"P" Program Auto mode

[SeanOnt]

This may be the most useful mode on any SLR camera for pros and newbies. For Newbies it the perfect starting point and allows you to set the picture controls for the colors you want and nails most photos dead on and alows EV adjustments. I think as we gain more knowledge we abandon this mode and start using Aperture and shutter mode, some times to our advantage but often to our detriment. I recently talked to a pro whom I consider a High-end pro and he told me that he almost always starts off taking shots in P mode and then evaluates the photo settings and then goes to Manual mode and then tweaks the settings from their. He actually said that he almost only shoots in P or M and rarely uses A or S modes. I also notice Ken Rockwell also mentioned that he shoots mostly in P mode as well. I'm still a long way from being good yet but I am now trying implement this advise..

 

[eNo]

This may be the most useful mode on any SLR camera for pros and newbies.

I agree. It's like training wheels on a bicycle: it lets you play with the basic functions with relative safety, but it doesn't let you do all the fancy tricks. Every new DSLR user should play with the recommended exposure, varying up and down, to see the effects of opening up or closing aperture and/or of speeding up or slowing down shutter speed. Then move on to modifying ISO and applying exposure compensation, all the while knowing that with the training wheels on, there's little danger of falling off the camera.

Then they'll be ready for Aperture priority... and before they know it, they'll be in charge of their exposures. I think reading a book like Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" will also be an indispensible part of the process.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Rule of Thirds is meant to be broken, but only 1/3 of the time.



D80/D90 photos: http://esfotoclix.com

 

[David Lal]

.. once or twice in 2004. In another 5 year's time I may use it again. Or maybe not.

David

 

[JTatyosian]

Yes, P mode is intrusive. Frankly it's an awkward symbol for a pseudo automatic mode. It's a weird implementation of shutter and aperture priorities, if you ask me. It's not like A and S modes do anything fancier. You just have to set the aperture or shutter speed, and the camera does the rest.

Edit: When I take pictures of moving insects handheld with a macro lens, there is no way P mode is going to nail down what I want it to. Or what about the depth of field I would desire from a landscape shot? P mode doesn't know what I'm photographing. It tends to open as wide as it can to keep the ISO low in my opinion.

--
John Tatyosian
Check out my site: http://sites.google.com/site/JTatyosian

 

[Supr X]

-then on the advice of my semi-pro dad-in-law worked strictly with Aperture for a year or two, and now am using A, S, and Manual as circumstances seem to incline me.
--
David~
WSSA Member #90



. . . shoot like there's no film in the thing!

 

[desidown]

You can change aperture and shutterspeed in lockstep in the P mode. But I do agree it is a more "automatic" and restrictive than A, S & M since you are still bound by whatever algorithm it uses.

Yes, P mode is intrusive. Frankly it's an awkward symbol for a pseudo automatic mode. It's a weird implementation of shutter and aperture priorities, if you ask me. It's not like A and S modes do anything fancier. You just have to set the aperture or shutter speed, and the camera does the rest.

Edit: When I take pictures of moving insects handheld with a macro lens, there is no way P mode is going to nail down what I want it to. Or what about the depth of field I would desire from a landscape shot? P mode doesn't know what I'm photographing. It tends to open as wide as it can to keep the ISO low in my opinion.

--
John Tatyosian
Check out my site: http://sites.google.com/site/JTatyosian

 

[GixxerKitten]

Yes, P mode is intrusive. Frankly it's an awkward symbol for a pseudo automatic mode. It's a weird implementation of shutter and aperture priorities, if you ask me. It's not like A and S modes do anything fancier. You just have to set the aperture or shutter speed, and the camera does the rest.

Edit: When I take pictures of moving insects handheld with a macro lens, there is no way P mode is going to nail down what I want it to. Or what about the depth of field I would desire from a landscape shot? P mode doesn't know what I'm photographing. It tends to open as wide as it can to keep the ISO low in my opinion.

--
John Tatyosian
Check out my site: http://sites.google.com/site/JTatyosian

I actually think that being able to set the shutter speeds (S) and Apertures (A) are quite a bit "fancier" than 'P' Mode, albeit the camera attempting to balance the settings.

