Best Shooting Mode in Canon

[Vishal Jolapara]

Hello Guys,

I need a little help with this one.
Initially upon getting my dSLR (Canon 400D / Rebel XTi), I like most started-off by shooting in P (Program) mode.
Then as i got to know the camera a bit more & began experimenting i started shooting in Av Mode (Aperture Priority) & while it is great in lowlight why does it give soft photos in bright light conditions.
Not that i'm not keeping an eye on the exposure setting, i under & over-expose as per the lighting but i've noticed that while shooting in Av Mode under bright lighting the photos turn-out soft.

I have a Canon EF 28-105 F/3.5-4.5 II USM Lens & i always kept the aperture at the lowest (f3.5) setting & as i zoom to 105mm it would go upto f4.5

I remember James mentioning in Chris' lens advice thread (here's the post) that he shoots at f8, why's that ?

So what exactly is the best setting to shoot in under normal, low & bright lighting ?

Thanks in Advance
Cheers - Vishal

[airPLAINcrazy]

Hello Guys,

I need a little help with this one.
Initially upon getting my dSLR (Canon 400D / Rebel XTi), I like most started-off by shooting in P (Program) mode.
Then as i got to know the camera a bit more & began experimenting i started shooting in Av Mode (Aperture Priority) & while it is great in lowlight why does it give soft photos in bright light conditions.
Not that i'm not keeping an eye on the exposure setting, i under & over-expose as per the lighting but i've noticed that while shooting in Av Mode under bright lighting the photos turn-out soft.

I have a Canon EF 28-105 F/3.5-4.5 II USM Lens & i always kept the aperture at the lowest (f3.5) setting & as i zoom to 105mm it would go upto f4.5

I remember James mentioning in Chris' lens advice thread (here's the post) that he shoots at f8, why's that ?

So what exactly is the best setting to shoot in under normal, low & bright lighting ?

Thanks in Advance
Cheers - Vishal

I usually get the best settings to shoot from this website, the link below isnt for your lens, but just an idea about how it behaves, click on the blur index to see what i mean.
http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/showp...uct/139/cat/11

Its probably giving soft images as you have the aperture wide open. If you close it a bit then the images sharpen up a lot ^^ if you study the blur index from that graph you'll see what I mean.
I usually shoot in P mode outside my window when I dont av much time to set the camera up from initially hearing the whine of the engines, but if I'm at LHR I'll use A mode at F8-10 light dependant.

[Tanner_J]

Aperture controls the depth of field. For example something is in focus and the background is blurred out. A good example is a portrait. The lower the number, the less depth. Therefore that is why f8 is what is generally used in aviation to get the whole aircraft in focus.

Did you read your manual?

[saupatel]

I usually just do full Manual because i want full control of all settings. For macro photography i use Av to control the depth of field (Best for flowers). I sometimes use Tv for panning shots.

if you are interested, you can learn what depth of field will be for your camera with your lens and setting at this site.

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

[B7772ADL]

Hello Guys,


I have a Canon EF 28-105 F/3.5-4.5 II USM Lens & i always kept the aperture at the lowest (f3.5) setting & as i zoom to 105mm it would go upto f4.5

I remember James mentioning in Chris' lens advice thread (here's the post) that he shoots at f8, why's that ?

So what exactly is the best setting to shoot in under normal, low & bright lighting ?

Thanks in Advance
Cheers - Vishal

I shoot F8 as it seems largely to be the "sweet spot" for the lenses I use in terms of optimal sharpness. Shooting at F3.5 will result in a much softer image.

I'd have a go with av F8, then play about with the exposure compensation. In bright light I usually shoot 1/3 under (1 notch to the left) on my 40d. I seem to think that the consumer rebels take a more cautious attitude to exposure and they tend to underexpose (both my old 300d and 400d are similar), so i use different compensation levels compared to my 40d if i'm using the 400d (mostly leave it in the middle).

[tinymoon]

This is a website that give me almost ideal which f-stop would be the best for each of my lens.

Here i directly navigate you to your specific lens 28-105.

http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/Cano...report--review

I am not a Pro but just to share my litle experience with 400D

AI - Servo
Continuous Shotting Mode (always get 3 or 5 frames/aircraft)
Av Mode: f stop base on Len Review on photozone.de
Picture Style: Cloudy (since my 400D is a litle underexposure or Standard.
Center AF Point.
Panning Shot with Tv Mode 1/30 , 1/60 or even 1/15 (with IS Len)

M Mode when you have enought confident after searching and analysing all the result. For example I will use M Mode after see the result from Tv Mode or Av Mode

For Jetfighters, i will use Tv mode 1/500 or even 1/800 some how i use 1/1000, ISO 200 to compensation speed and aperture

Use the exposure compensation button to adjust your pic all the time due to 400D is abit underexposure (my case and other friends). This is what i love to play around with my Camera. I usually take 4 or 5 shot of ever angle of an aircraft and figure out which exposure compensation is the best. You even can use braketting mode to see how.

If this is the first time you use DSLr all i can recommend is read and read through Manual Instruction.

It took me almost 3 months to have full control and get a nice pic from my first DSLr --- >

[2C67]

I'm another member of the F8.0 club, I've been using it for years and never had any problems.




Matt

[NeilA330]

Obviously the sweet-spot f-stop of your lens will depend on what it is, for e.g a 500 f/8 wide open will be soft... it depends. Make sense?

[Vishal Jolapara]

Yes it does, sorry about the delay as my pc's crashed so workin on it to get it back up & running.

I went through each of your inputs & thanks for all your generous help guys, i appreciate it.

Also, gotta dig-out my manual i guess

Cheers - Vishal

[B7772ADL]

Also, gotta dig-out my manual i guess

Cheers - Vishal

Yes, often a good source of info...RTFM is the phrase we use in my business alot...i'll let you decipher what it means

[z740]

I usually use either "Tv" or "Av" on my 350D.

Another question for you all. What ISO do you normally use? Is 100 or 400 better?

-Chris

[NeilA330]

Again, what James said: RTFM... ISO 100 should be used where there is sufficient light not to use anything higher. Lower ISO lower noise. Higher ISO more noise. You do the math.

Why use ISO 400 when there is enough light to use ISO 100?

[wrxflyer]

Yes, often a good source of info...RTFM is the phrase we use in my business alot...i'll let you decipher what it means

I also read my camera-manual again; for the first time in a few years and discoverd a lot of new features .

I normally use Tv mode- priority, cause I try to cath the aircraft at an angle of almost 90 degrees, so for me the aperture setting is not so important.(the whole aircraft is at almost same distance).

Regards

Freek

[B7772ADL]

I usually use either "Tv" or "Av" on my 350D.

Another question for you all. What ISO do you normally use? Is 100 or 400 better?

-Chris

On the baby Canon's generally anything over iso 200 produces very grainy/noisy images so do your best to stick to iso 100 where-ever possible. Iso 400 will allow you higher shutter speeds in darker conditions, but the trade off is noise.
Generally though, my moto is that if I find myself needing to go beyond iso200, it's time to pack up and go home (aviation photography only).

[Will M]

First you need to determine what aperture your lens is sharpest at and go from there if you are using AV. My 300 prime usually excels anywhere between 6.3 - 8.0 depending on the light.

Theres a few MTF Charts around such as here
Surf aorund a bit and find reviews , study and understand how your lens works and functions for the best possible results.

And remember, a DSLR is only as good as the lens on the front of it.

It's like owning a car , people who don't know how to drive one probably shouldn't have one....