Mikehit said:
And this is where personal preferences come in.
I agree with a lot of your points but will comment on the following couple of points:
mackguyver said:
*While Shutter Priority may feel comfortable, you will get much better results in Manual mode. Shutter priority or Aperture priority used in conjunction with the exposure compensation dial gives precisely the same flexibility as manual mode and (for me anyway) is easier to think about on the fly. Manual can be scary for people new to the skillsSet your shutter for the subject (at least 1/60s for stationary or slow moving people, 1/100s minimum for things like dance, and 1/250s-1/500s for most sports shots, though 1/1000s may be necessary for high speed stuff.
*With the 5DIII, if you use manual ISO, ISO 6400 is about the top you'll want to use Is this specific to manual mode? As has been said above, no reason to limit yourself to 6400 and it depends on the intended use. Do you have specific demands regards noise?
*If you have changing lighting like stage shots, use M, set manual ISO, and a medium shutter speed. Dial back & forth between slower and faster shutter speeds to adjust exposure Why not set your preferred aperture/speed and use auto ISO - or is that because of the risk you see of it exceeding 6400?
Also, above you say set the shutter speed for the circumstances yet here you are effectively saying set the aperture? Is this specific to the situation of changing lighting?
I agree that everyone has their own style and without knowing more about the OPs subjects and such it's hard to give tailored advice. I also agree that Manual mode is scary, but I have found that Shutter Priority can be quite frustrating for many people. Low light is one of those times when M mode is almost mandatory to get the best shots.
As for ISO 6400, I think that's about the top you would want to use with the 5DIII unless you're just posting stuff on the web. I have personal preferences on noise, but most people seem to generally agree on CR and others that each body kind of has an upper limit that most people are happy with.
And on that final comment, if you have one of the more recent bodies with Auto ISO
and the ability to set limits, then yes. M mode just gives you that extra bit of control and if you have the very newest bodies, or a 1D X, you can do M mode plus exposure compensation
Ultimately, it's all about what the person feels comfortable doing, but those tips have worked well for me and M mode isn't so scary in the digital world because you can experiment without wasting tons of money on film!