manual mode on 500D

[ron moore]

hi everyone

i have been experimenting with the manual mode on my 500D
when i turn the dial to manual and set aperture and speed, the line on the exposure
compensation disappears until i half press the shutter button and is showing 2 stops to the left which means my picture is too dark but i cannot move the exposure compensation to the centre
can you please explain and do i need to be using manual mode.

regards ron moore

[chris-p]

Hi Ron

You need to adjust your shutter speed, your ISO or your aperture (whichever is more appropriate). If you're meter is telling you the shot is under exposed, open your aperture up more, make your shutter speed longer or increase your ISO and your exposure indicator bar in the viewfinder should move towards the centre.

[chris-p]

Also, if the bar is flashing it means you're more than 2 stops under exposed but the exposure indicator only goes that far. Keep adjusting your exposure and eventually the indicator will start to move to the right.

[ron moore]

hi chris

i have tried what you have told me and yes the exposure line does move over to the centre
but when i do get it centred it does not want to stay there it keeps moving to the left and
then to the right over the centre line
why is this
is their any benefit in using manual mode for daylight photography


regards ron moore

[chris-p]

Thats because the camera is continually metering. It will depend on which metering mode you use and how much the camera moves. If you set the camera on a solid surface or tripod and point it at a consistently lit scene you won't get the fluctuations in the metering.
Don't worry too much about it though - 1/3 of a stop either way won't make too much difference, especially if you shoot in RAW.


There are benefits in using manual mode but only if you understand the different metering modes as well. I tend not to use it for easy situations, I shoot in aperture priority mode most of the time, but when lighting gets more difficult I switch to manual.
One thing it can do is make you think more about what you're doing before you shoot which is often a good thing.

[Fabienne]

The benefit of using your camera in full manual mode is full creative control. Using your camera in aperture priority (normally shown as AV on your camera dial) or shutter priority (normally TV on your camera dial) are good ways to start getting your head around how the two relate to each-other and the effects they can have.

I found this on line a while ago and i think it is brilliant! It really helps you get your head around aperture, shutter speed and iso, how they effect your image and how they relate to each-other. I would definitely recommend you play around on it!

http://www.dryreading.com/camera/index.html

enjoy!

[ron moore]

hi everyone
thanks everyone for all your help it is very much appreciated

one more question

when i use my pop up flash the shutter speed stays at 200 and will not go any higher
can anyone tell me why this is and would i have the choice of different shutter speeds if i was using an external flash unit

regards ron moore

[ianpinion]

Hi Ron,

The reason the shutter speed will not go any higher is because 1/200th of a second is the fastest speed your flash will synchronize to. If you pushed the shutter speed any faster you would be left with a dark area across the bottom of the photograph that would get progressively larger the faster the shutter speed went.

With some external flash systems you can sometime reach faster shutter speeds if the flash unit has a High Speed Synchronize setting (HSS). If it has you will find that the cameras shutter will open differently to normal. It basically opens a small slit in between the curtains of the shutter and it scrolls across the sensor from left to right.

[ron moore]

hi everyone
thank you all for your help much appreciated
being new at photography i hope i can ask more questions

regards ron moore

[chris-p]

Originally Posted by ron moore

hi everyone
thank you all for your help much appreciated
being new at photography i hope i can ask more questions

regards ron moore

Thats what forums are for! Never be afraid to ask the silly question - it usually gets you further than asking a complicated one...