Canon Custom Modes Tip

koffiejunkie said:
LOL! I hate PDF manuals. Just this morning I was thinking I should get the G9's manual printed. That way I might actually read it.
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Just sacrificed a tree and printed mine out :o

Probably could have limited the ecological damage to a few limbs had I ignored the sections on Live View, Picture styles (:rolleyes:), and direct printing.
 
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bwana said:
Just sacrificed a tree and printed mine out :o

Probably could have limited the ecological damage to a few limbs
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I don't lose sleep over such things. I print maybe 10 pages per year - usually a visa application of some sort.

bwana said:
and direct printing.
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:eek: I can't believe Canon seriously thinks anyone buying a camera like that is going to hook it up to a printer and print directly off their unprocessed raw files. What are they smoking?
 
koffiejunkie said:
Thinking about it, by your argument, having Auto ISO in Av or Tv must be worse, because now you have *two* uncontrollable variables. You never know which of the two settings the camera is going to adjust, and by how much. With Auto ISO in M, you know it's only one variable, and you know exactly how it's going to respond.
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I set the ISO normally then the safety shift (auto ISO?) only kicks in when the shutter speed drops below the set threshold (in my case 1/60th).
 
bwana said:
I set the ISO normally then the safety shift (auto ISO?) only kicks in when the shutter speed drops below the set threshold (in my case 1/60th).
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I'll have to play with this on my 50D. Sadly I'm not really going to have time until I'm on leave, and I won't have internet for the most part then, so I can confirm in about six weeks :)
 
koffiejunkie said:
No it doesn't. It allows you to use the camera in a Shutter+Aperture priority mode, something that a few manufacturers offer (Pentax with the Sv mode) and that's incredibly useful.
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Yes! I use it for long exposure stuff.

On the D90 I set my max ISO to 1600 and minimum shutter speed to 1/30.

P: I have control over exposure comp by holding the +/-EV button and turning the thumb dial. I have control over my minimum ISO by holding down the ISO button and turning the thumb dial. I have access to program shift by turning the thumb dial, for smaller aperture/faster shutter (autoISO settings permitting).

S: I have control over exposure comp by holding the +/-EV button and turning the thumb dial. I have control over my minimum ISO by holding down the ISO button and turning the thumb dial. I have control over the shutter speed by turning the thumb dial.

A: I have control over exposure comp by holding the +/-EV button and turning the thumb dial. I have control over my minimum ISO by holding down the ISO button and turning the thumb dial. I have control over the aperture by turning the front dial.

M: I have control over exposure comp by holding the +/-EV button and turning the thumb dial. I have control over my minimum ISO by holding down the ISO button and turning the thumb dial. I have control over the shutter speed by turning the thumb dial. I have control over the aperture by turning the front dial.


If I want manual ISO, in any of these modes, I can do that by turning the autoISO off. Unfortunately there is no dedicated button to do this on the D90. I have autoISO available in my "My Menu", which I access by pressing the FUNC (custom) button, located next to the lens.

I wish there was a dedicated auto/manual ISO button.

Also, the D90 does not change its autoISO minimum shutter speed according to your focal length, like the 5DII. The 5DII can change the minimum shutter speed, depending on what your focal length is. This is very smart, as it's easy to hold 1/20 at 28mm (as in 28mm on an EF/FX/35mm), but not so easy at 70mm. At least the D90 takes whether you have VR on or off into account, when it's doing its autoISO thing. And I can always select a slower or faster shutter speed by turning the camera to S.
 
I'm not moaning. I'm just looking forward to what they're doing next. Things will improve. 40D autoISO is by no means perfect either. :D
 
BigAl-sa said:
but then some of us don't use auto ISO :p
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Your choice. Do it the hard way if you like ;)

To be serious, for 90% of my shooting, I don't want Auto ISO either. But there are some circumstances where it's incredibly useful, al the more if it works properly.
 
ldmelsa said:
Then you do know what all the fuss is about. :p
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No. I really dont. Higher iso leads to more noise so I really don't have a problem adjusting it manually.

