EOS Rebel T6 -The difference between M and AV modes?

[Dianoban]

Have a Canon EOS Rebel T6s with a lens EF-S 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6.  Do not know how to use it.  Like to use it for street photography.  This is my set up:

Shutter speed: 1/500 second for preventing camera shake.

Aperture: 3.5 ~ 5 for decreasing ISO speed rating. (Not sure whether it does.)

ISO: auto

With these settings, what is the proper mode to be set, M mode or Av mode?  And what is the difference between these two?

Thank you.

Dianoban

[stevet1]

Dianoban,

I understand your reasoning, but your settings have some ramifications that you need to take into account. 

A shutter speed of 1/500ths of a second will take care of camera shake, but it also means that your camera sensor is only going to be exposed to the light for a fraction of a second - 1/500ths of a sec. If you are shooting at that speed, your camera is going to raise your ISO in order to compensate. If you slow your shutter speed down, your ISO will drop propotionately, if you are in good light.

A really wide aperture will let in more light, but aperture also controls your depth of field. A wide aperture will have less of your picture in focus. If you would like to take a picture of a subject in its surroundings, and have all of that in focus, you might consider an aperture of around f/7.1 or f/8.

There is a saying that lenses hit their sweet spot, if they are stopped down a stop or two from their widest setting.

You have a variable aperture lens, which means that as you increase your focal length, your minimum aperture gets smaller and smaller. I have the same lens as you do, and it hits f/5.0 at 50mm, and goes to f/5.6 at 85mm.

Since you are just starting out, you might try putting your camera in P (or Program) Mode for a little while and let your camera set the aperture and shutter speed. Use auto ISO. Bring a little notebook with you and jot down the various settings your camera chose in different lighting situations. Was it bright and sunny? Or dark and gloomy?, etc. After a while, you'll begin to get a feel for what your camera is looking for.

Hope this helps.

Steve Thomas

Steve Thomas

[LeeP]

Street photography is my "thing" i.e. the majority of my work.

For digital I use an R100 with the 28mm pancake lens and totally let the camera do its program thing. The SOOC (straight out of camera) results are pretty excellent 90% of the time. Only when there is low light or fast action to I take the reins in hand.

The ethic of street photography is SOOC and decisive moment. I may do slight--very slight--adjustments to contrast, highlights, shadows, and exposure, but not much. 

Everyone gets to do what they want. Frankenstein images built in Photoshop are an anathema to me because for me assembled images aren't photography. But again, "you do you and I'll do me" is how I operate.

I will say that if you develop your eye to capture the decisive moment, you won't need to create Frankensteins (sic) in Photoshop.