I don't know how to P

[astroNikon]

You know, I just realized something.

I don't know how to P.

You know, the (P)rogram mode. I've never used it.
I've fiddled with every other switch, mode, dial & button on my camera but not that one. What the heck does it do ?



(waiting for a bunch of smart-alick remarks like, "read the manual")

:lmao:

 

[Josh66]

I've heard that putting some Cheerios in the water helps - gives you something to aim at.





I never use it either. I've read about it, I know that it supposedly does something the other modes haven't already covered, but I still don't really see the point of it...

 

[Derrel]

Well, P mode these days is usually what was once called "shiftable programmed auto" mode; the camera's metering system and its brain evaluate the subject matter, lens focal length, and a bunch of data from the actual view through the lens, and set the camera to an actual f/stop and shutter speed that has been deemed by the camera makers/engineers to be situationally appropriate to the conditions. This can also include flash/no-flash...if the pop-up flash on board the camera is elevated by the user, the P mode can calculate a flash + ambient light exposure based on the distance the focus is set to, and the reflectivity and color of the subjects.

The "shiftable programmed" part comes from the ability to simply move ONE,single control wheel, and to "shift" the exposure to a faster speed, or a slower speed, and thus to a wider aperture or to a narrower aperture, by using just ONE, single control wheel to adjust both values in lock-step. LOCKING, as in linking shutter speed and f/stop together, so that ONE, single control can adjust both parameters in lock-step, dates back to the 1950's, when many SLR Cameras had linking and locking systems that set the shutter speed and the f/stop with a mechanical connection system located on the lens of the camera. My late 1950's era Zeiss-Ikon Contaflex Super used a similar system of interlocked speeds and f/stops. Hasselblad also used the same system for years. So the concept of "linking" the shutter speed and the lens f/stop so that they can be moved together, as one unit, goes back to the 1950's. Modern d-slr's are just doing it in a more-sophisticated manner, with things like flash exposure, and Automatic ISO adjustments also added to the mix as possibilities.

 

[DiskoJoe]

I never use P-mode. I generally stick to a-mode and adjust the aperture and ISO as needed and let it judge the shutter speed.

 

[hamlet]

P lets you control ISO
S lets you control shutter speed
A lets you control aperture

 

[Derrel]

P lets you control ISO
S lets you control shutter speed
A lets you control aperture

I'm not at all sure what you mean by the above reply...the information you give in the P segment of your reply seems to be a very poorly-conceived answer...

 

[Ysarex]

Well, P mode these days is usually what was once called "shiftable programmed auto" mode; the camera's metering system and its brain evaluate the subject matter, lens focal length, and a bunch of data from the actual view through the lens, and set the camera to an actual f/stop and shutter speed that has been deemed by the camera makers/engineers to be situationally appropriate to the conditions. This can also include flash/no-flash...if the pop-up flash on board the camera is elevated by the user, the P mode can calculate a flash + ambient light exposure based on the distance the focus is set to, and the reflectivity and color of the subjects.

The "shiftable programmed" part comes from the ability to simply move ONE,single control wheel, and to "shift" the exposure to a faster speed, or a slower speed, and thus to a wider aperture or to a narrower aperture, by using just ONE, single control wheel to adjust both values in lock-step. LOCKING, as in linking shutter speed and f/stop together, so that ONE, single control can adjust both parameters in lock-step, dates back to the 1950's, when many SLR Cameras had linking and locking systems that set the shutter speed and the f/stop with a mechanical connection system located on the lens of the camera. My late 1950's era Zeiss-Ikon Contaflex Super used a similar system of interlocked speeds and f/stops. Hasselblad also used the same system for years. So the concept of "linking" the shutter speed and the lens f/stop so that they can be moved together, as one unit, goes back to the 1950's. Modern d-slr's are just doing it in a more-sophisticated manner, with things like flash exposure, and Automatic ISO adjustments also added to the mix as possibilities.

