I am going back to RAW & manual.

[JBW]

Hi one and all,

For the past week or so I have been experimenting with my cameras settings. I must admit that the auto settings available with JPEG allowed me to shoot some nice shots.

But they were not my shots. so I am back to manual and RAW. The shots won't be as consistent, possibly not even as good, but they will be mine.
Brian

[Manfred M]

When I first started shooting raw, I would work on getting the images to look like my SOOC jegs (I still shoot raw + jpeg pretty well 100% of the time). As I got better at shooting raw, I would take the shots a step or two beyond what the jpegs looked like.

As I have said many times, my photographic skills are not good enough yet to shoot just jpeg, unless I am shooting in the studio and can control my light.

As for shooting on manual, there are times where I will do that, but these are very specific shots, like panos or shooting with studio flash. It also depends on what you mean by manual; manually setting the ISO, shutter speed and aperture, manually focusing?

[NorthernFocus]

I don't know how anyone who is environmentally conscious can shoot anything other than jpeg. The difference in energy consumption between RAW processing on a laptop/desktop computer versus the in-camera processing to produce jpegs SOOC contributes significantly to climate change. Shoot jpeg and save our planet...

[pnodrog]

I don't know how anyone who is environmentally conscious can shoot anything other than jpeg. The difference in energy consumption between RAW processing on a laptop/desktop computer versus the in-camera processing to produce jpegs SOOC contributes significantly to climate change. Shoot jpeg and save our planet...

Dan you could probably single-handedly save us from global warming by limiting your photography to 2 megapixel jpegs. Of course sadly we would all have to look at very skinny bears..

[NorthernFocus]

Dan you could probably single-handedly save us from global warming by limiting your photography to 2 megapixel jpegs...

To review my prior comment...

I don't know how anyone who is environmentally conscious...

My apologies if anyone took that to mean that I am one of said "environmentally conscious". Common decency requires some limits to one's hypocrisy. I for one will unabashedly continue to shoot RAW unless and until it is outlawed

[tao2]

Save the planet - don't shoot JPEG or raw .Choose life, choose a manual SLR...Like these...




They look beautiful, handle even better than they look and don't use batteries, sensors, circuit boards. Chicks dig 'em ( more than scars).

Develop in caffenol and really save the planet...

[Manfred M]

Save the planet - don't shoot JPEG or raw .Choose life, choose a manual SLR...Like these...


They look beautiful, handle even better than they look and don't use batteries, sensors, circuit boards. Chicks dig 'em ( more than scars).

Develop in caffenol and really save the planet...

Ignoring the environmental impact of pouring the expended chemicals and metals (silver) from processing down into the sewer system. It's been a while, but I seem to remember the bleach / fix (blix) step chemistry included potassium dichromate, which is really nasty from an environmental standpoint.

[JBW]

When I first started shooting raw, I would work on getting the images to look like my SOOC jegs (I still shoot raw + jpeg pretty well 100% of the time). As I got better at shooting raw, I would take the shots a step or two beyond what the jpegs looked like.

As I have said many times, my photographic skills are not good enough yet to shoot just jpeg, unless I am shooting in the studio and can control my light.

As for shooting on manual, there are times where I will do that, but these are very specific shots, like panos or shooting with studio flash. It also depends on what you mean by manual; manually setting the ISO, shutter speed and aperture, manually focusing?

I rarely focus manually. But I am intentional with the rest of the settings. Sometimes AWB sometimes not depending on the day. ISO, shutter speed, aperture... mix and match.

[Brev00]

To think I gave up piloting my private plane and took up wandering about by foot with a camera to be more environmentally conscious. What a fool!

[pnodrog]

To think I gave up piloting my private plane and took up wandering about by foot with a camera to be more environmentally conscious. What a fool!

Provided it was one of the larger Boeings you could just be on the winning side. I am sure on behalf of the other CinC members I can offer our overwhelming gratitude.

[NorthernFocus]

To think I gave up piloting my private plane and took up wandering about by foot with a camera to be more environmentally conscious. What a fool!

Good choice. The plane was far and away more of an environment killer. And I feel much better knowing that you sacrificed enough for the both of us. Now I can fire away with a clean conscience. Thanks for that.

