Who uses iA Intelligent Auto Mode?

[ralf-11]

and why?

same question for iA+ mode...

 

[Toddster]

I'll start. While I do not regularly use the iA modes for shooting there are circumstances that I will switch it on.

1. When handing my camera to someone else to take a picture (usually of my wife and I).
2. When loaning a camera to a niece, nephew or friend that is not a photographer.
3. When I need to get a shot quickly and don't know what the current camera settings are. Although in this case I am more likely to just use my C1 setting.
4. At a casual family event that I just don't want to think about settings.

If it's for someone else it will be iA, if it's for me it will be iA+ so that I get the RAW file.

 

[Mike Wingate]

Hopefully always left in iA mode, so I can react and get that quick shot without thinking about appropriate settings.

 

[Ross the fiddler]

I remember using my Pentax SF-7 film camera in Auto all the time, because it worked & saw no need to use other modes (or so I thought) & then in the digital age when I bought my first Olympus it was the E410 DSLR, except my son was old enough to know how to use it, & make his own adjustments, using manual etc. So Dad (me) was shown up just using Auto (again), so I couldn't have that & started to learn to use the camera's other modes & functions. Mind you, I became frustrated quickly that my settings weren't the same as my son's & bought the E520 Enthusiast's kit as soon as I could & gave the E410 to him.
Now my most used mode (on my E-M1 models etc) is Aperture Priority, but not iA at all, even when handing the camera to my wife to use, although her Stylus 1, I think sits on P mode mostly. The time she has used iA she has discovered she wasn't getting focus on the desired subject when she wanted since all AF points are active.

 

[speedy]

Not any more, but I used Canons green box auto mode for a while when starting out, because most of the time, it produced better results than what I could. By studying the settings chosen by the camera, I leaned what worked best, why, and incorporated that into how I set up my camera and shoot. I don't think I've tried Panasonic's iAuto mode. Maybe on my LX7 I think.

 

[snaimpally]

I used iA+ for many years (Panasonic and Olympus) and only recently switched to Program after reading this:
Photography Using Program Mode | Natural Exposures, Inc.

 

[retiredfromlife]

Not often but as previously noted when I hand the camera to someone else, or when I want to use one of the auto modes like "night hand held shot" etc for a quick grab. Also use it for things like family group shots when every one will not keep still so cant pre focus etc.

 

[gnarlydog australia]

I know several people that use iA mode; for them it mimics their smart phone.
They also don't use the viewfinder but they keep the camera at arm's length and squint on the rear screen.

 

[Toddster]

I used iA+ for many years (Panasonic and Olympus) and only recently switched to Program after reading this:
Photography Using Program Mode | Natural Exposures, Inc.

I don't discuss it anywhere but here (and even then it causes a stir sometimes) but I use the Program mode with my Panasonic's almost exclusively. Anyone who says that you can't control the camera in P mode simply has not experimented with it on a modern camera. With P mode I have one dial to get the exposure exactly where I want it (well 2 dials if I disagree with the metering). Nothing could be easier and I still have full control of my depth of field and shutter speed with the added bonus of if I simply don't have time to dial anything in before taking the shot the camera usually does fairly well (certainly better than pulling a camera out of my bag that is set on Manual).

Yes, I admit it. I use Program mode and I am not ashamed of it!

 

[Brownie]

I think the camera goes into iA or iA+ when you pick a scene like handheld night shot, could be wrong. Other than that it stays in M almost continuously. Trips to the airshow and race track this year will require S. I should probably do more with P for the reasons stated above.

 

[Z-Shooter]

On my GX8 I've set iA+ with RAW which allows for near zero missed opportunities. Useful when handing camera off to newbies or for quick shooting. Not my preferred setting though.

 

[jimr.pdx]

I tried but it turns the AF light on (gx85). No, thank you!

 

[Brownie]

FWIW, I once had a photography instructor that said (paraphrased):

"If you're shooting in anything other than manual, you are shooting in an automatic mode. And if you're shooting in an automatic mode, then you aren't making the photo, the camera is."

I subscribed that when I was younger and more impressionable, now I just think he was a crotchety old dinosaur. But between that and the beginner's film camera I used, M is still my go to.

 

[Toddster]

I tried but it turns the AF light on (gx85). No, thank you!

About the same as in the other modes for me. You can still use silent mode with iA or iA+ to turn it off.

 

[ralf-11]

I know several people that use iA mode; for them it mimics their smart phone.
...

+in more ways than one, I think - besides ease of use, it seems to apply some very dramatic effects just like smartphones do (except a m43 jpg can withstand a lot more enlargement)

 

[Daniel J. Cox]

I don't discuss it anywhere but here (and even then it causes a stir sometimes) but I use the Program mode with my Panasonic's almost exclusively. Anyone who says that you can't control the camera in P mode simply has not experimented with it on a modern camera. With P mode I have one dial to get the exposure exactly where I want it (well 2 dials if I disagree with the metering). Nothing could be easier and I still have full control of my depth of field and shutter speed with the added bonus of if I simply don't have time to dial anything in before taking the shot the camera usually does fairly well (certainly better than pulling a camera out of my bag that is set on Manual).

Yes, I admit it. I use Program mode and I am not ashamed of it!

You’ve got it Toddster! Using Program is the exact same as having Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority all rolled into one. Photographers who swear it’s not an acceptable option haven’t read their camera manual. Nikon invented the ability to adjust P, but all the years of P, before the new option, influenced photographers not to even look at it. For goodness sakes they thought, “I can’t be a serious photographer and use P”. Wrong. I’ve used P almost exclusively since 1996 earning my entire living with photography since then as well as 16 years prior.

 

[gnarlydog australia]

Ask yourself: do I capture a photograph or do I create an image?

For capturing a fleeting moment P or iA might indeed be the best settings, but if my goal is to create an image with a very specific look then I am afraid I am better off with something where I can control and achieve the look I envisioned.

 

[Ross the fiddler]

You’ve got it Toddster! Using Program is the exact same as having Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority all rolled into one. Photographers who swear it’s not an acceptable option haven’t read their camera manual. Nikon invented the ability to adjust P, but all the years of P, before the new option, influenced photographers not to even look at it. For goodness sakes they thought, “I can’t be a serious photographer and use P”. Wrong. I’ve used P almost exclusively since 1996 earning my entire living with photography since then as well as 16 years prior.

I can see for events & reportage, P could be the best option, but....... (see below)

Ask yourself: do I capture a photograph or do I create an image?

For capturing a fleeting moment P or iA might indeed be the best settings, but if my goal is to create an image with a very specific look then I am afraid I am better off with something where I can control and achieve the look I envisioned.

I agree, if I want a 'particular look', then I would be wanting more control than iA or P too & why we have the options of A, S & M.

 

[Brownie]

Ask yourself: do I capture a photograph or do I create an image?

I think that's what my old instructor was trying to say...without the eloquence.

“You don't take a photograph, you make it.”

― Ansel Adams

The interesting thing about this thread is that no one is in disagreement. Everyone acknowledges that while they have their favorite, the other modes offer options that do get used.

 

[speedy]

I agree, if I want a 'particular look', then I would be wanting more control than iA or P too & why we have the options of A, S & M.

I'm curious as to what "look" one could not achieve, in P mode. If you want larger aperture, turn the dial one direction, smaller, the other direction. Same with shutter speed. I'm not seeing it