Category: Photography

Most cameras whether they are mirrorless or single lens reflex and some compacts have a variety of shooting modes.

The most common ones are Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, Auto and Program modes.

There is no one mode that it the only one you should use, but you need to understand the differences between the different modes that your camera can shoot in.

In Auto mode the camera will decide the shutter speed and aperture and possibly the ISO speed to use, when you press the shutter button the camera will auto-focus and then take the shot, simple. A lot of people will not use Auto mode because the lack of control, but in fact if you don’t have time to change and adjust settings it might be the difference between capturing an image or missing it altogether.

In Shutter Priority mode the photographer sets their desired shutter speed and the camera will adjust the aperture automatically to get the correct exposure. This mode is useful when you are trying to capture sports or any other high speed action. But you can also use it at much slower shutter speeds as well.

In Aperture Priority mode the photographer selects the aperture they wish to use and the camera automatically adjusts the shutter speed to get the correct exposure. Changing your aperture doesn’t just change the amount of light reaching the sensor/film, but more importantly the depth of field of the resulting image.

With Aperture Priority mode you need to be careful that the shutter speed selected doesn’t become too slow that you end up in a camera shake situation. You can compensate for this by increasing the ISO speed to bring the shutter speed back up again for your selected aperture.

In Manual Mode you will have control over all three parameters, shutter speed, aperture and ISO speed. The camera is just feeding you the current meter reading for the exposure, so you just have to be aware that the metering mode will influence the value and the photographer can adjust the settings to suit the image they are capturing depending on the variation of the contrast in the image.

Program Mode if it is offered is a fixed curve that exists within the camera that lets you adjust the shutter speed and aperture in a fixed relative ratio to each other. Have a look at the manual for your camera to see how that setting works, they aren’t all the same.

You will also find other modes offered such as automatic depth mode, where you focus on the furtherest subject and then the nearest subject and the camera will select the appropriate aperture for that required depth of field.

Your camera might also have a number of ‘creative modes’ where the settings are biased in a particular way depending on the category of image you are taking (landscape, nighttime, sports, macro etc..) Again check your camera manual for the details of these, as some of them will lock out certain functions on the camera when these modes are selected.

What mode do you typically use the most?

I go through phases of considering getting a new digital camera. Considering all my current digital cameras are all DSLRs of one sort or another it would be a major investment to change to mirrorless.

Looking at my local chain of retailers the options for DSLRs are slowly dwindling with some cameras listed but ‘awaiting stock’ for months at a time. The insistence by the EU on everything being able to charge via USB C could be partially to blame for this.

It’s very unlikely that any existing models will be re-engineered to accept USB-C rather than Micro-USB or similar.

OK so what options are there….

• Go all in with a new mirrorless body and lens, I would need at least a couple of zooms (Ultra-Wide and Wide-Short Telephoto)
• Buy a second-hand DSLR – OK if it was APSC, just the body would be enough, full frame would involve more lens
• Stick with what I have now.

The first option whilst it is attractive, would cost quite a lot and I am not sure I could justify the expense, would my images improve that much? I have my doubts.

Second-hand has its attractions too, but some of the examples I’ve seen on MPB are not exactly in top notch condition, bumps and scrapes on a camera less than 5 years old seems a bit off to me, when I look at some of my own that have very little sign of wear and tear. Second hand mirrorless is an alternative, but the cost would be slightly lower than the new option similar I suppose to a new DSLR set up.

Which leads me to the last option…. zero cost and I have what I need for the type of photography I love to do. Plus I more or less understand all the different settings on those camera bodies fairly well. I still have to look at the manual for the Nikon D300 from time to time!

The lack of video, or high resolution video is of no concern to me, I only shoot still images anyway.

What about you? Mirrorless, DSLR, Film?

The term ‘Vintage’ is often mis-used. If you ask a number of people how old they would think a ‘Vintage’ item should be to be classed as ‘Vintage’, you will get a variety of answers.

Take these two cameras, the EOS30 film camera and EOS20D digital camera.

I bought the EOS30 in about the year 2000, so nearly 25 years old, and the EOS20D 20 years ago.

Now in film camera terms, I wouldn’t class the EOS30 as vintage, almost too modern compared to a lot of film cameras people love to use these days. A lot of people think it is a digital camera when they first see it, but there’s no rear screen.

The EOS20D is old by today’s standards but is it ‘vintage’ ?

In my opinion it still takes great photographs, yes it might not be the best performer in low light or at high ISO settings. But for every day typical photographs taken in RAW mode it is pretty good. And at 8 MPS if you are only using the images for social media then it’s more than enough.

Batteries are still available and it takes an 8GB CF Card, but no higher than that.

What do you think a Vintage Digital Camera is? Please comment below.

Reading that title might make you think of bench pressing full camera bags!! Yes they can get heavy, but I was thinking of another way!

I try to keep as active as possible, as a 65 year old retiree, it has to not be too strenuous, but enough for me to close my activity rings on my Apple Watch each day.

Exercise for me is mainly walking, sometimes at a slow pace, sometimes at a fast pace if I’m going somewhere listening to music.

Today I took my camera with me on a photo walk, it didn’t matter that I had been around these streets in the town many times before. Looking around you often see things that have changed, or something you hadn’t noticed before.

I didn’t take many photographs, but I enjoyed the walk and looking for scenes to shoot and the walk did me good. The quality of the photos wasn’t important either.

In most cases I can go back again next time and try again, may be with a different camera out of my small collection!

Today I used my Canon EOS600D. My EOS100D with a fixed wide angle lens is perfect for these photo walks, compact and light weight.

Until next time, take care, keep fit and enjoy photography too.