Does Anyone Use Aperture Priority Mode?

I don't have an M8, and it looks like I didn't win the M9 raffle :( But when I use any of my various SLRs with all the bells and whistles, I never use program or any other auto mode except aperture priority. It's either aperture priority or else manual. I guess I just think I ought to know by now how to set my camera; I don't trust that the camera knows better than I.
 
If I trust the camera's meter, A mode most of the time.

I care more about how the depth of the scenes are rendered rather than making sure that my subjects are not blurry.

On cameras without meter, Sunny-16 all the way.
 
All the time. Admittedly, I don't have a digital M, but whenever I am shooting digital and not using strobes, I'm in A mode. I often dial in exposure compensation, but frankly, it's just easier to be in A. When I'm shooting my M2, of course, it's all manual, and sometimes if I'm in very specialized lighting situations where dialing in that much exposure comp is just ridiculous I'll go to manual mode, but for most every day shooting, it makes life much easier to just go for it. If you don't know how to shoot manual, I'd recommend learning because I don't think it's good to just use aperture-priority because you're incapable of using manual (not suggesting you are in particular, just saying in general), but the camera thinks faster than we can and sometimes it's good to take advantage of that and just go with the flow. That way you can spend more time focusing on composition or getting focus right and less on exposure.
 
Thanks, everyone. I'll probably start using it at least half of the time once I get my camera back from Leica.
 
Aperture priority is basic for me, but as RichC already said ".... I NEED to know the shutter speed... " So I use AE, displaying shutter speed, and make exposure compensation by shortcut on M8.2 (Don´t know its possible at M9) That works great for me, keeps the eye at the viewer, and even better than the oldfashioned way like on R-D1.
 
I use it most of the time on my M9. Not because I prefer it (the meter can often be tricked) but because of my MPs. The M9's shutter-speed dial turns the wrong way and it's too confusing to change back-and-forth...
 
I used to shoot aperture priority almost all the time on all my cameras, but the camera I use now doesn't have any automation, and I've learnt to live and love shooting full manual.

Nowadays I won't get a camera if it doesn't have full manual.
 
I don't, I use full manual but since I got the Canonet QL17, with some other battery, the light meter goes beserk [known for it for using other kinds of batteries], so I use the A mode to get a general reading of the area and then switch back to manual.
 
Do I use aperture priority?

And risk losing all those once in a lifetime shots fiddling with aperture and shutter speeds?

Of course I use aperture priority . . .

. . . and not forgetting the fact that I'm lazy.
 
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When I moved from an F2A to an F3HP with "A" automation, I thought I was in heaven. The camera did that match-needle thing for me and with the simple center weighted metering I could "nudge" my shutter speed as needed to tweak my exposure. Faster plus intermediate shutter speeds.

The lack of automation in the M6 caused my rangefinder mis-direction to Contax and their G2 (if I'd gotten the Leica I could use the lenses on an M9).

Unless I need to use studio lights or am doing something unusual, I always rely on "A".
 
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I think you should do what works for you best. With my RFs I mostly use full manual mode guided by a center weighted light reading, then I adjust the exposure from there, depending on the situation.

For example, if I take a picture of a subject with strong backlight I take a center weighted reading but know that the main subject will be overexposed. So I just open the apperture up a bit, or add some time, knowing that the apperture influences the depth of field. If I was just looking for the silhouette, I could have left everything as is. In this process it is good to know how your meter works and what it 'sees' and to know how the apperture influences your depth of field.



Plenty of ways are leading to Rome. For example, I could also have taken a spot reading of the subject if I wanted it to be exposed around 18% grey.

Use what is most comfortable for you. I do not think that full manual mode is the key. The most important thing is that you are feeling comfortable with your camera and develop a sense for predictability of the results depending on your preferences and settings, be it manual, shutter-, apperture priority, full automatic mode with exposure compensation or a combiation thereof, depending of the situation.

However, I would alway recommend a camera, that allows for adjusting shutter speed and apperture independently, as it gives you the most flexibility. If I had the choice between a camera with apperture priority mode only and fully manual, I would always choose the manual camera, given that the rest of the features were more or less similar.

Be flexible, relax, get acquainted with your gear, experiment and do not be deterred if something does not turn out as you supposed it to turn out in the first place. Surprises can be pleasent and also instrucive.
 
I use Aperture Priority Mode on the M8 nearly always. As others have said I am quite used to metering on the part of the scene that I want to expose for and re-framing for composition.

Thinking about this further, my default way of shooting on a manual camera also gives priority to the aperture. Unless I'm low light, or shooting specifically to stop or blur motion, my process is to preset the aperture for desired depth of field and adjust the shutter speed dial as necessary for correct exposure.
 
sara said:
I don't, I use full manual but since I got the Canonet QL17, with some other battery, the light meter goes beserk [known for it for using other kinds of batteries], so I use the A mode to get a general reading of the area and then switch back to manual.
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Hi Sara -

The "A" mode on that camera stands for "Automatic". It's actually shutter priority where you set the shutter speed and the camera selects the correct aperture. "Aperture priority" is the other way around, you set the aperture you want and the camera sets the shutter speed. Only a few classic rangefinders from the 60's/70's had aperture priority, most famously the Yashica Electro line, and one of the Minota HiMatics that borrowed the technology from Yashica, I think. Aperture priority is a great semi-manual way of shooting. If you're doing a portrait and want a blurry background, you can select a wide aperture and the camera will adjust the shutter speed accordingly. Hope I'm not telling you something you don't already know... my bad if I did.
 
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