Apeture: Manual vs Auto

[AggieHunter]

Yesterday I spent a lot of time taking pictures for work. Being in a hurry (and not so worried about getting the best picture I could) I shot in full auto. While taking the pictues I was paying attention to which shutter speed and apeture the camera used to expose the picture. I was noticing that most of the time it was setting the apeture to the f:11-14 range and I'm guessing the average shutter speed was around 450 or so.

When I shoot in Manual I find myself rarely using an apeture over 7ish, unless I'm trying for a particular look (ie longer depth of field), and faster shutter speeds.

I was just curious what range most of you use as your "go-to" for apeture for general pictures. Is it typically up over 10 or do you tend to stay down on the low end?

[Hillary]

This is all dependent on what I am shooting as well.... but most times I change my ap to conencide with the light.

Early mornings, Later afternoons, (basically any time the sun is not extremely bright) I'm usually around f/2.8 (Or bigger) to f/8.

Once the sun is full swing, I tend to stick around F/8-F/16, sometimes I get really small when I am doing a landscape, but I try to fit around these settings.

I find myself more when I take a picture that I am adjusting the exposure on each shot. I will leave the ISO the same, but I will dial down and slow the shutter speed, and vice versa. It is really helping me start to understand how to balance light and dark.

[Shane]

f/8 - f/16 is best for overal lens sharpness and broad depth of field. I try to shoot there for average shots where I'm not trying to get some kind of effect like motion blur or bokeh. As long as there is enough light to get a good shutter speed without bumping ISO up to the noisy range, I'll stick there. Of course, there are times when you want a shallow depth of field or if you just need the extra shutter speed, and then you go to the open end of your aperture (f/1.8, f/2.8, f/4....). If you really want to tame the light and get a longer shutter speed, then you go to the small end (f/22 or so).

You will get the best sharpness out of your lens in the middle usually though.

[axisbuck24]

This is all dependent on what I am shooting as well.... but most times I change my ap to conencide with the light.

Early mornings, Later afternoons, (basically any time the sun is not extremely bright) I'm usually around f/2.8 (Or bigger) to f/8.

Once the sun is full swing, I tend to stick around F/8-F/16, sometimes I get really small when I am doing a landscape, but I try to fit around these settings.

I find myself more when I take a picture that I am adjusting the exposure on each shot. I will leave the ISO the same, but I will dial down and slow the shutter speed, and vice versa. It is really helping me start to understand how to balance light and dark.

Great information! Thanks