The One Exposure Mode To Rule Them All

[@MarkLewis-l3f]

A purist who still sees the craft as art & insists on treating it that way is so rare now. Major props sir.

[@wanneske1969]

You don't get noise pictures because of high iso but because of the lack of light. Most modern cameras have no problems with Iso 10.000. Getting the exposure right in camera is better than brightening the pic in postprocessing, this will give you more noise. Great video btw !

[@nancyross2897]

Thanks!

[@TinManLee]

Awwww thank you so much Nancy!

[@countrylapi9245]

I love to hear a photographer who shoots full manual. I have never used Auto ISO. I refused for exactly that reason. Especially in fast changing situations. When I'm being the lens, I'm a human light meter. Many times after I shoot I have no idea what I got till later because the concentration on the exposure being perfect saves me time and time again. I'm always fixed aperture. And I have a starting ISO depending on the situation. But both shutter speed and ISO can be changed in a fraction of a second if you live in the mode of light. Not the point and shoot and depend on the camera to do anything on it's own. I love these stories and examples. I live on my live histogram in my Z8. And because I already know where I'm at at all times, I can immediately decide whether shutter speed or ISO is the answer. Thanks for the videos. Well done. Because they help prepare us for our dream situation not to be ruined.

[@fredbenjamin7072]

Tin Man, Thank you for this great educational resource. This is one of the best photography videos I’ve ever seen. Plus, the emotion and humility that you shared really moved me. Wow!

[@johnnyi2121]

your best video to date! nicely done...

[@TinManLee]

Huge thanks! Means a lot as I put in a lot of time on this one. Many more to come. Stay tuned.

[@knightryderbelow]

Live dangerously for perfection! I must learn all tips from the Master!

[@mikeyseifert80]

New photographer and sub here. I've been really enjoying your perspective and overall approach to photography. I initially shot in M w/ auto iso w/ good results. However with a max aperture of 7.1 my setup struggled in the early hours. I recently switched to full manual and the results are night and day difference. Also photography in general has become more rewarding having chosen the correct setting and nailing the shot w/out the assistance of the camera. Love the content, and your zen vibes... keep up the great work!

[@steveteoh58]

What an eye-opener and one of the best video around for wild life shots and even street photography under trick lighting conditions. I used Auto ISO with limits on the lowest and highest ISO and lowest shutter speed. After watching this video I'm more mindful of overriding the Auto ISO settings and shutter speed to close in on the desired results. Great Job Tin Man !!!

[@timothyportas629]

Another great video Tin Man! Thanks for such a detailed but simple to comprehend approach to photography in low light conditions. The male lion images are spectacular!

[@TinManLee]

Big thanks Tim. How you doing? Any good kangaroo shots lately? Any travel plan?

[@timothyportas629]

Unfortunately, I haven't had many opportunities for photography recently but I'm heading to the pantanal in a few months.

[@ThatMarkGilroy]

Damn this was full of great tips. Thanks Tin Man!

[@MaxTribble-r6o]

Absolutely awesome. Well done!

[@ivorgottschalk6432]

Superb advice, thanks Tin Man!

[@davidwilliams4839]

Awesome video and teaching thoroughly enjoyed this one.

[@eddieramirez1870]

Very good video. I learn a lot. What you say makes a lot of sense. Thank you for your valuable information.

[@hakataramea]

Very good video. I have just started to use exposure compensation. Sometimes I have had a lighter background and a darker subject. I compensate to get the subject brighter. Then I have struggled to find the right balance. Should I keep my background OK, and let the subject be a little too dark, or should I ignore the almost blown out background and only expose for the subject. I guess there is always a balance that needs to be found. Once again, good video.

[@rodrigoshariff]

Fully agree with your recommendations in the video, I wish Canon had live blinkies. Auto ISO is so annoying.

[@CalzNL]

Auto iso is great when set properly with min-max iso.

[@spillebeenkenny7120]

@@CalzNL I have a Canon R7 and if you shoot in manual ISO mode you cant change the exposure compensation, in Auto ISO no problem...is this normal? Thanks

[@EdDavey-ve6ho]

Hi Tin Man, great video, very informative, some useful tips! Quick question, do you always use matrix/evaluative metering when shooting in full manual as described in your video above, or do you sometimes use other methods such as spot metering? Thanks, Ed.

[@chrisjones311]

I really loved this video. Thank you

[@TinManLee]

Thanks that means a lot and I will make more.

[@ScottRitchie-bw9ls]

Great stuff Tin Man. I couldn't agree more, and I'm totally manual and do that similar sort of thing with the finger and thumb. I shoot a canon R5 and I hope the new model has Blinkys in it, live Blinkys. I Enjoy your stuff.

