Question for you guys when you are shooting

[Thommo]

hey guys, i was wondering tonight how you arrive at your settings when you are taking a shot. for me experiance is the key but seeing as i have little there is a lot of farting around and very dark or overexposed shots... but how do you guys figure out what settings to use

[BBJ]

Hi Thommo, I use the histogram for all my shots as well here the sun shines 1 min cloud the next. I meter and watch my exposure and if i am unsure have a look at pic and if a bit underexposed doesnt matter as i shoot in RAW mode i can fix later with Nikon Capture.
Cheers
John
BBJ

[Wombat124]

Thommo

I take all of my photos in Fine/Large JPEG. As with John, I regularly check the Histogram and usually use EV compensation + or - to fix.

If overexposed + EV. if underexposed - EV. Underexposed is not so much a proble if do post processing in Photoshop; but overexposure can result in blomming thus can't be fixed in Photoshop .

Regards

Steve

[Thommo]

thanks guys, see i dont understand the whole metering thing, i have read the whole one page on it in the manual but i just dont get it... or are you talking about putting the camera in program mode and then using those settings

[gstark]

Thommo,

This is a difficult question to answer, and until you understand what's really happenning, the lack of an answer will be most frustrating for you.

In a lot of instances, the simple answer is that it doesn't matter too much, provided the overall exposure setting selected yields correct EV for the scene in question.

As a guide, you might like to start with the lowest ISO you can get away with; on the D70, start with 200.

If you're using aperture priority, select an aperture between f8 - f11, and as long as the shutter speed is no slower than the inverse of the focal length of the lens you're using, you're probably in the ballpark.

If you're using shutter priority or manual, set the shutter speed to the inverse of your focal length, and what aperture you're getting.

If you're finding that you're not getting enough light to capture the image you want, start bumping your ISO.

HTH just a little, and watch for a new mini tutorial that Matt K's preparing as we speak. It should be available within the next week or so.

[Thommo]

thanks gary, generally i just stick to the inverse rule and take some snaps with differant ap and flash settings (when used) until i get the right combo, just means it takes longer thouhg