It's hard to really tell from the small versions here — which is a lesson in itself, because at 1280x850, which is a perfectly fine online viewing size, the differences really _don't_ matter that much. However, in this case, I think Auto probably _did_ make some better choices. Shutter Speed --- You picked ¹⁄₆₀th of a second. This is fine, but probably slightly susceptible to blur from camera motion shake or subject movement due to wind. Auto mode picked ¹⁄₄₀₀th, which will better freeze things. ISO --- You picked 200 and the camera picked 400. Like most modern largish-sensor cameras, there's not much difference between 200, 400, or 800 on this camera in terms of noise, but it's possible the auto mode enabled the expanded dynamic range option (where the camera actually shoots at a lower ISO and then brings up the shadows in internal post-processing). Because of the way that works, this is only available at higher ISOs than the base 200. (The difference isn't super-visible in the result, but I can imagine a _little_ more detail in the shadows — but that might also be because the auto image is a little brighter… see below.) Aperture ---- This is really the big one. You picked f/18, and the camera picked f/8. All camera-lens systems are subject to diffraction, which means that while the narrower aperture gives you more depth of field, there's less sharpness overall. See https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/8304/what-is-a-diffraction-limit for more. In general, it's better to not go beyond f/8 except in special circumstances. Overall Exposure Value ---------------- Although it's subtle, the auto-exposure image is a little bit brighter overall. You can particularly see that in the sky. This seems to be less than a full "stop" of difference — a "stop" is a doubling or halving (See https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/15706/what-is-one-stop), and because of the way human perception works, generally differences of less than a stop aren't a big deal (and as a rule of thumb, plus or minus a stop from a middle value are reasonable valid exposure choices without really feeling over- or under-exposed). So… between f/8 and f/18, there are 2⅓ stops — going in that direction, darker, so we'll call it negative 2⅓. (See https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/50681/why-are-f-stops-not-linear for how this is calculated.) And between ¹⁄₄₀₀th and ¹⁄₆₀th is just about the same: 2⅔ doublings (which is 2⅔) — but in the direction of more exposure. And finally, 200 to 400 is a full stop — leaving a ⅔-stop discrepancy, which seems close enough to be in the ballpark of the visual brightness difference in the result. As Michael C notes, the difference in metering is explained by the slight (but significant) change in framing, with more sky in one shot than the other. (See https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/72388/what-is-the-relationship-between-iso-aperture-and-shutter-speed for more on this "stop math").