Priorities

[ruben]

You know, sometimes when you hear so much times the same thing, you start to loose your self confidence and question yourself. On the other hand if you never ask you may be missing something.

Therefore, could you street photographers explain me why the hell you prefer Aperture Priority cameras over Shutter Priority ones ?

Hyperfocal focus. Fine. F/8, Fine. What else ?

Cheers,
Ruben

[cmogi10]

I prefer all manual

[jbf]

I use all manual as wel.

I do have Aperature Priority on my most recent camera but I have yet to use it. Too worried about it selecting a shutter speed that I dont want to use.

[FrankS]

It doesn't really matter because controlling one affects the other. It is simply a preference based on how you like to do things and/or what you have been exposed to along the way. One preference is no more valid than another.

[peterm1]

It does not really matter of course but I find that when I shift the dial on my digital from program it is usually to go to aperture priority. Because, of course, the thing that really interests me in street or landscape photography is depth of field. While I can get the correct setting by using shutter priority as well it is sort of "one step removed" in my thought processes. If I have a manual focus lens mounted which has zones of focus marked on them then aperture priority makes even more sense as I will usually focus by reference to hyperfocal distance. Of course as far as my film cameras are concerned, they are all fully manual. But even here, my usual procedure is to set the aperture and hyperfocal distance (if it is bright enough to sustain a small aperture and I am using a wide angle lens) then as I move around into shade and sunlight I adjust the speed accordingly while changing the aperture and distance set on the lens as little as possible.

[Steve Bellayr]

I, too prefer all manual, but shutter priority over aperature. On the street you a photographing movement there shutter is more important. I like to photograph at 125 and sometimes faster. That is where I make my adjustments.

[vrgard]

Guess I'm in the minority here as I prefer aperture priority over shutter priority if I'm not using a fully manual camera. Reason is that I want to maximize depth of field in a typical street shot and would rather let the camera figure out what shutter speed is needed (and no, I'm not concerned about some movement in the scene being blurred if the shutter speed is too slow since in my view that just adds to the feeling of action in the scene). Conversely, if I was using a shutter priority camera, I would always be concerned about making sure to maximize depth of field which would motivate me to lower the shutter speed to perhaps an unnecessarily low degree. And if I want to play with depth of field to isolate a subject a bit more then I can more easily do that with aperture priority than with shutter priority. Now that I think about it, I'm basing this on using cameras (e.g, Olympus XA vs Minox 35 ML) that are scale focused rather than via a rangefinder in which case depth of field becomes more important.

-Randy

[FrankS]

Your preference may depend on the type of SLR you are/were used to. Nikon and Pentax went with aperture priority, while Canon went the shutter priority route. (Not sure which way Olympus and Minolta went.) Like Randy, I prefer aperture priority to control DOF.

[MikeL]

For rangefinders, does anyone make an auto-aperture one (for shutter priority)?

[Morca007]

Another vote for all manual.

[peter_n]

Therefore, could you street photographers explain me why the hell you prefer Aperture Priority cameras over Shutter Priority ones ?

Hyperfocal focus. Fine. F/8, Fine. What else ?

Cheers,
RubenDOF effects. It frees you to think about the plane of focus you want and whether it is practical in the available light at your disposal. When I was young and moving on up from my first SLR (Zenit 3M) to a fancy Japanese SLR I was desperate for a Konica. I was distraught when I found out that they only made shutter priority models. :(

[Pherdinand]

I prefer aperture priority because for what i might shoot on the street (i ain't a real street photographer, though!) it rarely matters if the sh speed is 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000 or anything between. But it does matter if it is f/2 or f/11.

[ruben]

My preference goes for all manual too. But I was talking about those cameras which being all manual or not, do offer a priority as well, such as the Oly RC, Canonets, Konica Auto S3,etc. With manual only cameras my main concern in the street is the fastest speed available according to the lighting conditions.

Although at this stage of the thread the (Roman) phalanxes of aperture priority remain relatively calm, in many threads I have found the motto "what a pitty the camera was made in shutter priority...."

But I have not found any single supporter of shutter priority beyond myself.

Cheers,
Ruben

[Finder]

Sorry, all manual as well.

But in the times I did use autoexposure I found aperture priority allowed me to optimize the shutter speed in low light - can't get faster than wide open.

[ruben]

....But in the times I did use autoexposure I found aperture priority allowed me to optimize the shutter speed in low light - can't get faster than wide open.

So at least menthally you are a shutter priority mind, like me.

Cheers,
Ruben

[mfunnell]

Hmmm. When I'm using auto-exposure I almost always use aperture priority, because I'm concentrating on getting the depth of field I want to achieve (whether that be large or small). Others seem to be concentrating on freezing motion (or, perhaps, not) and hence seem to worry more about shutter speeds.

When I'm manually setting exposure I work the same way - I try to set the aperture I want then vary the shutter speed to get the right exposure, whereas others (it seems) set the shutter speed they want and vary the aperture. "Whatever works best for you", I guess. Personally, I find that depth of field, to my eye, has a great deal of impact on the overall look of a photo, I concentrate there first and compromise only when correct exposure won't give me a useable shutter speed. But that's just me.

