All things Outdoors – Camping like loons!

Short answer: “Because if you don’t learn to shoot in manual mode you’ll never have an image of this pansie like the one above, and your life will be dull, cold and empty.” Well, that’s a bit much. We don’t really know how cold it’ll be.

But listen: We chose the shallow depth of field to focus on the pansie in the middle. We set exactly how much blur we wanted in the fore and background. We chose the exact exposure that we wanted. This image from an overcast, late December afternoon in 2024 would not exist had we not learned to use manual mode. We can state with absolute confidence that we’d never have gotten this with any other mode.

Through independent, grant-free research we proved it to be impossible. We set the ISO super high – 1600 – we were worried about noise, but we got away with it because we set the shutter speed to 1/400’s. We can’t tell what the f-stop was because GIMP can’t record it – our vintage Nikkor 50mm, 1:1.4 lens has no electricity. It says: “Exif.Photo.Fnumber ……. F0”, meaning “Damned if we know what the f-number was – because the lens is silent on this data point.”

But, since we know how to shoot in manual mode, we can be almost certain – judging from the depth-of-field that it was a large opening – a small f/number because of the large blur, both in the fore and background. with a small area of sharp focus. We’re gonna say f/4, which is 4 clicks up from f/1.4, which is wide open in our incredible lens. ($60.00, tax in.)

You Should Learn To Shoot In Manual Mode Because…

Stop us if you’ve heard this one, but here is the popular party line on that:

• You, the photographer, have complete control over the crucial elements of photography. (Which is to say: The Exposure Triangle.)
• The process forces the photographer to slow down, and ask themselves “What do I want to say with this image?”
• Photographers are smarter than cameras.
• You’ll make mistakes, a euphemism for “creativity”, that would otherwise not happen. Contrary to popular belief, fish do sometimes jump in the boat. It’s just not widely reported. Like bizarre gardening accidents. We digress.

All of these are valid points, and worthy of your consideration. Cliché? Sure. Cliché. We have a love-hate relationship with clichés, but there’s no denying that they aren’t going anywhere soon because they often, like jokes, contain truth, and are therefore useful. And as we all learned in kindergarten, being useful is the key to a good life, well lived. (Be honest, you can’t tell if we’re kidding here or not, can you?)

In any event, for our money, the Occam’s Razor answer is this:

You can get the shots you want. Of course, you have to keep at it until you get what you want. Sometimes, especially in the first month or so, you won’t. You’ll press the trash icon. Boo hoo. Tissue?

In the plus column, you’ll have learned something useful, even if it’s just some new variation of profanity. If you can’t identify the problem, you can’t come up with a solution. We used to just point the camera, shoot, and then live with the results; keep ’em if we loved ’em, and toss ’em if we didn’t. But now, we don’t give up. We think, make changes, shoot. Repeat. It takes patience. “Work that lasts comes slow.”

If you think that shooting in manual mode is something that you’d like to try, we recorded our experiences in our article Shoot In Manual Mode With Your Cheap, Wonderful, Second Hand DSLR Camera. We’re still learning – everybody is still learning when it comes to photography or music – but we flatter ourselves that what we learned will be easy to understand and apply to your photographic chops.

We were unable to duplicate shots like this in any other mode. Maybe you can. Lot’s of great images are shot in rapid fire whap whap whap whap whap. Fine. No shade. There’s a place for that.

Who’s Smarter, You Or The Camera?

You are. We don’t have time for an argument, the fact is we firmly believe that people are smarter than cameras. (They are smarter than A.I. – too. By the way, here at Lone Loon Song we are an unapologetic anti-A.I. blog. We do not believe what this world needs is more mediocre, insincere, artificial nonsense, cos-playing as “content”. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Please no.) It’s no more complicated than that. Let us back up a smidge, and “Do some s’plainin” as the great Ricky Ricardo would say to Lucy. (Re-runs. We’re not that old! You young ‘uns can fire up Google.)

This is gonna take a while, so if you’re in a hurry, here’s a Table Of Contents:

Why Learn To Shoot In Manual Mode Table Of Contents

Why We Learned To Shoot In Manual Mode – A Brief Tale – We Swear.

In the waning months of 2024, we decided that we wanted a great camera to document our camping, musical, and outdoor adventures. We had a small, not inconsequential and yet quite common problem: we didn’t want to part with any unnecessary scratch. If you know anything about us at Lone Loon Song, you know that our mission is to squeeze the most goodness out of camping – or life, really – for the least amount of money. We aim to share everything we have learned, in the hopes of being useful to our friends.

Through our research, we discovered that it was possible to get DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) cameras of incredible quality for ridiculously small amounts of money. Well, that set the fox among the chickens. Yessir, that got things churning in our parsimonious frugal minds. (If it ignites your curiosity, see our article: How Many Megapixels – Incredible DSLR Cameras For Pennies On The Dollar. We’ve also got articles on how digital sensors work, CCD and CMOS sensors and sensor size and their effect on image quality. We say without any false modesty: Lots of good stuff. See our posts page for a list.)

