccommend it enough.

Steve Cavigliano

Sask2005 wrote:

I have a digital SLR and for a year now I have been trying to find someone to give me some good help on how to take photos using it's manual functions. While some have told me how they put the camera on auto, check the F stop and speed settings, turn the camera to manual setting these this doesn't help.

Can anyone please give some basic steps which i can practise for using the camera on totlly manual without needing to cheap with auto settings?

For example taking a pic of a beach at first light - I'm guessing the aperture needs to be as open as possible but how do I work out the speed? Is there charts somewhere that I could download or buy? How does one learn this stuff.

Many thanks
Bruce

Bruce,
Marloff gave you a ton of good info You might want to go slowly and use one, or both, of the semi-auto modes first. Aperture priority (A/Av mode) allows you to select the aperture and the camera (based on itnernal metering) will select the speed. So, as Marloof mentions, if you want a shallow depth of field (blurry background), or faster shutter speeds, you'd select a wide aperture (lower number) to allow more light to hit the sensor. If you want a deep depth of field or longer speeds, you would "Stop down" (use a narrower aperture). Same with Shutter priority (S/Tv) only you select the speed and the camera selects the aperture. A nice setting when you need a fast speed. Using Manual you will have to select both speed and aperture. Having only one of these to set can make learning easier. Once comfortable using these modes, using Manual mode is a piece of cake

Here is a site that can answer your last question. Scroll down to the Exposure Value and Exposure Factor Relationship Charts near the bottom.

Steve

wxwax

Sask2005 wrote:

For example taking a pic of a beach at first light - I'm guessing the aperture needs to be as open as possible but how do I work out the speed? Is there charts somewhere that I could download or buy? How does one learn this stuff.

Many thanks
Bruce

Bruce, it's impossible to really help you thru posts here. You really need to buy a book, or study online websites.

Futhermore, the example you give is a really tough one. The light at sunrise is changing really quickly. Your exposure will change, literally, within one minute.

You need to learn what ISO is, and how changing your aperture size (f stop) and shutter speed control the amount of light getting into your camera. Once you understand the concepts behind all three, you can start playing with the manual settings on your camera by only changing one of the three variables, and seeing how your shot changes.

Learning your light meter, and how to read a histogram, will also take you a very long way.

Sask2005

A big thanks
Thanks everyone for your brilliant suggestions and help. I have many pages of notes from your comments and your links. I really appreciate your help. As today is a public holiday here in New Zealand I am off outside to try out and practise your suggestions.

Thanks again
Bruce

clap

Art Scott

Sask2005 wrote:

Thanks everyone for your brilliant suggestions and help. I have many pages of notes from your comments and your links. I really appreciate your help. As today is a public holiday here in New Zealand I am off outside to try out and practise your suggestions.

Thanks again
Bruce

clap

Please let us see what you accomplished...great, not so great..indifferent......let us see.

Maestro

Steve Cavigliano wrote:

Bruce,
Marloff gave you a ton of good info You might want to go slowly and use one, or both, of the semi-auto modes first. Aperture priority (A/Av mode) allows you to select the aperture and the camera (based on itnernal metering) will select the speed. So, as Marloof mentions, if you want a shallow depth of field (blurry background), or faster shutter speeds, you'd select a wide aperture (lower number) to allow more light to hit the sensor. If you want a deep depth of field or longer speeds, you would "Stop down" (use a narrower aperture). Same with Shutter priority (S/Tv) only you select the speed and the camera selects the aperture. A nice setting when you need a fast speed. Using Manual you will have to select both speed and aperture. Having only one of these to set can make learning easier. Once comfortable using these modes, using Manual mode is a piece of cake

Here is a site that can answer your last question. Scroll down to the Exposure Value and Exposure Factor Relationship Charts near the bottom.

Steve

That Fred Parker link is excellent. Thanks for that.

vangogh

wxwax wrote:

Bruce, it's impossible to really help you thru posts here. You really need to buy a book, or study online websites.

Futhermore, the example you give is a really tough one. The light at sunrise is changing really quickly. Your exposure will change, literally, within one minute. ]

You could also take several consecutive shots. Stick the camera on a tripod so nothing moves. Maybe start at a exposure that captures all the detail of the sky but leaves everything else in silhoutte & then adjust it every few minutes as you start to get more details & then in Photoshop you could combine several shots to get one that gives all the details & correct exposure you want.

Nicola

wxwax

vangogh wrote:

You could also take several consecutive shots. Stick the camera on a tripod so nothing moves. Maybe start at a exposure that captures all the detail of the sky but leaves everything else in silhoutte & then adjust it every few minutes as you start to get more details & then in Photoshop you could combine several shots to get one that gives all the details & correct exposure you want.

Nicola

Indeed, that's the way to do it. Possibly not the thing for a beginner to be trying, though.