Then again I also learnt how to hand hold a camera so I also don't get what the insistance people have for IS lenses - especially for shorter focal lengths.

Different strokes for different folks. ;)
 
IS, high ISOs & auto ISO have changed shooting forever, for most people. Some types of photography don't require these things. I understand that. But there is no doubt that these are innovations that have changed the way we shoot, and they will only become more and more advanced.
 
koffiejunkie said:
No it doesn't. It allows you to use the camera in a Shutter+Aperture priority mode, something that a few manufacturers offer (Pentax with the Sv mode) and that's incredibly useful.
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Is see what you mean, but having an Auto ISO setting in Manual, defies the purpose of it being 'Manual'. That's my point.
Maybe, instead it's possible to lock your Aperture or Shutter speed, whilst in Av or Tv, leaving ISO to stay variable?
koffiejunkie said:
If I'm in a situation with a lot of movement and rapidly changing light (think dance shows or something along those lines), auto ISO in M would allow me to control the exposure time and depth of field, and let the camera work out the rest.
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My approach to that would be to decide Shutter speed according to the subject and if possible keep it set in Manual, only if the light source was totally unpredictable would I go to Shutter Priority. As for letting ISO Auto adjust for correct exposure, seems a more unfavourable option than a varying Aperture.
koffiejunkie said:
Thinking about it, by your argument, having Auto ISO in Av or Tv must be worse, because now you have *two* uncontrollable variables. You never know which of the two settings the camera is going to adjust, and by how much. With Auto ISO in M, you know it's only one variable, and you know exactly how it's going to respond.
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All the camera wants to do is get an average exposure for 12% Grey (or 18% whichever argument you believe). As for how the camera decides it's optimal setting varies. My assumption would be that normally Auto ISO would act secondary to Av or Tv priority, say in very low light.
koffiejunkie said:
I learned to shoot, and still do a fair bit of shooting, with a Pentax K1000 - I understand how things work.
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It's funny, I argue this topic with my brother, also a working photographer. He insists on using semi auto modes, thinking its better or more reliable than Manual. From my experience, the results speak for themselves, my hit ratio of usable images when shooting in Manual far exceeds that of shooting with Auto settings (incl. Av & Tv).
If someone understands the fundamentals, it puzzles me why people don't take advantage of it.
 
ldmelsa said:
IS, high ISOs & auto ISO have changed shooting forever, for most people. Some types of photography don't require these things. I understand that. But there is no doubt that these are innovations that have changed the way we shoot, and they will only become more and more advanced.
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The only game changer I see there is improved low light sensitivity which is why I've yet to dispute its importance.
 
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Agree with ldmelsa but it also depends on what kind of photography you do, how much time you have to 'get' the shot and your shooting style. For the casual shooter, IS is awesome. We don't all travel around with tripods (in whichever form) to get that super steady hold when using our long telephotos. Good ISO performance also allows nicer low light performance as well as shooting faster with a flash.

If you a purist or just darn awesome at operating the controls to match the lighting as required then it really doesn't matter much.
 
SubliminalThought said:
Agree with ldmelsa but it also depends on what kind of photography you do, how much time you have to 'get' the shot and your shooting style. For the casual shooter, IS is awesome. We don't all travel around with tripods (in whichever form) to get that super steady hold when using our long telephotos. Good ISO performance also allows nicer low light performance as well as shooting faster with a flash.

If you a purist or just darn awesome at operating the controls to match the lighting as required then it really doesn't matter much.
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IS would be an unnecessary burden both on my wallet and around my neck - I'd rather spend the money elsewhere . . on better glass for example. One tip I picked up from a recent job overseas (from a D3 shooter with a bag full of VR lenses) is the value of a monopod when shooting conferences etc so that's been strapped to my bag.

I'm hardly a purist but I do know better than Canon how I want my images to look. Auto ISO takes me out of the loop just as much as shooting jpgs.
 
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