Putting all of that knowledge to work; we haunted the second-hand shops in Miyazaki City, Japan for about two weeks. Note well that important distinction: second-hand shops – not specialty camera shops. Just like you should never go to a guitar shop for a used guitar. Hell, no. (Although we got super lucky once when we were 16. We still have that guitar, a Gibson Marauder from 1972. You can see and hear it if you go to Colin D. Cochrane’s Youtube Site. – Currently rock and roll music videos only, although we’re toying with the idea of buying a used video camera and going the podcast route. There’s a sweet Sony videocam with a CCD sensor and 12 MP that they’re basically giving away at the second hand shop.)

So, in any event, our advice is either to look online, (which is often a great idea, but sometimes you pay more) or to stick with the second-hand shops: In with the surfboards, old lady organs, microphones, guitars, funky lamps and God only knows what. They have no idea what they have. In fairness, nobody does – that’s why folks love reality shows where the expert comes in and tells you if your family heirloom is a treasure, or trash. Where are they gonna find kids who are experts on lenses and acoustic guitars? Classic stomp boxes, DSLR cameras and microphones? For minimum wage? Yeah. No. Not gonna happen.

On the other hand, the guitar and camera shop people know their business. Sure, go there for regular stuff. Flat wound, heavy gauge strings? “Sure. How heavy? 12s? Got these Ernie Balls folks seem to like.” Advice on printing paper? Absolutely. They are super helpful and they know their stuff. An sd card reader that will take not only sd cards, but also micro sd, ms, and gr inputs for about ¥3000? Yessir. (See image. We’ll tell you a story later, when we knows ya better.)

A Word To The Wise Second-Hand Bargain-Hunter:

However, don’t buy a used lens, or a used camera in a dedicated camera shop, because those guys (and gals) know exactly what that stuff is worth. One of the online guys we really respect (and actually turned us on to our lens by raving about the quality of his lens – and turned us onto the amazing web resource photosynthesis,) went to a specialty camera shop in Akihabara in Tokyo (on a visit) and bought a lens of lesser quality than ours and paid almost 3 x the price. Don’t get us wrong – It was still a great bargain for him, coming from the U.K., but the point is, why stop there? So be smart like the Loons, and you’ll have more money for guitar strings, camping knives, chili and beer. You know, camping and outdoor necessities. We digress…

Our process was: Research on the web, Search the second hand shops, take notes, fire up Google again, check compatibility and cost/quality analysis. (By the way, be sure to have either the cash or a credit card on you when you go to the shops. Do this because you just never know™ – we once found a spectacular U.S. made telecaster for $200. that was no longer there when we went back the next day. That one stung. But just make sure you understand the return policy.)

Set Your Budget, And Stick To It.

We did this for the best part of 3 weeks – with an astronomical budget – for us (of about $200.00 CDN, or ¥20,000) – hanging in the balance before we bought a 2006 era, Nikon D40, crop sensor, 6.1 MP, APS-C CCD sensor equipped, truly wonderful DSLR camera for a little less than $60.00 CDN, or ¥6000. It was “body only” meaning that there’s no lens. That’s actually ideal because you’re not paying for a lesser quality lens. Yes, we’d have to find a lens. That’s a good thing.

It’s pretty much agreed among photographers that lenses are arguably more important to image quality than the camera itself. (And that’s remarkable, because this is a group that can’t agree amongst themselves that kittens are cute, fuzzy and warm.)

It makes no sense to get a “kit” lens thrown in, and then realize that you have to buy another lens later. Essentially that’s paying for a lens you’re going to replace in a month, when you realize it’s not very good. Where’s the economy in that? Spoiler alert: there is none.

So we opted for more research and finally settled on our lens. We had been assured by many different folks on the discussion groups that they were compatible. Excellent. But wait a minute! Hold the damn phone! Something’s not right! How the hell does this lens go on this camera? Gently. That’s how. Don’t force it.

Nikkor (Nikon) lenses are intended to fit on Nikon cameras. (That’s largely true for all brands. Many quality third party lens manufacturers products will work across the big brands, but compatibility is something that needs to be examined closely.)

We had been assured that this 50mm Nikkor lens would work with our D40. Apparently, we had a camera that everyone spoke of fondly, and from all accounts, this was a legendary lens. So what’s the hold-up?

The problem was, our lens was from 1976. That was why it was so inexpensive. Nobody wanted it, no matter how beautiful the images were that it could produce. You couldn’t use any of the modes other than manual. The instant you strayed into another mode we were met with the message “Lens Not Attached!”, although any idiot could see that it clearly was.

Truth be told, we had a two-week window in which we could return both the camera and the lens. A little research revealed that we were unlikely to find a deal like this again. We found two special things that we were damn lucky to find for that amount of money. It wasn’t so much a money thing, as it was a quality thing. These are apparently much sought after items that we were lucky enough to be Johnny-on-The-Spot! We got outstanding quality for pennies on the dollar, but we had to do some work to make the two things work together. All we had to do was to learn to shoot in manual mode.

