| Joined: | Thu Apr 19th, 2012 |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 4428 |
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Eric, Yes I am still here... I remarked some time ago that when I use my D3100 I tend to use it as a snapshot camera, I just grab it and press the button. I have it set on full auto, shock horror!! When I am greasy up to my armpits and just need a quick pic of some tremendously interesting bolt or floggle-toggle, I can't be a**ed to make manual adjustments, I just want a usable pic.
Anyway I have remarked that often the auto can produce remarkably good images, better than I might expect had I made my own manual settings at times. I sometimes wonder why the auto can produce such good images.
I seem to remember your reaction was to take the same image in both auto and using manual with my idea of what settings I thought appropriate for the scene, then compare the EXIF to perhaps reveal it's secret techniques.
I have noticed that depending on the scene, in full auto, various focus points flash in and out as I compose and zoom the lens to optimise the image composition, they seem to lock on to points and features of the subject but any of the focus points can activate depending on the subject. I am wondering if you did the reverse of what I am doing and took some fully auto exposures, as well as some manual, or semi manual exposures, then compared the EXIF's and of course the images... Then perhaps that might clarify what these multi point focus points are actually doing.
I realise my D3100 is somewhat primitive compared with some of the more modern bodies but it's the principle I am thinking of. Just a thought...
Robert who?
This all came about when Jan had difficulty focusing on an eider duck bobbing on ocean swell and then some maritime flora blowing in an on shore breeze. Yes we were in London.
No, seriously, it was a very pleasant short break on the Northumberland coast. I started fiddling with her camera to see what alternative settings the new Panasonic offered...and then tried to cross reference these with the 'known' options on my D750. That's when I realised I didn't know diddlysquat about some of these functions on my new camera. Like, I was thrown as to what 3d focusing was ....and with the manual 200miles away (yes I know) I dug myself a numptie hole.
You make a good point about auto settings. A lot of sophisticated and clever programming has gone into auto settings. As you may recall, when using photoshop, I frequently apply auto everything settings to an image just to see a point of difference. (Then revert and do manual corrections) Particularly after staring at monitors over time, it's easy for your eyes to miss colour casts, saturation and contrast on images. Quite often changing them drastically, even if it's for the worse, can reboot your seeing eye.
So yes, a spell of auto shooting might be interesting.
The problem Jan had was in truth multifaceted.
400mm equiv.....windy day....tripod in car 1mile away (duh) changing lighting (sun then black clouds) white and black subject moving about.
I didn't even bother to get my camera out of the bag....but you know Jan!
Anyway, I think it's a matter of softly softly and trying out the different techniques. Like Graham is doing looking for improvements in success rate.
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Eric