Manual vs Aperature-priority
 

I'm considering buying an A1, but I read something in a review that concerned me. I shoot primarily weddings, but some corporate and other events. I using a Sony PD-170 right now, and whatever HDV cam I go with, I will sorely miss the low-light capability.

Anyhow, with my 170, I always shoot with the shutter set to 1/60 in manual mode. I often shoot with the iris on auto unless I am in tricky lighting, but the press a single button puts it manual mode and I can adjust to suit my needs. If I want auto-iris back, I just press that same button. All the while, the shutter still in manual set to 1/60.

I read that on the A1, Canon uses the mode dial, giving you the choice between P, A, S, and M. Well, it seems to shoot like I'm used to, I would set it to Shutter priority and 1/60. But, when I want manual control of the iris, I can't just press a button. I would need to turn the mode dial to M. There's where my questions are...

1) can I switch to M while shooting?
2) if I can, does it mess up where the shutter speed is set?
3) when switching back to shutter priority from M, will the shutter setting change?
4) is it ridiculous to switch modes while shooting because I should just be in M mode all the time?

When the light isn't tricky, I love using auto-iris, as it can adjust faster than I can. But when lighting gets tricky, I love being able to pop into manual iris and make my adjustments.

Any suggestions? Is this just not the camera for me if I switch between auto and manual iris while shooting?

Thanks,
Dan

You don't need to change mode - just one push of the EXP LOCK button toggles between auto/manual exposure (with constant manual shutter speed) - very much like the PD170, V1 etc.

Incorrect. You can indeed just press a button. Shoot in Tv mode as usual, and when you want full manual control of exposure, simply press the Exposure Lock button. To return to auto iris, press Exposure Lock again. The Exposure Lock button does exactly what you want it to do -- it toggles between auto iris and manual iris when shooting in Tv mode. Hope this helps,

That is great! That was my primary concern, and I was getting my information soley from this review I read. I guess it's a non-issue then.

Thanks for the quick responses!

Dan

It's amazing how much disinformation there is in reviews. Always come here first.

Learn something new every day on this site.

Thanks