How important is this to you? (A two-part question)

Jock Elliott

Hall of Famer
Location
Troy, NY
1. That you can see and adjust the critical settings of your camera without switching it on.

and

2. Which settings are critical?


On my FZ cameras,I can only see and change Mode (PASM, etc) and lens focus status (auto, manual, macro) and on the Canon G12,I can see and change ISO, exposure comp, and mode. It would be nice to be able to see and change exposure comp, shutter speed, and aperture.

Cheers, Jock
 
I used to think it was greatly important, which is part of the reason I bought a Fuji X100. In reality, when I'm taking out my camera, I'm usually keeping an eye on the scene, and only check and adjust settings once I've decided on a composition.

I do try to have the aperture at f/2.8 or f/4 when I turn the camera off, because they're pretty versatile apertures IMO, and exposure compensation at 0. I use the camera in Aperture priority mode 99% of the time.

I don't know if there're cameras that do this, but if one could set values for the exposure settings that automatically apply whenever the camera starts up (assuming there's no dedicated marked dial for that setting, ofcourse), that'd be pretty useful.

Besides the exposure settings, I'd say drive mode and focusing mode are the ones that can delay or screw up your photos the most if you've accidentally got the wrong setting.
 
I don't think that it is very important all. If I'm looking at the physical settings on a camera to make sure it is set up for the shot that I want to take, I can just as easily turn it on and do the same by looking at the electronic display.
 
The first doesn't matter to me at all. When I'm shooting, my camera tends to be on, so I very rarely need to adjust anything when it's off. In terms of WHAT adjustments matter, it depends. Aperture and exposure compensation always need to be readily available for me. Shutter speed not nearly as critical for me. And depending on how sophisticated a camera's auto-ISO setup is (and how capable the sensor is), getting to ISO quickly and easily may matter a lot. But this is rarely an issue with today's amazing sensors. I know I used to LOVE Ricoh's interface because it made changing ISO on the fly easier than any other camera I'd ever used. With the new generation of sensors, though, they tend to be so good up to such a high ISO that I pretty much never feel the need to change ISO on a shot to shot basis, and with a programmable enough auto-ISO implementation, almost never. Which is a big part of why I ended up choosing the Nikon A over the Ricoh GR when I shot them back to back - Ricoh's incredible ability to adjust ISO on the fly didn't matter to me with the sensors in those cameras and Nikon's more sophisticated auto ISO programmability made manual ISO adjustments almost completely irrelevant. As times and technology change, so do the adjustments I have to make. Actually, I still have a thing for easily available exposure comp dials, but with today's incredible high DR sensors, even those are rarely all that necessary. I use 'em out of habit and instinct and sometimes it matters, but it matters less and less, on fewer and fewer shots...

-Ray
 
1. Very. In fact it's the biggest single aspect of the X-T1 that appealed to me when it was announced, and continues to be the most useful aspect of it for me in use. It extends slightly beyond the framing of your question, though... it isn't just that I can see how it's set before I turn it on, it is also the fact that I prefer a marked dial when making those adjustments over a digital menu, regardless of whether the camera is on or off.

2. ISO, Aperture, Shutter speed, and EV comp. I use them all fairly often. Reading everyone else's responses, I think perhaps the reason I use shutter speed a lot (and they don't) might be that I shoot a lot of pictures while also riding bike. In those cases, I usually reach into the camera bag, my fingers find the shutter dial, I press the lock in and click it over in the correct direction 3-4 clicks to get something like 1/500 or 1/1000, all before I take the camera out of the bag, much less turn it on. I can't really take my eyes off the road for more than a split second. This also makes me prefer the fuji lenses with marked ap rings, so I can habitually twist them to the full A stop with my middle finger without looking. On that 5 week long trip, I was able to adjust all 4 of those things while biking, using only my right hand, so I could steer and brake with the left hand.

edit: I also wish the Presets were a dial sometimes, because I switch those somewhat often. I have them assigned to the little button on the camera's face, under my middle finger when holding the grip. Then I roll the thumb wheel to what I want and half-press the shutter, so it's still a 1-handed operation, but when I turn the camera on, I have to look down to see what jpg profile I'm in. Minor annoyance, due mostly to how the other "important" aspects for me are tactile.
 
When I'm shooting, my camera tends to be on,

Side note: I am the opposite. I blame the 3 years I spent working with cell phones a million years ago, but I am a habitual battery miser. Literally, habitual. I am a "turn that off you're wasting batteries" nazi. Seeing people walk around with a camera that's turned on, but they're not even looking at it or using it, gives me shivers. I check my settings, THEN turn it on, frame, fire, and flick the lever off before it's even done writing the jpg. If I am walking around an area where I know I will be shooting with the EVF only, I disable the LCD. And I have 2 extra batteries... it's not like running out of juice would more than a 6-second inconvenience.
 
+1 to everything Kyle just said (except that I am never riding a bike while shooting.....actually never riding a bike period)

I also never have the camera on unless I am actively shooting. My battery goes weeks without seeing the charger.
 
Side note: I am the opposite. I blame the 3 years I spent working with cell phones a million years ago, but I am a habitual battery miser. Literally, habitual. I am a "turn that off you're wasting batteries" nazi. Seeing people walk around with a camera that's turned on, but they're not even looking at it or using it, gives me shivers. I check my settings, THEN turn it on, frame, fire, and flick the lever off before it's even done writing the jpg. If I am walking around an area where I know I will be shooting with the EVF only, I disable the LCD. And I have 2 extra batteries... it's not like running out of juice would more than a 6-second inconvenience.

I have to admit I've gotten a LOT more relaxed about this since I've been shooting a DSLR. The Df is "rated" at something like 1400 shots per charge, but all I know is I can shoot normally for a typical week before I see a single bar come off the charge. I don't think those things use ANY juice when you're not actually changing something or shooting. Live view uses a ton, but a flapping mirror only uses it when it's flappin'... I'll put the Df in the bag without remembering to turn it off and then days later I'll pick it up and, realize I'd left it on, but it had eventually put itself to sleep and hadn't used a bit of battery.

But I was mostly the same with mirrorless too. I'd leave 'em on when I was actively shooting and turn 'em off for lunch or if I had to move a pretty good distance from one location to another with little chance of shooting anything between. It's probably a result of doing so much street shooting - when I'm walking down the street looking for street moments, there's no way in hell I have the camera turned off. I'd miss 90% of the shots I get if I worked that way... But if I ever put a mirrorless camera away left on, the battery would be dead the next time I picked it up...

-Ray
 
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