After weighing our options for nearly two weeks, we decided to go for it. Hey, we’re the Lone Loons! We can do that! Brother, Sister, little missy, and young master – are we glad we did! Had we not been… well, induced to learn to use manual mode, we very much doubt that we would have images like these ones.

Is It Worth It? Learning Manual Mode? (It seems like a lot of work!)

Yes and no. Only if you care about images. If you care about images, then there’s no question. Is it a pain in the ass? Frustrating? Yes. Yes it is. To begin with. Is it a pain in the ass to learn to play the guitar? Yes. It hurts your fingers as well. Is it fun? Yes. Satisfying? Yes, it truly, truly is. (If you think you might like to try, we can help you get started. Not with the guitar, we are certifiably the world’s worst guitar teacher. “Why can you not get this?”. But you can see our article Shoot In Manual Mode With Your Cheap, Wonderful, Second-Hand, DSLR Camera.)

You stand there like a moron, murmuring to yourself like a prime candidate for the noodle house: “Too dark. What’s the best way to get that with this image? Do I need a slower shutter speed? What about blur? More open aperture? Both? What happens if I do this?”

But eventually, if you stand there like a moron long enough, changing things and checking, you get something that’s really cool. And we’re not sure how or even if we can put that feeling into words. Hell, we’re not even sure we want to try. That might cheapen the feeling. Isn’t that why cameras and photography were invented? That whole “A picture’s worth a thousand words” thing, are we right? That’s why there’s art, images and music, because people feel a need to attempt to express the un-expressible. It’s a discussion best resolved around a campfire, over a few beers.

Truth be told, we can’t be sure that if it hadn’t been necessary to learn to shoot in manual that we would have embarked on this journey. We’re mighty glad we did. From our perspective now, (hah! pun intended! Perspective? Get it?) Hell, yeah.

We believe that it’s possible to live high-on-the-hog while practicing maximum frugality. It’s not easy, but it’s possible. We are all about encouraging everyone to Get Out There™ camping! One of the great aspects of being outdoors is recording your adventures with photographs. Recently, we’ve discovered that you can get some super high-quality cameras (second-hand though they may be) for incredible prices. Don’t believe us? Check out our stellar article: How Many Megapixels: Incredible DSLR Cameras For Pennies On The Dollar. We managed to find a truly remarkable DSLR camera (Nikon D40 – circa 2006) and a Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4 non-electric lens for a little less than ¥12000. (That’s about $120. CDN). We have to do everything by hand with this camera. It’s a challenge, but we’re up for it. That’s a deal we’ll always take – a little extra work to gain the necessary knowledge which allows for huge savings and maximum value. We’re not sure what that says about us, but it sure does bringeth us Joy.

Practical Reasons For Learning To Shoot In Manual Mode

You will come to completely understand how the elements of the exposure triangle work, interact with each other, and how to manipulate them with your camera to get the best images possible. It’s not for everyone. We were perfectly happy with the images we got with our iPhone and our point and shoot Olympus. The fact is, we didn’t really know what we didn’t know.

We had no idea of what was possible. Now we do. That’s a bell that can’t be un-rung. This camera and this lens have ruined us. It’s not a question of megapixels, or gimcracks or bells and whistles. Those are distractions.

Unless you know how to shoot in manual mode, you just don’t get to play with the light in purposeful ways. You get what you get. It’s a bit like fast food. (We haven’t been in a fast food restaurant since The Raspberry Jam’s Newfoundland Tour of 19 and 88. Don’t miss it a bit. The fast food. I miss the band tons.)

Can you get great images with the other modes? Sure, lots of people can. But understanding manual mode helps you to use all of the other modes more efficiently. The example we like is a tuner for guitars. They get you mighty close quickly. But you can’t get exactly what you want. Why? Because as good as your tuner is, your ear is better. The same is true for auto focus or whatever. Here’s a simple example. A child in a park. Bars separate you from the child. Do you want the bars, or the child in focus, because the auto focus doesn’t know. But you do, oh my Brothers and Sisters in painting with light. Or you wouldn’t be here.

How To Get Great Photographs In Manual Mode: 6 Easy Steps

1. Leave your camera in manual mode. Practice taking photographs with it every day. Take it with you. Create situations to get good shots.
2. Everything is an interesting subject, if you make it interesting. (See above.) Make it interesting with light, and depth of field.
3. Get “Just one more shot”. But change something. Height, angle, f-stop, shutter speed, or aperture.
4. Remember that you are lucky to be in the position of being able to do this, and that it’s fun, goddamnit!
5. Throw them away if they suck. You think they put the trash button there for yucks?
6. As the great Duane Allman said, “It’s got to be in your lap, man.” It’s in the doing.

Conclusion:

We hope that you will have a go at learning to shoot in manual mode. It’s worth learning. You will be sooooooo glad you gave it a try. Also, don’t be scared of classic old lenses. Holy moly, some of ’em are awesome. Anyway, thanks for being here, we sure hope you enjoyed it, or at least got something out of it. As always, tell your friends, link to us, bookmark us, and we sure hope to see you out there.

Big Love, Colin the Loon.