Manual Mode
Or how to become an expert photographer in just a few minutes.
Page Last Edited : Saturday, 31st of May 2025.
© Dave Rowlands. All Rights Reserved.
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Manual Mode
Many years ago, there was a lot of information plastered all over the internet about using a selection on your main dial on the top, or in the menu selections of your camera that would instantly turn you into a "professional" photographer in the blink of an eye.
Don't get me wrong, there was a lot of good advice out there about using manual mode to achieve the look you were after in your images, the problem was that you needed to know and understand how various parts of your camera system interacted with each other to produce that once in a lifetime image you were after of that flower at the bottom of your garden growing out of the mud and grime with rocks protecting it from the harsh winds and battering rain.
You were given information on how "Aperture", "Shutter Speed", and "ISO" (ASA & DIN in the film days) affected your resulting images. Manual mode to me has always been "Manual Mode", no automation at all in any part of the picture-taking process that happened after you pressed the shutter button, believe it or not. Still, there is a lot of "Automation" going on during that time, for instance, in "Aperture Priority" mode, you choose the lens opening depending on what you want in focus or not and how the out-of-focus parts look. In the background, the camera chose the shutter speed, and if you had set the camera up to ensure you didn't go below a certain speed, ISO was also selected by the camera to make sure the slowest shutter speed you chose wouldn't get any lower.
The same kind of automation happened in "Shutter Priority" mode where you selected the speed of the shutter depending on the results you were after and the camera chose the appropriate lens aperture to make sure there was enough light getting to the sensor for a properly exposed image, but, as in aperture mode you may have decided to let the camera adjust ISO to make sure that everything worked together for that correct exposure and if the lens didn't have a larger aperture the camera would choose the next available ISO value for your image.
There is also "Program Mode" where you can select any of the three adjustments that affects exposure and the camera will automatically select the correct values for the other "Two" settings, or you can just set your camera up to automate everything and pretend that you can affect the exposure using the dials on top to affect how much light is getting to the sensor or how sensitive the sensor is to the light available at the time. "Program Mode" without auto ISO lets you select the shutter speed or the aperture value and the camera would select the correct settings for the correct exposure. Let's say you reduce your shutter speed by one stop the camera would choose the next smallest aperture value or if you open up your lens by two stops the camera would try and set the shutter to a higher shutter speed to compensate for the extra light coming through the lens. If the camera can't manage to get the correct exposure then usually the displayed values would flash on and off on screen. This is where I find "Auto ISO" handy on occasions.
What I really want from a camera is a "Manual" setting that is truly "Manual". In other words nothing at all is automated. The equipment we carry around with us can and will give us a preview of whatever settings we have chosen, we become the brain behind each settings change. There is an absolute wealth of information regarding how "Aperture", "Shutter Speed", and "ISO" values affect the end result and you could spend forever reading about it all and less time not taking photographs which would be a shame.
Following are some photographic bits and pieces that I lusted after while taking photographs using my fully manual Russian made Zenit B in the 70's, these bits and pieces made it much easier to achieve correctly exposed negatives and slides at the time and now are just redundant unless you happen to own a fully manual camera. They were always too expensive on my meager income as an apprentice electrician and could never hope to own one.
One of my possessions is the Weston Euro Master exposure meter released in 1974 which was a few years after the Zenit B arrived on the scene, along with the "Invercone" for taking incident light measurements instead of reflected light readings which can provide more pleasing results as it takes into account the light falling on your subject and the light behind. This was the last model of "Master" by Weston and apart from the dial it's identical the the Weston V (which I also own).
You will also notice that "ISO" (ASA on the meter), "Aperture", and "Shutter Speeds", are all there in front of you, the other reading not mentioned very often is the "EV", "Exposure Value" one, the link takes you to Wikipedia where an explanation of EV is a better read than my interpretation would be.
I have two other Weston Master Exposure meters, the IV and V and they all work and after some rudimentary tests they appear to be within about a third of a stop of each other and of course with the ability to edit the raw data for each image it isn't hard to achieve well exposed photographs.
The Weston Master V released in 1963 and a page out of the the instruction manual shown below
The Weston Master IV above with it's sleek black dial and the great addition of a needle lock wich made taking incident readings much easier, this model came out in 1960, I was 9 years old then and would never have afforded one on my paper round income. It went well with the Zenit B though as the camera was built like a tank and this meter wasn't far behind.
A better look at the black dial of the Master IV with the calculator dial taking center stage, this is the way it should be held when using it. I have owned and used practically all of the Weston Master models at one time or another but I've only decided to hold onto the four I have now. I prefer the IV just because of the thumb-sized button that allows you to lock the reading.
Of course, the trouble with manual mode is that looking at the results of your ingenuity there isn't too much difference in the Jpegs created by the camera but once you start editing the RAW data things take on another dimension. The Olympus cameras though create some beautiful Jpegs with colour and saturation just about right.
Exposure Readings
Exposure Readings
I took some reading using the meters of the same scene and I was impressed at how accurate they were given how old they are. These meters rely on a selenium cell which over time can deteriorate, there are many of these meters sold with faulty cells.
You will notice that the needle is roughly in the same position on the scales but exposure values are different and moving the exposure calculator dial provides basically the same result. The EV is shown to be the same on the IV, V and the Euro but it it's very hard to see in the Euro version. Included below are 100% zooms of the dials. The original was taken using the Panasonic DMC-FZ20 and it's still quite a capable camera even though it's 20 years old (as of 2024) I use it to take quick product shots of stuff I'm offering for sale. It's going to be replaced with my Nikon P600 when it eventually fails, if it does. I have visions of it still ticking along years after the P600 has given up.
So why use a manual exposure meter when the camera you are using has a perfectly respectable meter that be used as a spot meter, center weighted average meter, overall average, well, it's built in just to make life easier for the camera user.
Using a manual meter means taking your time or taking an incident reading and applying those settings until you notice the light changing, not only that but it's a whole lot of fun and there is always someone wanting to know what you are doing.
I still want to be able to have a manual mode on modern cameras that can switch off anything automated with the exposure. I don't want the choice of Auto ISO, Auto Shutter Speed and Auto Aperture in that mode, of course Focus Peaking and magnification should still be available but that's it. Set one ISO value and adjust shutter and aperture based on a hand held exposure meter or experience. I don't need the camera to tell me I'm wrong by flashing on and off one or all these individual settings.
For a true "Manual Only" experience you will need these items:
1 .. Camera with the ability of accepting lenses over 30 years old with an adapter.
2 .. A manual only lens that allows you to focus and change aperture on the lens itself.
3 .. An exposure meter that lets you choose ISO, Aperture, and Shutter speed.
My usual setup for landscapes and a walkabout:
1 .. Olympus OM-D E-M5 II with a Canon FD to M43 Adapter.
2 .. Tamron 28mm F2.5 (02B) and Canon FD mount adapter.
3 .. Weston Master IV.
I setup the camera to manual mode, ISO 200 if the weather is reasonable or ISO 400-800 if it looks bleak. I set the ASA value on the exposure meter to match. A lot of the times I'll use the Invercone to take Incident readings and I get some really good results.
But for a different approach see One Lens, One Month, and all in Manual Mode
The panoramic view below was created using the E-M5 II and Tamron 28mm f2.5 combination, shutter speed was 1/1250th second, f5.6 and ISO 200. I didn't use the invercone for these shots and just pointed the meter towards the hills pointing slightly downwards. I used ICE by Microsoft to quickly stitch the five exposures together. I normally fix any errors I find in the stitching but didn't bother with this one.
The images below are what I stitched together using Microsoft ICE or to give it it's full name "Image Composite Editor".
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