I have been reading the posts and there was a series of posts about auto/manual. I was concerned that I as a conservative I would be discovered and lynched for not being philosophical enough. My two cents (ok $1.49s worth). Manual is fine. I like manual and shoot my 4x5,8x10,6x9,6x6,and35mm on manual most of the time. (well some times I put my 8x10 on auto because I get lazy). Auto is fine too. My old eyes and reflexes aren't what they used to be. Zooms are great because I can compress the background against the foreground and make the scene different than what my eye sees. Auto-exposures and meters? Great. You say you don't meter? Okay then, what's your percentage of really strong keepers when using slide film? Just how do you go about setting up a long exposure? Kids that are frolicking. Timeless expressions. I see stuff by people who eschew auto whatever all the time. It's amazing but I can usually tell when it's been metered correctly and when it hasn't. Oh, you say you are creating and don't want any "techniques" getting in the way? Oh. And you want to be intimate with your subject? Cool. I get intimate with my subjects all the time whether on manual or auto and whether I'm metering or not (except for those pretty girls rollerblading on the boardwalk with their boyfriends then I use a long zoom after metering to make sure I get the shot). It all has it's place. And I'm a zonie and wouldn't think of wasting a sheet or frame of film without knowing what the EI is for wherever I am at any given time. I usually take a reading off a deep shadow and then use that to set my low zone and meter something bright to know how to develope correctly whether B&W, neg or reversal. While you guys are discussing the philosophical merits of auto/manual new/classic zoom/prime nieca/likon ying/yang I'll be out getting the very best all this new technology/old shtuff has to offer. Just don't get in the way of the girls when I'm using my long zoom or I'll "shoot" you. Now there's another topic to haggle over. James

-- james (james_mickelson@hotmail.com), January 08, 1999

Answers

What does politics have to do with creativity? My politics rages from liberal on social issues to conservative on fiscal issues. I quite frankly never made the connection between politics and creativity or lack thereof. As a matter of fact one of the founding fathers of the modern conservative movement was Barry Goldwater, who by all accounts was an accomplished and very creative photographer. Auto vs Manual, I've been shooting for so long that exposure and focus are second nature. Therefore, I rarely use atomated casmeras. As a matter of fact several years ago I taught an adult education photography course and most of the course consisted of how to over- ride the auto features. I must admit, however, that when it comes to holidays and family gatherings, the Nikon F2 stays in the bag and the Nikon Nuvis 110 comes out.

-- Robert Orofino (rorofino@hotmail.com), January 08, 1999.

My Super Graphic just doesn't have the same handling characteristics as my Pentax 90WR.

Odd, that. :-)

Perhaps you have confused "political" with "dogmatic"? Your post meanders all over the place, and it's a bit difficult to follow.

Except for my point&shoot and P645, all of my cameras are manual. Of course, they also complement a shoestring budget.

Nothing wrong with full-auto or full-manual cameras. They are cameras. They expose film.

What is wrong? A person who claims to be a photographer and photographs nothing.

Go forth and photograph!

-- Brian C. Miller (a-bcmill@exchange.microsoft.com), January 08, 1999.

While admiring excellent photographs by others in books, museums and galleries, I don't ever recall questioning whether or not they used a manual or an automatic camera to focus and expose the film. The end result is what matters. Since beginning this exciting craft, I've heard and read tons of bickering on this subject. To me there's really no difference at all between an automatic camera and a manual camera when they have the same photographer behind them. A camera is simply a light-tight box with a hole in it. Whether you're using a shoebox camera or an auto-everything, you're still the one in control. Far as I know there's not a single camera out there that'll automatically compose a shot for you and even tell you how it should look. As the photographer we choose whether to decrease or increase the exposure to create a wanted effect; and to use selective focusing in the same manner. The camera whether manual or automatic isn't the one making these vital decisions. So, to me, the real issue is "fear of technology and the unknown". Photographers fear that now that nearly anyone can pickup a camera and take perfect exposures with perfect focusing that their jobs are in danger. Not! I don't feel I need to go into this cause we've all seen the results of this. Relax folks, your jobs are quite safe. :-)

-- Leslie Ratliff (leslie@carteret.com), January 11, 1999.

Leslie,

Auto meters may be able to come close to perfection with color, but they have a long way to go (non existent, really) before they can expose black and white correctly (which doesn't depend on the contrast range or environmental conditions of the scene before us) because black and white film allows us (if we choose to) to depart completely from reality and record what we "feel" as well as "see", no meter will ever exist which can determine that.

For James,

I had a teacher in college who never used a meter in his 35mm camera, and his throw aways were never based on exposure. His exposures were always perfect--this is no exaggeration.

Mark

-- mark lindsey (lindseygraves@msn.com), January 12, 1999.

I had a teacher in college who never used a meter in his 35mm camera, and his throw aways were never based on exposure. His exposures were always perfect--this is no exaggeration.

There are people around who can do this, and it is just a matter of practice. For example, I have been out shooting with Bob Bennett (click on his name) and he never meters. You would never know it though.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeffs@hyperreal.org), January 12, 1999.

It also helps when you have all the variations to the "sunny 16 rule" in your head. Most know about the "sunny 16" but don't seem to know about all the variations. I think I have a copy of them if anyone is interested.

Mark

-- mark lindsey (lindseygraves@msn.com), January 12, 1999.

I can believe not metering at all with b&w, somewhat with C-41, but no way with E-6. B&W negatives have a greater range than paper, and I have one printable negative from my first roll of Konica IR which is quite dense. E-6, though, requires exact exposure. There is just no leeway with that material.

-- Brian C. Miller (a-bcmill@exchange.microsoft.com), January 13, 1999.

sorry brian, but all he does is slide film and it is exposed perfectly.

mark

-- mark lindsey (lindseygraves@msn.com), January 13, 1999.

I have my dad's archive of Kodachrome with only a few rolls of Ektachrome dating from 1954 through the late 1970's. He used an Argus C-3 and was *not* a professional or even a *serious* amateur. For those of you too young to know what the "brick" was, it was the Model A of 35mm RF cameras with a fixed 50mm f/3.5 lens and a bakelite body. Everything totally manual and *no* meter.

I can believe the remarks about Bob Bennet as my dad was one of those few who could look at a subject, set the aperture and shutter speed, and get a perfect exposure over 99% of the time. Yes there are a few of the hundreds of slides that are off, but you can count them on one hand and still have fingers left over. I have an uncle who can do the same. I watched him do it for almost a week this past Summer shooting slides using an ancient Voigtlander during a vacation trip. My uncle's slide archive runs into the tens of thousands.

Unfortunately I cannot do it; the best I can do is a sanity check between the meter and the "sunny f/16 rule" as adjusted for existing conditions. I use internal meters in the cameras, set the exposure manually most of the time, or occasionally let the aperture priority AE mode on my SLR take over if I think it will choose the right exposure (the rest have no auto mode, just a meter). If I had not witnessed both my dad and uncle shoot slides without metering and seen their consistently perfect results, I would find it hard to believe possible also, but there a few around who don't need a meter.

-- John

-- John Lind (jlind@netusa1.net), January 20, 1999.