As a newbie, I started in P Mode. I didn't start considering different apertures until I purchased a prime (50mm f/1.8). It wasn't until that time that it even made sense.

--
This is nothing like learning to ride a bike.
WSSA #330

 

[myzel]

I agree. It's like training wheels on a bicycle: it lets you play with the basic functions with relative safety, but it doesn't let you do all the fancy tricks.

I don’t agree.

P mode or A and S mode are the same. They offer the same amount of functions, they let you do all the fancy tricks.

All three modes are "manual" modes if used "correctly" and the main difference is that in A, S and P mode the photographer can "only" over- or underexpose by 5 EV.

A, S, P and M mode are ways to control shutter speed and aperture and even in M mode the photographer can give away the control over the exposure if he just dials in what ever the exposure meter suggests.

 

[Brooks P]

My first camera (mid-Fifties) was an Agfa 35mm rangefinder and for the first couple of years I had the sunny-16 rule for a light meter. Years later I bought a Ricoh with a built in meter with a needle on one side of the viewfinder that you centered for proper exposure. By the time I bought my first good digital, a Sony F-717, I pretty much knew whether shutter speed or aperture (DOF) was more important for the type of picture I was attempting to take. Unfortunately the F-717 didn’t offer a lot when it came to controlling DOF, like most digital camera with very small sensors. My D50, and now my D90, on the other hand offered quite a range of DOF. When I’m shooting something where I want to limit the DOF so only my subject is focus and the background is nicely soft I would rather start with an aperture that I know will accomplish what I want to do rather than have to scroll through the various exposure combinations until I find one that meets my needs using the command dial.

Starting with the “A” mode and my aperture of choice I can see as soon as I look through the viewfinder if I have an adequate shutter speed or not, in which case I know I need to raise the ISO. I can raise the ISO using the command dial watching the shutter speed in the viewfinder or on the control panel. In ‘P’ mode I have to scroll through the combinations looking for the one I want and only after I have viewed all of the selections and not found one that meets my needs do I know that I must raise the ISO, and then start all over again – sometimes a time consuming process if I need to bump the ISO more than a step.

The same scenario is also true with the “S” and “M” modes. I always thought reading something like Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" and getting a firm grasp on what exposure is, is a far better method of learning photography then playing around with the “P” mode. I’ve met far too many people who don’t understand what the “P” mode is doing and if they don’t understand that they aren’t going to learn anything from using it.

--
Brooks
http://bmiddleton.smugmug.com/

 

[rufusm]

Once the person realizes the limitations of P mode and reaches a better understanding of exposure combinations the user can get total control through aperture, shutter speed and ISO using other than P mode for better results. Then again as noted P mode is still better than full auto.

You can change aperture and shutterspeed in lockstep in the P mode. But I do agree it is a more "automatic" and restrictive than A, S & M since you are still bound by whatever algorithm it uses.

Yes, P mode is intrusive. Frankly it's an awkward symbol for a pseudo automatic mode. It's a weird implementation of shutter and aperture priorities, if you ask me. It's not like A and S modes do anything fancier. You just have to set the aperture or shutter speed, and the camera does the rest.

Edit: When I take pictures of moving insects handheld with a macro lens, there is no way P mode is going to nail down what I want it to. Or what about the depth of field I would desire from a landscape shot? P mode doesn't know what I'm photographing. It tends to open as wide as it can to keep the ISO low in my opinion.

--
John Tatyosian
Check out my site: http://sites.google.com/site/JTatyosian

--
http://cpetridis.wordpress.com/

 

[ozarktroutfisher]

Starting with the “A” mode and my aperture of choice I can see as soon as I look through the viewfinder if I have an adequate shutter speed or not, in which case I know I need to raise the ISO. I can raise the ISO using the command dial watching the shutter speed in the viewfinder or on the control panel. In ‘P’ mode I have to scroll through the combinations looking for the one I want and only after I have viewed all of the selections and not found one that meets my needs do I know that I must raise the ISO, and then start all over again – sometimes a time consuming process if I need to bump the ISO more than a step.

