Because you know it's going to come out right...

[Chinasaur]

...when you use an AP mode/camera...

Does this reduce your enjoyment since there is no/little challenge to getting it right?

 

[emraphoto]

As long as the shutter fires when i press the button i'm game. Leaves more time to chat folks up.

 

[nikon_sam]

If you trust your camera's meter to get the correct exposure it really doesn't matter which Mode you're in...whether in Manual or Auto everything...
I will sometimes put it in Aperture Priority when shooting outdoors at certain events...then I can just concentrate on getting the shot...you still have to compose to get it right...

 

[peterm1]

Not really. I like using my M8 for its results but there are often times when I just want to concentrate on getting the composition and taking the image. Here I might use my DSLR where I know I will get a high proportion of keepers. I am much more a whatever works kind of guy. If I get the image and it is a good'un - I am usually happy.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Maybe I like awkward lighting more than most people... Yes, I can trust auto-exposure most of the time, but for when I can't, I prefer manual exposure, so I use manual exposure most of the time in order to keep my own skill and appreciation of light in trim. I'd say that if I set the meter intelligently, I'm a damn' sight more sure that it will come out than I am if I rely on automation. Also, most of my cameras don't have auto-exposure. Indeed, many don't have meters.

Curiously, I relied much more on automation with the M8 than with the M9. I don't know why. Perhaps it's just that the M9 is more of a 'real' Leica to me.

Cheers,

R.

 

[cosmonaut]

You still have to understand what you are doing, so no. If the lighting is not tricky and it's going to be a quick shot. What ever get the job done.

 

[Keith]

It depends on the camera and the medium. I don't do it often with film but with my D700 I'm pretty happy to let the matrix metering make the decision ... the camera's files are extremely flexible in post and a stop either way doesn't really make much difference on the rare occasions it gets it wrong.

I don't think I ever used AE on my M8 though!

 

[Nikon Bob]

I like aperture priority mode and will over ride the meter with some exposure comp if I think it is necessary. So no, it does not bother me at all.

Bob

 

[rphenning]

I use my camera about 3/4 of the time in AEL mode, which meters and locks with a half press of the shutter. Where I meter is a different story though. I just use the meter as a way to get fluid access to the shutter speed range I want to be in.

 

[Doug]

I most often use AP, keeping an eye on what the camera is doing, whether reasonable or not. If not, I'll use selective metering and then use those results on manual. Sometimes though it's just simpler to get an idea of the light with the meter and go manual from there.

I was "sold" on AE by an incident long ago when there was a political rally on the sidewalk that sparked a fist-fight that moved under cover nearby. I cranked my M2 three stops open and kept shooting... but still underexposed at least two stops. Ouch.

 

[ruby.monkey]

...when you use an AP mode/camera...

Does this reduce your enjoyment since there is no/little challenge to getting it right?

Honestly, the challenge has never been about correct exposure. For me the really hard part has always been getting something worth looking at, in the frame.

 

[jsrockit]

...when you use an AP mode/camera...

Does this reduce your enjoyment since there is no/little challenge to getting it right?

I would say you don;t know how it is going to come out... going fully manual is where you make all of the decisions in hope that it comes out exactly how you intended... plus, my photographic enjoyment is not in exposure, but in results.

 

[porktaco]

my rd-1 does an amazing job of metering, so i'm almost always in AP mode

 

[gavinlg]

Manual almost exclusively for my 5d - I'm paranoid about overexposing so I like to make sure the meter can't be fooled and give me a washed out/overexposed photo.

For film on my 1n I will usually allow aperture priority - film is nice and forgiving!

 

[cidereye]

With the M8 almost always in AP mode I just use the meter as a spot meter when needed and point to the point of the composition I want to set the exposure from, half depress the release to hold the reading and re-compose & shoot.

Got so used to doing that with Contax G's I just carried on with the same method so only really use manual mode on the M8 about 15% of the time.

 

[n5jrn]

No, I don't always "know it's going to come out right" if I use an automatic mode. In fact, if the lighting or the subject reflectance is unusual, I am almost certain of the contrary.

Automatic modes are useful in situations where I don't have the time to think about manual settings. And when I'm using a compact digicam, it's easy enough to try program mode first, then delete the shot and override the automation if the camera's electronic brain botched things. But when using a film camera, I prefer to take a few moments and think about exposure if I have the time to.

 

[robert blu]

Innormal light condition I trust on the camera metering. If light is "tricky" I evaluate if over or under expose the camera metering. How much? A little, not too much, enough...it's difficult...
robert

 

[leica M2 fan]

Having learned with primarily cameras that required a hand held meter it was quite liberating to go to the matrix metering of the 8008s and F100 and now the D70 and D700. I especially like the Flexible Program (P) that allows me to dial up or down if I need a different set of aperture and shutter values. For the most part all my shots are with matrix and P program.

 

[Tompas]

Because you know it's going to come out right...
...when you use an AP mode/camera...

Oh, I don't know that.