The "M" Setting
2016-05-24 13:34 Filed in: Personal | Photography
Recently I took my Minolta DiMAGE Z10 for a walk in the woods. You can see the result here.
Why, you might ask. Why, when I have several cameras that are newer and better, do I bother with the Z10?
For the same reason people fly planes from 1930, I suppose. They weren't made to gather dust in a museum, they were made to fly! Or in the case of Minolta cameras, to take great pictures!
Also, for me, it's a principle I have: I don't get things unless I'm going to use them, and make an effort to use them properly. I don't plan to collect any more Minoltas, but if I do, you bet I will take them for walks too.
But of course I wouldn't do it unless it was fun! The cost of doing the same with older, analog cameras is prohibitive, but with digital, just charge the batteries and go! Minolta made great stuff, and it doesn't cease to be great just because someone made something better. I can't deny, that part of the enjoyment is also that I could not have afforded any of these cameras when they were new. Ten years later, I can, and the only thing that's aged, really, is me.
I am also still trying to get my head around digital photography, so maybe it's not a bad thing that I'm using cameras from the "early days" of digital. When I first studied photography in the '70's, the equipment was basic, and that was a good thing. Which brings me to something I tested with the Z10. The "M" setting.
I started out on manual cameras, actually relying on the film box to tell me which exposure settings to use, so I'm certainly no stranger to the concept. Nevertheless, when the new, improved, automatic cameras arrived, I expected it to be a good thing. "The camera does the thinking!" That's wonderful.
My last analog camera was the Minolta XK Motor, which did have an aperture-priority automatic exposure option, but still, it was a lot like my previous all-manual Minolta; manual meaning that although there was a light meter in the camera, you set the aperture and shutter speed manually. And you know, I haven't really done that since then! My first digital camera didn't even *have* a manual option! (It didn't have a viewfinder either. That took some getting used to.) So I have used automatic settings ever since. Manual, I imagined, was only for use in special situations that called for it. But I have handled tricky lighting in other ways, and virtually forgotten about "M".
Until now. I suppose it was two things which made me think of it again. First, acquiring the Dynax 7D camera, which has a stop-down button! Sure is good to have that button again, after all this time. (For anyone reading this who doesn't know what that is, it's a button allowing depth of field to be seen through the camera, by "stopping down" the lens to the chosen aperture. The finder image becomes darker, but otherwise you get a preview of the final image.) That reminded me of the old days, of course, when I used it constantly. Second, while reading lens reviews I came across this comment: "Automatic is overrated." It got me thinking, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized I had to find out for myself.
Automatic *is* overrated! True, that was just one session and one camera, but not only did I enjoy having control, it wasn't hard at all to get accurate exposures! And if it can be done quite easily on this 3MP JPEG camera, with all its limitations, I'm sure the other cameras will do just fine!
The reason it's easy is, of course, that it's not really manual at all; the viewfinder reacted to the exposure settings, so I could see the result before snapping the picture. Why would I want to do it any other way? It's brilliant! I had basically no duds at all after I got the hang of it, which is particularly impressive as this camera doesn't give you much of a window. The blacks are black, and the sky is white, if you know what I mean, and in dark conditions noise becomes a problem. Nevertheless, I'm really pleased with some of the images, and especially with what I learned from making them!
Photographing people and moving objects will still benefit from automatic, I have no doubt, but since I mostly do landscapes and trees and such, "M" is likely to become my standard setting from now on. Can't wait to try it on the other cameras!
So, at last, I feel more comfortable with digital photography, through discovering that I can actually work pretty much the way I used to, without losing any of the benefits of digital photography. It's quite a revelation, because although I knew I wasn't entirely satisfied, I didn't know why. Turns out, it wasn't something new I hadn't learned, but old knowledge I wasn't making use of!
Why, you might ask. Why, when I have several cameras that are newer and better, do I bother with the Z10?
For the same reason people fly planes from 1930, I suppose. They weren't made to gather dust in a museum, they were made to fly! Or in the case of Minolta cameras, to take great pictures!
Also, for me, it's a principle I have: I don't get things unless I'm going to use them, and make an effort to use them properly. I don't plan to collect any more Minoltas, but if I do, you bet I will take them for walks too.
But of course I wouldn't do it unless it was fun! The cost of doing the same with older, analog cameras is prohibitive, but with digital, just charge the batteries and go! Minolta made great stuff, and it doesn't cease to be great just because someone made something better. I can't deny, that part of the enjoyment is also that I could not have afforded any of these cameras when they were new. Ten years later, I can, and the only thing that's aged, really, is me.
I am also still trying to get my head around digital photography, so maybe it's not a bad thing that I'm using cameras from the "early days" of digital. When I first studied photography in the '70's, the equipment was basic, and that was a good thing. Which brings me to something I tested with the Z10. The "M" setting.
I started out on manual cameras, actually relying on the film box to tell me which exposure settings to use, so I'm certainly no stranger to the concept. Nevertheless, when the new, improved, automatic cameras arrived, I expected it to be a good thing. "The camera does the thinking!" That's wonderful.
My last analog camera was the Minolta XK Motor, which did have an aperture-priority automatic exposure option, but still, it was a lot like my previous all-manual Minolta; manual meaning that although there was a light meter in the camera, you set the aperture and shutter speed manually. And you know, I haven't really done that since then! My first digital camera didn't even *have* a manual option! (It didn't have a viewfinder either. That took some getting used to.) So I have used automatic settings ever since. Manual, I imagined, was only for use in special situations that called for it. But I have handled tricky lighting in other ways, and virtually forgotten about "M".
Until now. I suppose it was two things which made me think of it again. First, acquiring the Dynax 7D camera, which has a stop-down button! Sure is good to have that button again, after all this time. (For anyone reading this who doesn't know what that is, it's a button allowing depth of field to be seen through the camera, by "stopping down" the lens to the chosen aperture. The finder image becomes darker, but otherwise you get a preview of the final image.) That reminded me of the old days, of course, when I used it constantly. Second, while reading lens reviews I came across this comment: "Automatic is overrated." It got me thinking, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized I had to find out for myself.
Automatic *is* overrated! True, that was just one session and one camera, but not only did I enjoy having control, it wasn't hard at all to get accurate exposures! And if it can be done quite easily on this 3MP JPEG camera, with all its limitations, I'm sure the other cameras will do just fine!
The reason it's easy is, of course, that it's not really manual at all; the viewfinder reacted to the exposure settings, so I could see the result before snapping the picture. Why would I want to do it any other way? It's brilliant! I had basically no duds at all after I got the hang of it, which is particularly impressive as this camera doesn't give you much of a window. The blacks are black, and the sky is white, if you know what I mean, and in dark conditions noise becomes a problem. Nevertheless, I'm really pleased with some of the images, and especially with what I learned from making them!
Photographing people and moving objects will still benefit from automatic, I have no doubt, but since I mostly do landscapes and trees and such, "M" is likely to become my standard setting from now on. Can't wait to try it on the other cameras!
So, at last, I feel more comfortable with digital photography, through discovering that I can actually work pretty much the way I used to, without losing any of the benefits of digital photography. It's quite a revelation, because although I knew I wasn't entirely satisfied, I didn't know why. Turns out, it wasn't something new I hadn't learned, but old knowledge I wasn't making use of!