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Comment by jmarcher | Hacker News Reader

Not a professional, but I often use manual mode with auto-iso enabled (and auto wb... and auto focus, etc) on in case I want a specific shutter speed and aperture. Arguably not fully manual, but hey!

Yes, fully manual is the best way to miss the moments and should only be used in studio settings.

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There are "program modes" in most modern DSLRs that can achieve exactly this. You shoukd explore the, you can even store multiple P-modes for quick access.

That’s what most of the people I know do. I have three of my more common modes programmed in, but in the end they’re just starting points. Still a lot of real time tweaking, and sometimes the same shot with changes in the balance of ISO, Aperture, and shutter speed can be super interesting.

Program modes have even been available on Film cameras going back to the late 80s and early 90s.

> should only be used in studio settings.

I would tweak that to say "controlled settings". I occasionally use manual in the same fashion as you, but I don't have a studio, or anything close to it.

Yes `controlled settings` is more accurate. :)

Auto iso is better now, but not that long ago higher iso (above 200 really) would introduce unacceptable artifacts into the picture.

For sure, on my D850 (and anything from that era I suppose), I can set the ISO range (minimum and maximum) and the minimum shutter speed (if using A or P mode).

There are many reasons to not use auto iso, in spite of the fact that modern sensors produce much less digital noise than they used to. If you're enlarging your images, or cropping significantly, you'll want images that are as clean as possible. It also tends to vary from camera to camera.

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