Yep, I was raised on EV locking cameras. My last Rollei is still within arms reach as I sit here and the EV lock is still one of the most intelligent designs I've ever used. I use P mode all the time because it's fast. My camera is designed so that the wheel that rotates through the locked shutter/f/stop pairs is right behind the shutter release and accessible to my right index finger without the need for any hand movement or camera movement. Being able to get to the shutter/f/stop combination you want as quickly as possible is an advantage.

Joe

 

[hamlet]

P lets you control ISO
S lets you control shutter speed
A lets you control aperture

I'm not at all sure what you mean by the above reply...the information you give in the P segment of your reply seems to be a very poorly-conceived answer...

That's my understanding of P mode.

 

[minicoop1985]

My understanding of P mode is that I don't understand it.

On my Maxxum 7000, I've discovered that... it's exactly as Derrel described. A Kodak Retina Reflex III my wife sold a little while ago actually had a little wheel that would adjust the two one stop at a time in opposing directions, together.

 

[Derrel]

Yep, I was raised on EV locking cameras. My last Rollei is still within arms reach as I sit here and the EV lock is still one of the most intelligent designs I've ever used. I use P mode all the time because it's fast. My camera is designed so that the wheel that rotates through the locked shutter/f/stop pairs is right behind the shutter release and accessible to my right index finger without the need for any hand movement or camera movement. Being able to get to the shutter/f/stop combination you want as quickly as possible is an advantage.

Joe

Yeah...I have to say, the old Contaflex Super's EV locking system, which was coupled to an external selenium cell light meter, was SUPER-fast...set the meter's match-needle system so that the pointer was inside the circle, and then "let go" of the adjustment grip, and BOOM! The shutter speeds and the f/stops across the entire range were all locked together...making it super-quick and easy to set a wide f/stop for a shallow DOF shot, then maybe clicking down a couple of stops to get more DOF, or, if desired, just cranking one control so that the speeds were as slow as possible, so one could do slow-speed panning...wow, what a great system!

The idea of linking the shutter speed and the f/stop together, so the user could just move across the range of possible exposures was REALLY a nice idea, and as long as the camera had an interlens or "leaf" shutter, it was mechanically pretty easy to mechanically couple the shutter with the lens diaphragm. The EV locking system was not,that I know of, used on focal plane camera systems, but the Rolleiflex and Hasselblad 500 series both used interlens shutters, so, this system was easily implemented. According to Wikipedia, the first EV shutter patent was granted in 1953.

I think this original 1950's "EV shutter/lens" system is where the later "shiftable programmed auto" concept came from. Here's a Wikmedia Commons royalty-free shot showing the system on a Hasselblad camera. 685px-Hasselblad_with_Planar_80mm_at_EV_12.jpg

"P Mode" on a d-slr is basically an automatic mode where the camera picks an initial speed and an f/stop PAIRING, which the user is free to deviate from, using just ONE control wheel or dial; the user can selects a faster or slower shutter speed, or a wider or narrower aperture, and the camera will automatically adjust BOTH f/stop and speed in lock-step, so as to get the right exposure as the user moves through the speed range, or moves up or down the f/stop scale. The very-earliest program mode did not allow this "shiftable" nature, but it's been over 20 years that the shiftable nature has been standard.

Some camera in the past have had High-Speed or Depth-of-Field Priority programmed modes as well; the first favoring FAST shutter speeds, the second favoring smaller f/stops for more depth of field.

 

[astroNikon]

P lets you control ISO
S lets you control shutter speed
A lets you control aperture

If you check your own link "Everything beginners need to know: link"

it states

Program (P) Program mode is almost a halfway house between the semi automatic modes of aperture/shutter priority and full manual control. In program mode, you are able to set either the aperture or shutter speed, and the camera will maintain the correct exposure by adjusting the other one accordingly, i.e. as you change the aperture, the shutter speed will automatically change, and vice versa. This gives you additional freedom that using either aperture priority or shutter priority cannot give without switching between shooting modes. - See more at: The Ultimate Guide to Learning how to use Your first DSLR - Digital Photography School

you can control ISO in any mode. Most people may just have ISO set to Auto for Auto adjust so they don't have to deal with it.