P mode?

[fjrabon]

I shoot in Program Mode all the time. It is not a simple Auto setting, it is based on complex algorithms programmed into the camera. When shooting in P, you can see the f-stop and shutter speed the camera is using and you can change them at the twist of the control dial to suit your vision of the photo. It is similar to using M with auto-iso set, in which you set your f-stop and shutter speed to suit what you want out of the shot, while letting the auto-iso look after the exposure. The idea that pros use M all the time for creative control is nonsense. Many of us use Program and tweak from there. Go shoot the launch of a space rocket in Manual setting while clouds are moving in and changing light. The pros using P are getting the money shots.

I think most pros shoot on A when outside, I get your point, but I think they tend to use A more than P. Pros also use strobes A LOT. Most 'pro shots', ie shots that people are getting paid money to produce are in manual, because most of those shots involve light meters, strobes, etc. These days there isn't a whole ton of photojournalism work that's pro. There is still a lot of pro studio work though.

 

[bunny99123]

I use P Mode to adjust ISO in darken areas were my flash is not efficient. I don't have the best lens, so in low light this Mode allows me to the brighten the shot. I have joined a Photo Club, and many members are Pro's, and they also use P Mode at times. Fjrabon, thank you for the great explanation

 

[fjrabon]

I use P Mode to adjust ISO in darken areas were my flash is not efficient. I don't have the best lens, so in low light this Mode allows me to the brighten the shot. I have joined a Photo Club, and many members are Pro's, and they also use P Mode at times. Fjrabon, thank you for the great explanation

You can turn on autoISO in any mode, not just P mode.

 

[Tiberius47]

Av/Tv is the new M

I wish someone could explain to me what makes Program mode so inferior beyond a vague "lack of control".

But that's exactly what it is, a lack of control.

In A, S or M, you have control over how the image looks, in terms of DoF or amount of subject movement. In P mode you lose that because the camera is determining them. And the camera doesn't know that you want a slightly longer shutter speed because you're doing panning shots of racecars, or a shallow DoF because you are doing portraits. it just chooses a SS and A to give what it thinks is a decent exposure.

This really sounds like full auto mode, not program. I'll admit that program is a bit cumbersome, but "lack of control"? Not really.

You have little to no control over your shutter speed and aperture.

It's not as bad as full auto green box mode where the camera chooses things like whether to fire the flash or what your ISO is, but you do lose control.

 

[unpopular]

^^ maybe if you're unsure how the two are related, but I'm holding my camera in P mode and it doesn't seem and worse than Av or Tv.

I'm not advocating it or anything. I shoot all manual. I just don't see what the issue is specifically. If I turn the knob it runs through each of the equivalent exposures for the metered EV. It works exactly as my a700 does in manual exposure with AEL enabled. Seems a little cumbersome, but I can see how people would like it.

 

[Ysarex]

But that's exactly what it is, a lack of control.

In A, S or M, you have control over how the image looks, in terms of DoF or amount of subject movement. In P mode you lose that because the camera is determining them. And the camera doesn't know that you want a slightly longer shutter speed because you're doing panning shots of racecars, or a shallow DoF because you are doing portraits. it just chooses a SS and A to give what it thinks is a decent exposure.

This really sounds like full auto mode, not program. I'll admit that program is a bit cumbersome, but "lack of control"? Not really.

You have little to no control over your shutter speed and aperture.

It's not as bad as full auto green box mode where the camera chooses things like whether to fire the flash or what your ISO is, but you do lose control.

In P mode I have full control of my shutter speed and aperture and I lose no control whatsoever. You are completely wrong and apparently don't understand how a modern camera functions.

Joe

 

[Tiberius47]

^^ maybe if you're unsure how the two are related, but I'm holding my camera in P mode and it doesn't seem and worse than Av or Tv.

I'm not advocating it or anything. I shoot all manual. I just don't see what the issue is specifically. If I turn the knob it runs through each of the equivalent exposures for the metered EV. It works exactly as my a700 does in manual exposure with AEL enabled. Seems a little cumbersome, but I can see how people would like it.

True, but it's a pain in the ass.

When I take a photo, I want to set my aperture to what I want if I want to control DoF, or I want to set my shutter speed to a particular value if I want to control the amount of movement shown. I can do this by setting it to A or S. if I want the exposure to remain constant, I put it in M, set the aperture or shutter speed as required, and then set the other to get the exposure I want.

But with P mode, the camera decides what the best aperture or shutter speed is. True, you can cycle through different settings that give equivalent exposures, but you can't maintain a constant exposure, and each time the camera thinks the lighting has changed, you have to cycle through equivalent exposures again.

In short, while it does allow you some degree of control, you have to go an awkward way to get it, and using A, S or M modes will give you a much easier time. I know some people like it because you don't have to worry about your settings, but a camera on A mode with the aperture set to 5.6 or 8 will do the same.

 

[Derrel]

In a modern d-sle, with P mode representing shiftable Program, it's easy to shoot photos. I shoot a lot in manual, and in A mode with my Nikons. Have for decades. sometimes,Manual is my preference. Sometimes Aperture priority auto, what Canon calls Av (aperture value) mode. I very,very,very seldom use Shutter priority mode, or what Canon calls Tv for Time Value. I use Program mode the least of all...I never owned a camera that offered P mode until 2001, so I grew up without it, and shot for over two full decades without having a P-mode available to me!!!

But still...P mode is not a horrible thing. It picks a reasonable shutter speed and a reasonable f/stop for the light level and the ISO in use, and in many cases these days, is also fully aware of the lens focal length in use...it automatically sets the shutter AND the f/stop for the conditions...with a modern,m fully color-aware, and distance-aware, and focal length-aware Nikon d-slr, with sophisticated Matrix evaluative light metering, Program mode has worked pretty well in the few times I have used it...

I look through ye olde viewfinder...and scope out the speed and f/stop the camera says is needed...if I want a faster speed or a smaller or larger f/stop, all I need to do is click a few times with my thumb, and shift TWO exposure parameters with only ONE control wheel...if I shoot a shot and it looks too dark or too bright, I press the EC button (that little +/- symbol) and make a click or two or three with the same control wheel and dial in some Exposure Comp.


Program also works when using a camera with its pop-up flash. Programmed Auto exposure is like the automatic transmission of the car world...get in, grab the lever and click it in to "D", and just....drive!!!!!!!!! Whenever you need the brakes, you use the brakes!!! When the stereo needs to be louder, you click it up a few notches...I mean, seriously...I drove a stick shift for many years, and all I can say is in rush hour traffic, a stick shift is nothing but a giant pain in the ass.

 

[manaheim]

The absolute best use for P mode is for existing as a subject that comes up on TPF at least 27 times a month, isn't searched for before posting, and creating all kinds of repetitive religious wars.

EDIT: No idea why that was such a big font, though maybe I should have left it that way. lol