I’ve met far too many people who don’t understand what the “P” mode is doing and if they don’t understand that they aren’t going to learn anything from using it.

100% agreement. I'm the local camera geek for all of my friends and make purchase recommendations for them. It's funny how many times they show me pictures where "the camera messed up" but it's only because they wanted something different than the camera selected for them, i.e. too much DOF, too shallow DOF, subject blur, etc.

I honestly view P as a tool that should be used by someone that knows what they're doing more than by someone that doesn't. Sounds odd I know.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not a program snob. I just hate to see people completely give up creative control and then complain that the camera messed up.

Keith

 

[André BARELIER]

I almost never use P mode, only A, M, S. But, when you're in a hurry, and using a zoom, P mode can be useful.

Why ? Because the internal firmware of the camera knows what lens you use, and what focal length you've choosen. And it adjusts aperture and speed accordingly, increasing speed whith the focal length, to avoid motion blur.
This feature was already present on my old Nikon AF 601, 20 years ago.
André

 

[myzel]

Once the person realizes the limitations of P mode

What limitations? A, S and P mode are just other ways to set aperture and shutter speed. All three modes have exactly the same limitations.

 

[Supr X]

. . . the internal firmware of the camera knows what lens you use, and what focal length you've choosen. And it adjusts aperture and speed accordingly, increasing speed whith the focal length, to avoid motion blur.
This feature was already present on my old Nikon AF 601, 20 years ago.

I didn't know that. Thanks!
--
David~
WSSA Member #90



. . . shoot like there's no film in the thing!

 

[rufusm]

In P mode you start at the algorithm used as opposed to other modes especially manual, where you can select your own starting point for exposure. It may be considered a small thing but I always start where I want to. It's how you want to control the camera.

Once the person realizes the limitations of P mode

What limitations? A, S and P mode are just other ways to set aperture and shutter speed. All three modes have exactly the same limitations.

--
http://cpetridis.wordpress.com/

 

[eNo]

I almost never use P mode, only A, M, S. But, when you're in a hurry, and using a zoom, P mode can be useful.

Why ? Because the internal firmware of the camera knows what lens you use, and what focal length you've choosen. And it adjusts aperture and speed accordingly, increasing speed whith the focal length, to avoid motion blur.
This feature was already present on my old Nikon AF 601, 20 years ago.

As my dad likes to say, what does the gymnasium have to do with the magnesium? Yes, one can infer that in most situations, if I zoom in all the way, I'm probably shooting action and hence a wide aperture and a fast shutter speed are the way to go. Or that if I am at 16mm, I'm probably shooting a landscape and a smaller aperture and slower shutter speed are needed. But what if I'm zoomed in and shooting a landscape, or what if I want to ensure a little more DOF and/or sharpness at f/8? Thanks for guessing, trusty DSLR, but I think we'll both be happier if I let you know what I want.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Rule of Thirds is meant to be broken, but only 1/3 of the time.



D80/D90 photos: http://esfotoclix.com

 

[myzel]

In P mode you start at the algorithm used as opposed to other modes especially manual you can select you own starting point for exposure.

How does this limit you in the way to set exactly the exposure you want? It might be cumbersome for the way you use the camera, but it doesn’t limit you or offers you less control over the camera.

 

[AndyHWC]

I look at P, A, S the same, just different ways to manipulate the aperture, shutter.

With A, you adjust the aperture, camera picks the shutter speed for you.

With S, you adjust the shutter, camera picks the aperture for you.

With P, you have a choice.
i) adjust the aperture, camera picks the shutter speed for you.
ii) let the camera pick both the aperture and shutter for you.

They are all "semi-auto" modes.

 

[myzel]

But what if I'm zoomed in and shooting a landscape, or what if I want to ensure a little more DOF and/or sharpness at f/8? Thanks for guessing, trusty DSLR, but I think we'll both be happier if I let you know what I want.

Just turn the command dial to set the desired aperture or shutter speed, use exposure compensation if you don’t like what the camera wants to use …

Just like in A and S mode you can tell the camera what you want.

 

[AndyHWC]

Because in P mode, you can adjust the aperture just as in A mode.