Hello,
i was wonder int if some knowledgable can point me in the right direction as what settings i should use while shooting. I usually shoot pics of my 21 month old son inside and out. I have previously used the "auto" setting however i did talk with a fella who told me to use the apperature setting ?
Any help you can give is great.
Thanks
Mike
It kind of depends on what you want. Are you having problems with the Auto setting? If I recall the D70 has a portrait setting, which might work well for some pics of your son.
I like to use aperature priority (AP) or manual only for most things. AP lets you set the aperature to get the background effect you want. Just watch your shutter speed to make sure it doesn't get too low.
And hey, it's a digital. So try out some different things and see what you like. How about this: put your camera in AP mode and take some pics with at f/4. Then take some similar pics at f/16. Take a look and see which ones you like best. Different situations will call for different f-stops. But by all means play with it. With more practice it will become intuitive.
Let me know if I need to answer a more specific question.
It really depends on what you're trying to do. I'm not sure either what 'auto' is on the D70, but typically, the modes are:
M - full manual control. You have to meter, and set the appropriate shutter speed and aperture.
A - Aperture Priority. When you want to control depth of field, you adjust the aperture, and the camera will select the 'correct' shutter speed.
S - Shutter Priority. Use when you want control of the shutter speed. The camera will select the 'correct' aperture.
P - Program Auto. The camera basically sets everything for you.
So, depending on how you like to work with the camera, you have to determine what fits best. HTH
I usually shoot aperture priority to control my depth of field. Aside from cropping, it gives you control to zero in on your subject. However when I am shooting my 70-300 ED, I need to control my shutter speed, so I shoot shutter priority. However, I use a speed so that my aperture will be as wide open as possible. This shot was at 1/500 sec at f5.3. Although the subject was surrounded by people, they have all gone the way of a wonderful bokeh (blur), one of the wonderful features of the Nikon lenses....
I recommend trying the "P" setting, which allows you to vary the aperture/shutter speed relationship with the command dial, all while staying within the automatic exposure. You can also manually select metering type and flash on and off in that mode, which is not allowed in "auto".
I agree with Greg on the "P" setting. There you can bracket if needed and it keeps the exposure within a decent range. I used to use "M" a lot because I like having control over the pictures and sometimes I needed to adjust the exposure that was read by the camera meter (such as for light or dark scenes), but I would forget to switch it back or I'd follow a subject into different light and then the photos would be way off. By using the "P" setting, your exposure will stay within an acceptable limit even if the light changes. You can bracket to get the perfect exposure using the little bracket button.
