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29th August - 2001 How do I get past all-automatic camera settings?
Q. I have an all-automatic camera but I’d like to unrestrict myself from this limitation. Is anything possible?
dp-now.com:
Many budget cameras have all-automatic exposure systems that are designed to deliver good all-round results, but limit creativity in certain situations. Many such systems provide a + or – exposure override of up to 2 EVs (exposure values). These are for dealing with particularly bad situations where the subject might be silhouetted out - so you would deliberately over-expose (+EV) or where the lit subject might be surrounded by relative darkness – so you’d deliberately under-expose (-EV).
Making the shutter speed faster
If the picture you want to take needs a faster shutter speed to help freeze action or counter possible camera shake, you can try to use the -EV option. This will under-expose the image, but this is less of a lost cause than an over-exposed one and can be optimised later using an image editing program.
Avoid camera shake
If you are more worried about camera shake than anything else, set the camera down on a solid surface if you can and carefully press the shutter release while holding the camera steady.
Another tip if you have to hand hold the camera is to brace your arms down to the elbows against your chest and, if possible, lean against solid structure like a wall.
Slow that shutter speed down
But if the available light is good and you want to slow down the shutter speed. Maybe you'd like to create a picture where the blur of motion (see picture) can be captured by a slow shutter speed. What can be done if there is no manual shutter speed or shutter priority (SP) option? Using the +EV over-exposure control might slow the shutter down, but it might also just open the lens aperture up and in any case, you're just going to get an over-exposed image.
Filters
A possible solution is to deliberately reduce the light reaching the lens. Normally, you would use a filter for this; typically a neutral density filter. This is a filter than absorbs light across the spectrum, allowing the final image to retain its colour balance. Unfortunately, few small cameras have a filter thread or other facility for fitting filters.
Use those shades
As an emergency measure I have been known to resort to using sunglasses over the lens. Most shades have a colour tint, but the beauty of digital is that this can be corrected later on using image editing software.
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