aperture and shutter speed control on A300

[LauraSmith]

I'm new to photography - have had my A300 for a few months and just completed my first photography course (non-credit at university).

This may be a ridiculous question, but I need to know: Is there a way to have both aperture and shutter speed control available at the same time? Currently I only know how to set the front dial to control one or the other. It gets frustrating to continuously have to go into the menu to change them back and forth.

Thanks!

[sparkie1263]

I have the A100 and you just have to hold the AV button and you can change it. Hope this helps.

Frank

[dr4gon]

On the A300, no.

In manual mode, the wheel changes the shutter speed and AEL * + wheel changes the aperture.

[DonSchap]

Just to be a little more clear ...

1. Set the mode dial to to M
2. Rotate the control dial to adjust the shutter speed, and while pressing the +/- button, rotate the control dial to adjust the aperture.
3. Shoot the image after the exposure is set, using the EV scale in the viewfinder.

Let us know if this helped ... and post a shot!

[LauraSmith]

Thank you all! I'm glad to hear this and can't wait to get home and check it out.

[Peekayoh]

I'd be surprised if Laura (as a beginner) is looking for full manual control.
Query? Why do you need to go into the menu?
Why not use the Mode Dial to select (S)hutter priority or (A)perture priority?

[LauraSmith]

Peekayoh,

To be honest, I haven't spent the time, yet, to really figure out the S & A modes. We used manual mode in my photography class, so that is what I'm trying to master now. I'm still trying to get my head around low and high F#'s and how those go along with slow/fast shutter speeds, so I'm trying to adjust both of them in manual mode to try out different types of shots. It doesn't come natural yet....takes me a while to think it all through. Using my meter (something I hadn't even heard of before my class) has been very helpful.

I need to pull out my manual and find out how those other modes work....

Thanks!
Laura

[DonSchap]

Laura ... I would like to suggest that you read through the following thread and I believe it may shed some light on your concerns.

"Aperture is worth a thousand bulbs" (<-click on this)

Also read the sticky threads in this forum. Lots of important stuff you will need sometime on your educational roll.

Good luck.

[Peekayoh]

Ok Laura, so in Class they teach you all about the nuts and bolts of Photography; you use a hand held meter and learn about the relationship between shutter, aperture and ISO speed. And that's great but by and large that's where manual mode stays, in the classroom I mean. You see, in 1958 someone at Minolta had the bright idea of putting the exposure meter inside the 35mm camera to make things easier for us amateurs. So my advice is to select (A)perture priority Mode and get out there and have some fun with your A300.

[Elisha]

I have to say the only time I ever use Manual mode is when i'm using off camera lighting.
Otherwise I only use A or S.