[@martinpettinger]

I love this combination of index finger for speed and thumb controlling the ISO...you just need to believe ... it works ! 😀 ( shooting canon R3 )

[@edwardstatham7008]

Great video, thank you so much

[@4EverBergen]

Great video 👏🏾 but what do we need the hdmi cable for?🤔

[@TinManLee]

Oops sorry for the confusion. It’s just a coincidence that highlight driven metering by ISO dialing has the same name.

[@elizabethhicks322]

I loved your video. When you talk about the zebras, do they show up in the viewfinder like the histogram or do you have take a photo and view them on the taken photo? On my Canon, I can see the histogram in my viewfinder before I take the photo, but to see the blinkies, I have to take the photo and then review it to see the blinkies.

[@Jonathantuba]

With Sony you see in the viewfinder as you shoot. I use all the time to avoid over exposure

[@TinManLee]

Good question Elizabeth. And thanks Jonathan for your answer. Yes Sony shows the blinkies IN THE VIEWFINDER! No need to review it later. It's a game changer! I own Canon too. One suggestion is to enable RGB histogram instead of just the brightness histogram because the red channel always got blown first if its bright.

[@mathkaory1229]

Need to test that! If you set iso back wheel and shutter front, where you setup your aperture to be the most efficient?

[@muleskinnerpro]

Thanks again for some helpful information!

[@TinManLee]

So glad it helped.

[@Samer.photografer1]

Could you do an episode for us on photography at night, because it is very difficult and what do we need? Thank you. I learned a lot from you

[@TinManLee]

What are you photographing at night? Milky way? Northern light? or general night photography?

[@iShootWild]

Assuming that your lens (and possibly camera) has stabilization, will you turn it off when your shutter speed is really high like 1/1000 or 1/2000? Basically, at what point do you turn off the stabilization? Or never turn it off?

[@viktorpaulsen627]

You have a good algorithm there. Anyway, one should be aware that real exposure is controlled only with shutter speed and aperture, whereas ISO is amplification after the capture. Since most Sony cameras are "ISO invariant", one can get almost as good result by amplifying in post processing as by amplifying in camera by increasing ISO. But again, your algorithm is just fine, and I like it.

[@TinManLee]

You are absolutely correct. Thanks for your comment. Yes. No need to push the histogram to the extreme for Sony and Nikon sensors as they are both Sony sensors so as many brands. Canon sensors don’t seem to have as good iso invariance so gotta be more careful. But still lately I’ve been experimenting and somehow pushing histogram to the right in extreme low light still seem to generate better results but I don’t have a lot of quantitative reports. Just visually.

[@richardmondor1360]

Great video Tim Man......i guess the old KISS theory still applies we just tend to look beyond it in search of a magical in camera setting instead.

[@TinManLee]

Very true, it all comes down to the fundamentals!

[@sannes3185]

Great video! Thanks!

[@chasmoonie3403]

I still use Manual with auto ISO, and tweak exposure as and when required, never fails 👍👍

[@ro3843]

Wow. Amazing video.

[@17DGG231AJHH_DJ]

Loved this video!

[@TinManLee]

Big thanks!

[@Aviator168]

This is a great story. Thnx. Question. While in manual mode, the EV on my Canon mirrorless doesn't do a thing no matter what is set to. Is this normal?

[@TinManLee]

Thank you. While in manual, when you want to make the image brighter, you can reduce the shutter speed, reduce the f-stop or increase the iso. When in the other modes, the camera changes some of those settings for you so you lose a bit of control.

[@wildcat1065]

A lot to learn from this video

[@daleelliott5851]

Great video Tim man , I use a Sony A1 were do you have your sensitive set on you zebra. Are you using back button for focusing!

[@woodypigeon]

I love that shot of the raven,

[@DarwinFanF]

My jaw dropped seeing the pictures you got the settings right. Thanks for the video. Personally, I think the hotel is cursed.

[@bluesscribe]

Highlight blinking is available way back to the Nikon D850.

[@generaltso9402]

I learned about the Zebra mode from Art Morris. Unfortunately only Sony has it available for photography.

[@wanneske1969]

I prefer manual and auto iso in these situations. High Iso is not a problem on my camera. And you can always over-or underexpose.

[@DavidRose-nonichemedia]

Cool cool🎉Thank You

[@Juno_Beach]

Bro you're killing me

[@TinManLee]

lol why

[@KAUIEONG]

100% Manual mode is the best once you get a hang of it! 🎉

[@alisonandguywildlifephotograph]

I did exactly the same mistake in Costa Rica on red macaws …the most beautiful shots 100 odd … if in focus ..got 2 mediocre by luck on 1dx mkii

[@4EverBergen]

Haha no worries 😊

[@photoreviewed-com]

Tons of useful knowledge, even for experienced photographers. Thank you!