...Mike

[Silva Lining]

Hmm, I'd always go for an all manual option where available, as all my rangefinders are 100% mechanical, I have generally no option!

With my P&S (Lumix LX1) and dSLR (EOS 20d) I almost always use Aperture Priority. When I am using these cameras I am either looking for ultimate portability (LX1) or photographing my fast moving kids (dSLR).

It is the way I was taught, and after 25 years or so, it is ingrained. I think of the aperture first depending upon available light and/or the effects I want to achieve, e.g. nice background blur for a portrait or large dof for landscape.

I only really check the shutter speed to ensure blur free photographs ;)

I guess there is no 'right' way, except whatever works for you!:)

[ruben]

Thanks folks,
So far you are bringing back my self confidence,
on behalf of SHUTTER PRIORITY !

Cheers,
Ruben

[Gumby]

This thread hits a funny bone of mine. I see not much difference between the two (although I do find I thing "aperture priority" faster since Nikon is the only non-manual system I've used in any significant amounts). My Sekonic light meter offers display in both modes, however. The only difference is which component value of EV is displayed bigger than the other. What I find funny is that there isn't a display mode that displays both values the same size; I think they should revamp their software and put in a "manual mode"!

[owenreading]

I'm with Ruben here - I like shutter priority. It's probably because I'm used to using cameras with shutter priority AE (35RC and a QL17), but mainly because I just treat it as 'program mode' - I just twiddle the dials until I get the settings I want, as they're both linked in AE mode. And the RC has that immensely awesome shutter speed dial on the top, rather than on the lens. Also my SLR (a Pentax MZ-M) doesn't show aperture in the finder for my SMC-M lenses, which rather defeats the purpose of it being aperture priority.

[shadowfox]

First of all, yes, I think we all agree that we like ALL MANUAL when the object and scenery allows.

I don't think that's what Ruben is after.

I think just like other favoritism when it comes to method or gear, it depends on your preference.

If you don't mind your subject being a bit blurry, but your picture does emphasize the subject and its surrounding, then maybe you prefer Aperture-priority (like myself).

But if you're strict on nailing the sharpness, then probably you'll like it more if you control the shutter speed.

Of course I'm not saying that you can't adjust artistically to achieve some wanted blur using shutter-speed priority. It's just a preference.

Good question, Ruben.

[ruben]

Yes Will, for me the element of speed is the decisive one. Your subject is mooving, or may move suddenly, and the photographer is mooving too, as within seconds or less the target is gone.

Not that every shot is about speed, nor every situation is to be approached by fast shutter speeds. Depth of field is to be controlled many times too. Yet, all in all, for me, speed is decisive.

Nevertheless, I do reckognize that within the genre any style is legitime.

Cheers,
Ruben

[robert blu]

My RF is only manual so no choice, but I'm planning to go to a aperture priority camera, probably quiocker in certain difficult circumstances. When using (now not so oft) my Nikon F100or my FM2 I always use aperture priority because ehmm...easier for me to rotate the diagphram command on the lens ! Of course I know that if I need for any reason a quick time I have to choice a open diaphram.

rob

[peterm1]

Aren't you folk who write that you " only have a manual camera so the topic is not relevant," missing the point?

Even with a camera with only manual exposure settings, you have the choice to either favor the aperture setting or favor the speed setting. Even with manual cameras, my most common style of photography (street and landscape) dictates that I first choose an aperture setting that suits the composition THEN select whatever speed (within reason and the constraints of getting a sharp picture) my meter tells me to use.

My choice is based on the aperture first not the speed in perhaps 90% of such photos (except perhaps when I might want to catch the movement of trees in the wind or waves on the beach etc and might favor a slow shutter speed for the purpose.)

[robert blu]

Aren't you folk who write that you " only have a manual camera so the topic is not relevant," missing the point?

good point peterm1, now I realize it is like you say, even when I use manual cameras ! Sometime i set the desired aperture, then a set the times and eventually minor adjustement of aperture.

rob

[alexz]

My approach to street is all manual, mostly implied by two factors: camera operative convenience and personal preference. After years of advanced AF SLR experience I got tired of the technology and learning and to be in charge of what is happening rather then allowing camera to enforce the rules was something I was after going to RFs.
Besides, Leica (aside of M7) just screams for manual control, and I'd say experience is what bring the manual control to an intuitive level when that doesn't detract your ability to catch the "decisive moment"

Having said that, Leica-specific layout somehow implied (at least for me) kind of manual "shutter priority" mode while on streets - the shutter dial can hardly be instantly operated while shooting on-the-go, however it is easy to shift around aperture ring by a finger when camera is held at your eye being ready to squeeze the button instantly. So that I usually have the shutter set at about the middle od expected exposure ranges given the expected lighting conditions distribution, then adjust per particular scene by aperture.

[rogue_designer]

I tend to favor the aperture as the critical factor in exposure. Either using Aperture priority with those cameras so equipped, or aperture first when using a manual body.

I've sold any body I have that was Shutter priority only - drove me crazy. I can see why some people like it, but that's just not the way my brain works. :)