So what is so wrong about P mode?

[JOHN CALLANAN]

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice, smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

 

[Troponin]

P-Mode is great if you are drunk, in spouse mode, or just don't want to have to think about the shot and parts of composition (Dof, blurr etc. etc.).

I want to think about the shot, set my controls and shoot, shoot and shoot--- Let the creative jucies flow.

Thats why I don't use P- (idiot) mode. Even if I had a few to many, I still shoot in Av or manual mode--- just to see how good I am.

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

--
Troponin (Trop)
I must admit, I gotta problem with typo's

 

[dimage]

Hey, use what works for you.

I prefer to use "M" when I can so I know what is going to happen, but if the light is variable I will often change to "Av" so I can control the aperture and let the shutter speed be whatever it has to be. More rarely, I will choose Tv.

I guess I just don't know what the camera will pick in "P" mode (I know there is a table some place). Maybe I am just more of a control freak )

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

 

[MilesTHD]

I do the same thing John. I like P mode sometimes, especially when just snapping at a bunch of "stuff". Anyone who has a prob with it is just showing off their "pro-ness".

miles

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

 

[cpr1954]

there is nothing wrong with using P mode.. i use it all the time..

sometimes i switch to Tv or Av.. depending on situation.. but for just snaps.. P is a good mode.. you can even very the aperature and shutter speed with the top dial using P.. making it even more useful..
i just avoid the Auto Mode..

cheers

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

--
CANON 10D - S-30 - A-1 film

 

[SVJIM]

a 1D is a bit pricy for a camera if all you are going to do is shoot in 'P' mode. I assume you are shooting in other than 'P' mode for your sports shots. Hey, if it works for you, who cares what others think.

Jim

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

--
Photography should be fun

http://www.pbase.com/jcollins

 

[Code Monkey]

i usually use P mode in dark situations without flash... the only problem with using P mode in bright light is that it might pick a small aperture when you want a blur background... but if you don't care about that then i don't see why not... but then again, you can leave it in AV mode and just pick the widest aperture in dark situations...

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

 

[Ben Strasser]

...all the time. Just kidding. I think of the P mode as the EV mode and pick a combination speed and f-stop for the shot. The Green Square to me is the idiot mode as are the icon modes.
Just my opnion (not about the manual mode though).

I want to think about the shot, set my controls and shoot, shoot
and shoot--- Let the creative jucies flow.

Thats why I don't use P- (idiot) mode. Even if I had a few to
many, I still shoot in Av or manual mode--- just to see how good I
am.

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

--
Troponin (Trop)
I must admit, I gotta problem with typo's

 

[Bob Watt]

John,

The whole point of P mode is to the let the camera
take it's best guess at the setup. The result is that it
uses some fairly average settings, like F5.6-8 for good
DOF and focus, a few 100ths of a second for speed to
stop motion, and having set the good generic F and S
settings appropriate to the lighting, away it goes. I use P
probably 75% of the time.

When I want to force DOF to wipe out distractions in the
background, or want a long exposure to blur a water fall,
want to insure that the entire FOV is in focus by using
large F number, I go to the other modes. Each tool has
it's use. In a studio, I would guess, not working at this,
that a lot of photgraphers use M so they can set it up for
the best results and not trust the camera to do better than
they can. Same thing with AF. Almost all the time AF is as good
as I am at focus, or better, but there are times it does not
get it or hunts or maybe does not focus where I want or
split the front-back ratio like I want, so I do the MF myself.

The one thing I have not tried, yet, with the D60 is the A-DEP
mode. But reading about this is the Canon website, it looks
interesting enough to warrent learning something new.

So use the tool that is appropriate and listen but do not
simply take as gospel what everyone here says. Try it youself.
The best mode is the one that works best for you and for
your environment.

Bob Watt

 

[Ben Strasser]

I want to think about the shot, set my controls and shoot, shoot
and shoot--- Let the creative jucies flow.

Thats why I don't use P- (idiot) mode. Even if I had a few to
many, I still shoot in Av or manual mode--- just to see how good I
am.

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

--
Troponin (Trop)
I must admit, I gotta problem with typo's

 

[johnd1]

.............your lenses fare real well at any aperture the camera selects.(doubtful)

The problem with p mode is that you don't have any part of the decision making regarding apertures/shutter speeds. Might as well go back to a P&S model.
John

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

 

[stephen s brown]

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

John,

I asked the same question some time ago. I "discovered" P mode soon after getting my D60. Program shifting was all new to me and I thought it was a wonderful feature - I still do.

Many of the replys I received urged me to use AV, TV & Manual modes for the creative ability and urged me to learn to use my camera better - I thought some of the replys to be insulting. Perhaps I worded the question as if I was very inexperienced. Anyway the only reply that made sense was one that said my camera would remember and retain the selected aperature when in AV mode but not the P mode. Another reply stated that the 1D has a custom funcion that allows you to do this in P mode - my D60 does not have this function.