[@arunakalu]

Tin man, thanks for the video, but my question is when you are in a hurry how to get this right. When I shoot landscapes, I have all the time to ETTR, but when an animal is walking towards you, doing all that takes so much practise I guess. Cheers man, I love your videos.

[@TinManLee]

Good question Aruna. The reason I used full manual is to avoid the ISO jumping around with auto ISO, especially on situation when animals are coming towards us, where the background can change drastically. Some say their mirrorless works ok on auto ISO but not my case with Nikon or Sony. Yes its a bit more work but its super fun to get that perfect shot fully knowing all the settings.

[@arunakalu]

@@TinManLee I use a Nikon Z8, yes, I may have encountered similar situations as you explain here. I will keep your tips in mind for next time. Lots of practice and experimentations. Cheers TinMan, you are awesome and your photography is awesome(r)!! 🙌

[@harrison00xXx]

I learned to avoid ETTR.... my best shot yet was done in very poor light with a F6.3 lens (Sigma 150-600), even at F8 to increase DoF for a subject at about MFD. Because i exposed to the right to increase details in the mainly darker areas, i overexposed a small part of the birds head into oblivion. The DR of my APS-C Canon is limited anyways, but at ISO 16.000 its notable less and that fact i forgot or had no time to care about in this moment. I would rather go to a high ISO like 25.600 than going ETTR mainly. In fact my Auto ISO limit in my wildlife setting is now ISO 25.600. ISO 16.000 look as bad since its a half step so i rather do a regular (auto) exposed image at a higher ISO. Same goes for lets say ISO 8000 in auto ISO.... ISO 6400 is the better pick or straight to 12800 with a higher shutter speed. The thing is, at least when it comes to my hobbyists wildlife photography in the local area, i have some annoying compromises to make regarding the shooting itself - As said, my R7 is pretty limited in DR, add to that mainly "slow" lenses such as F6.3 usable sharp at F8 or my 800mm F11 Canon lens. In Dusk or Dawn i often have to rely on manual focus and with much luck some lit up focus peaking dots on the screen or EVF, under not so good light AF struggles also on both lenses. The 800 F11 is pretty much handheld only used and nice for it, the Sigma 150-600 is bulky, has bad stabiliser and for video a tripod is a must have. So i either pick ultra range, low weight and good stabiliser or more light but heavy and "no" stabiliser. The exposure diagram i use mainly to check if my manual settings with Auto ISO match what i want/need, and change exposure compensation according to that. Rarely when i know its poor light i even go to manual ISO 25.600 since i know the camera would need it anyways and go as high as i can with shutter speed, typically its like 1/60 to 1/250 about, with much luck 1/500. Since i have only 2 dials on the R7 my main settings i choose are shutter speed and aperture, exposure compensation is on a button press via one of the dials.

[@CalzNL]

The auto exposure changes so rapidly on mirrorless because of the metering mode you are using!!

[@adamr8628]

You should have 10 cameras set up with different settings on each one, then you won't keep missing the shots! I'm a beginner and I typically get the shot. Lol

[@hugoportus5526]

Thank you for the humility of revealing your secrets. I experienced a similar process and I am in manual mode since it is the only way to feel and handle that I take the photo and not the camera. congratulations on your work and the success you have Sorry for the bad English, it is not my native language.

[@ShoebSaiyad]

Learned a lot by just one video ! I can relate with this video very well... I experience it myself. Went on capture tigers all the way from New Zealand to India. Early morning safari, Tiger was walking head-on towards us and it was a dream shot with little sun rays coming from the canopy - mesmerising movement. I was shooting on Canon R5 in Manual with Auto ISO and guess what - majority of the photos are too noisy and not as sharp. I wish I knew this before I had gone for Tiger Safari to India. Thanks a lot for explaining such a simple and most important shooting technique.

[@CalzNL]

Really just user error in every example. You can also just use the zebra method in combination with aperture priority mode and min-max auto iso and on new sonys you can even tell the camera that high shutter speeds are important so it won't go too low suddenly.

[@ronbosman415]

Great video ,but i do'nt like the music,you are one of the best,but the music is to much for you like a pro Photograher .

[@nxu5107]

What a long video to tell one thing! Can you not get to the point quicker? Most photographers will have highlights and histograms on anyway.

[@jimpool6096]

I wish you would get to the point a bit sooner.

[@donaldbrocksmith9508]

Wasted my time watching and listening to this. Sorry.

[@mckenzietackle]

Good stuff! Thanks!