[Manfred M]

ISO, shutter speed, aperture... mix and match.

You'll have to explain to me how you get different results by shooting manually versus locking down an ISO and aperture and then shooting in Aperture Priority mode or locking down ISO and shutter speed and then shooting Shutter Priority mode.

[pnodrog]

I rarely focus manually. But I am intentional with the rest of the settings. Sometimes AWB sometimes not depending on the day. ISO, shutter speed, aperture... mix and match.

Manfred has rightly queried you about what advantage manual has for you over using one of the other modes. Personally aperture priority give me all the control I need. However auto focus often does not offer the control I need. I could live with a camera that did not have a manual mode provided exposure compensation was available. I would be highly unlikely to buy a camera that did not offer a practical manual focus method and some form of DOF preview.

Actually a lot of the flower photography you like is simplest to do using aperture priority (wide aperture for shallow DOF to soften background) and manual focus to cope with shallow DOF.

[Black Pearl]

You'll have to explain to me how you get different results by shooting manually versus locking down an ISO and aperture and then shooting in Aperture Priority mode or locking down ISO and shutter speed and then shooting Shutter Priority mode.

Add me to Manfreds 'explain to' list as I don't get the manual all the time obsession.

[NorthernFocus]

Add me to Manfreds 'explain to' list as I don't get the manual all the time obsession.

I shoot manual most all the time. Why? BIF. And once you're used to it, well....

[pnodrog]

I shoot manual most all the time. Why? BIF. And once you're used to it, well....

Well what?...

I dear say all of us that owned a camera in the sixties or had a Western Master or any other meter are totally used to it.

[george013]

Well what?...

I dear say all of us that owned a camera in the sixties or had a Western Master or any other meter are totally used to it.

I think he means manual vs jpg. That's a choice that wasn't in the sixties.

George

[Donald]

I shoot manual most all the time. Why? BIF. And once you're used to it, well....

That's the thing for me too. I was with someone yesterday who was recounting a story of being told, when he said he shot in full Manual, that he was just pretending he was a real photographer. Now, if I had heard that before i started teaching myself to shoot in full Manual mode, then I would probably never have done so, because that is the last thing I'd want anyone to think about me.

However, I started there and got so used to it that I've stayed there. If I switch into Aperture or Shutter Priority modes, I have to do a lot of thinking about what I'm doing, rather than concentrating solely on the composition. No doubt, if I went in to these modes and stayed there, I would get equally used to them and be able to operate the camera in that same, almost unconscious, way.

The other point that we noted yesterday in our discussion is the fact that the manufacturers have invested an awful lot of money in R & D to help us get the pictures we want in the easiest possible way. So it's a bit stupid not to make use of all that investment and technology and use the semi-auto modes that still allow the photographer control of the shot.

But like I say, it's where I started and I just got comfortable there.

[Black Pearl]

Well what?...

I dear say all of us that owned a camera in the sixties or had a Western Master or any other meter are totally used to it.

My first few cameras (not in the sixties as I'm not that ancient yet) were manual only and I did have a Weston Master but as technology moved on I just got into the habit of using the advances when it made life easier. As Manfred said I'll use manual when it is needed but for 80% of my photography is just isn't.

[george013]

My first few cameras (not in the sixties as I'm not that ancient yet) were manual only and I did have a Weston Master but as technology moved on I just got into the habit of using the advances when it made life easier. As Manfred said I'll use manual when it is needed but for 80% of my photography is just isn't.

I'll probably never understand the discussion about shooting M or not. The only thing you do in M is disabling the "dictatorship" of the lightmeter. But if you follow the lightmeter it's still there.

The same with RAW or JPG. Why shooting in JPG? I know there are several reasons. But in general a JPG is a compressed diskfile of the image with a loss of quality, visible or not. I shoot with a Nikon and have Capture Nx. When converting my RAW to JPG I get exactly the same JPG as out of the camera and have more possibilities for PP.
I know when I take a picture with not that much of contrast I've not much to do on my RAW. But when much contrast is getting involved I've to do more PP and then I'm glad to have the RAW.

George