In the end I still use P mode quite often. As you know it still allows a full range of camera controls and it gives you instantly the cameras best guess as to a good speed and aperature. A quick spin of the dial gives an immediate change of speed and aperature with program shifting. You paid a good deal of money for the automatic features, so why not use them. My take on the question was: the old die hards still think we should do everything manually; whereas, I believe it is just another tool - use it to your advantage.
Steve
I had to move up when I couldn't get flash bulbs for the Brownie anymore.
http://www.pbase.com/stevebrown

 

[Troponin]

Idiot mode on the 10D is idiot mode on MY D60/D30/ 1D/ 1Ds.

Having just wrote that, Idiot mode a D10/d60 is more than idiot on a 1D or 1Ds.

I want to think about the shot, set my controls and shoot, shoot
and shoot--- Let the creative jucies flow.

Thats why I don't use P- (idiot) mode. Even if I had a few to
many, I still shoot in Av or manual mode--- just to see how good I
am.

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

--
Troponin (Trop)
I must admit, I gotta problem with typo's

--
Troponin (Trop)
I must admit, I gotta problem with typo's

 

[Troponin]

keep reading the forum and take note.
Enough said. No offense offered, no offense taken.

I want to think about the shot, set my controls and shoot, shoot
and shoot--- Let the creative jucies flow.

Thats why I don't use P- (idiot) mode. Even if I had a few to
many, I still shoot in Av or manual mode--- just to see how good I
am.

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

--
Troponin (Trop)
I must admit, I gotta problem with typo's

--
Troponin (Trop)
I must admit, I gotta problem with typo's

 

[Troponin]

There is alot wrong with p-mode in dark situations. You don't have control of the shot---duh.

In dark (low light) situation, you can use manual mode for flash photog.---- try it (you can set the Av and Tv and let the flash do the rest).

This maybe a bit much for you-- if not have fun.

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

--
Troponin (Trop)
I must admit, I gotta problem with typo's

 

[cpr1954]

sure you do.. if you use the dial on top.. you can change the shutter/aperature easily.. in P mode..

cheers

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

--
CANON 10D - S-30 - A-1 film

 

[Frank Nichols]

dimage,

P mode picks a setting for shutter speed and aperature when you press the shutter release half way. You can tehn "program shift" the settings with the control dial if you don't like what it chose.

Say you are shooting P mode and you press the shutter release half way, in the viewfinder you will see the speed and aperature taht has been chosen to give "proper" exposure. Now, say it has chosen a wider aperature than you want, becuase you want the Dof to be small in this shot. Just rotate the dial and wht in the view finder - it will adjsut both the shutter speed and aperature - up or down depending on which way you trun the dial.

If at the same time you want to dial in some EV compensation, just use the thumb dial on the back of the camera.

The end result is the same as if you had used AV or TV (or even M) mode - assuming you trust the exposure reading/setting from the camera. The differnce is instead of setting one of them manually and etting the camera set the other, you are in effect setting both at the same time.

Frank

I prefer to use "M" when I can so I know what is going to happen,
but if the light is variable I will often change to "Av" so I can
control the aperture and let the shutter speed be whatever it has
to be. More rarely, I will choose Tv.

I guess I just don't know what the camera will pick in "P" mode (I
know there is a table some place). Maybe I am just more of a
control freak )

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

--
I plan on living forever - so far so good!

 

[cpr1954]

cheers

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

--
CANON 10D - S-30 - A-1 film

--
CANON 10D - S-30 - A-1 film

 

[Frank Nichols]

So, I guess he normally takes photo's of his kids running around in the dark?

Frank

In dark (low light) situation, you can use manual mode for flash
photog.---- try it (you can set the Av and Tv and let the flash do
the rest).

This maybe a bit much for you-- if not have fun.

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

--
Troponin (Trop)
I must admit, I gotta problem with typo's

--
I plan on living forever - so far so good!

 

[Frank Nichols]

Actually, you have compete control usnig the program shift feature. The P mode gievs you a starting guess and then you shift the program with the dial.

The area where P mode woudl suffer most is in using a flash in low light situations - there I would prefer manual.

Frank

I have a 1D, a couple of L zooms and a couple fast short primes
that I bought to help shoot my kids sports. I love it all so far.

However when I am traveling, hiking, or just shooting the family in
the yard kind of stuff, I find myself relying on the P mode.

The family is always moving around, nothing is ever set up or posed.

I will use AE lock or Program shift sometimes for some more control.

The 1D does such a great job at metering that P works great almost
all the time. Compared to the spikey histograms I was almost always
getting with my E-10, the histograms on my 1D images are nice,
smooth curves.

So...What is so bad about shooting in P mode?

--
I plan on living forever - so far so good!