DSLR... M A S P... which settings do you use?
By ahgong
@ahgong (10064)
Singapore
June 8, 2008 8:48pm CST
Most of use using the traditional point and shoot will leave the dial at the auto setting. With the occasional change to macro and maybe the other settings once in a blue moon.
Now that we have migrated to the DSLR, there are additional settings on the dial.
We have the following in the dial:
M - Manual
A - Aperture
S - Shutter
P - Program
Which one do you usually use?
How do you know what to set for each?
When do you use the different settings?
Please advise.
1 person likes this
3 responses
@jessej9 (394)
• Philippines
9 Jul 08
Hi, I would suggest that you use Auto to get the hang of the DSLR but eventually you must move on to M to really be able to control the camera. In manual is where the fun starts in DSLR use.
A means that you will set the aperture and the camera will be the one to adjust the Shutter Speed as it sees necessary. I used this while I was on a trip setting the Aperture on f8 then snapping away without much need to adjust the shutter speed since the camera does it. The results was clear images, because I was on a moving vehicle as I was shooting.
S means the other way around as in A, you set the shutter speed then the camera will be the one to set the aperture to achieve balanced exposure. I haven't really used this.
P, well I can't say anything since I haven't used this setting yet.
What I can say is that learn the basics then proceed with M, ill be glad to share what I know.
Great day!
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
10 Jul 08
thanks for the recommend jessej9.
I am way pass the Auto stage already. Ready to tackle the A and the S mode.
Was using the P mode with some recommendations from a friend. But the night shots came out really horrible with out the tripod. So I am exploring the A and the S settings.
I am interested in the S settings for now as I would want to find the optimum settings for fast shoots.
With lousy, trembling hands, I am always blurring my shots. Especially night shots.
Looking forward to more of your postings!
I have added you as a friend. Good to know another DSLR kaki here at mylot!@jessej9 (394)
• Philippines
10 Jul 08
Hi, wow that's good to hear that. Well when I was started using a DSLR I had a background on how to manipulate the shutter speed and the aperture so I went straight to manual mode. I haven't really used P so I can't really say what's what there.
What kind of fast shots were you referring to? Action shots? movement can be freezed with little blur at 1/125 setting of the shutter. As far as what I experienced, and that was on a late afternoon, at high noon I reached as far as 1/500 to freeze action.
Manual mode is the best, because you are the one in control, sometimes the camera really can't anticipate the shot that you want to make so in Manual mode, you have full control.
Hope to hear from you soon!
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
10 Jul 08
Hmm... I am still figuring out how to use the P mode. I am sure there is some thing that I can use for that mode.
Must make full use of the functions. We paid heck of a lot of money for the CPU in the body. Don't use? A bit the wasteful hor?
I am hoping to take some shots at faster shutter speeds to compensate for the lack of VR. Still experimenting with the different shutter speeds to get the optimum one for this purpose! 
@buzz171 (17)
• Malaysia
10 Jun 08
I use Av most of the time... but also depends on wat im capturing. If motorsports or any other sports that involve speed, i will use Tv. For flash photography, night, landscape, i will use M mode so that i hv full control of my setting.
The setting is totally depends on wat u're shooting. Try P first... after u get the hang of it, try Av where u can control the aperture.
just remember, if u're using canon 400D, in the bright daylight, the picture can turn out underexposed, so try to set the exposure meter a lil bit high (+1/3 or +2/3)
@trickiwoo (2702)
• United States
9 Jun 08
When I first got my DSLR, I used Auto while I got the hang of using a DSLR. Eventually, I moved onto Program.
Now I mostly use program, but do use manual quite often. (Especially because I have a bunch of lenses that don't "communicate" with my camera, so I can ONLY use my camera on manual with these lenses.) I only use aperture priority or shutter priority when I'm trying to achieve a specific effect, but even then I usually just set my manual settings!
As for how to know what f stop and shutter speed to use, you can try and meter and figure it out. Or you can bracket your exposure. I can usually tell about what I need just by looking at my lighting conditions. I may make a few adjustments here and there after taking a shot and looking how it comes out. And I do some bracketing as well for some shots.
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
10 Jun 08
Hello trickiwoo, thanks for that insight!
I just came back from a trip and shot like thousands of picture with it using the auto and the P mode.
It seems that I have set my P mode to a setting that is over exposing a lot of my shots. Seems like I have to consult my manual again to understand the blinking numbers on the screen. I still do not fully understand the metering and bracketing values that are flashed to me.
I probably will have even more queries once I can decipher what those numbers mean.
