Program Mode?

[JEFFB]

Maybe this is a silly question, but what is Program mode used for? if as example you use Aperture Priority for depth of field, and Shutter Priority for motion blur, or Manual Mode, which would allow you control over all the settings. I guess I don't understand what the difference is between Manual and Program modes, and what situation Program mode would be benifical?

Jeff

 

[Don Simon]

Ah well I'm not sure I follow, but I think in the context of modern SLRs, "Program mode" would essentially mean "fully automatic", handling both aperture and shutter speed for you - it basically lets you use the camera as a point & shoot, which I guess could be beneficial in quite a lot of circumstances Of course that depends on the quality of the camera's metering system - what camera are you using?

 

[JEFFB]

Well, I'm using a Pentax *ist DS, but it has an auto mode, which makes me think that program mode does something else.

 

[hobbes28]

The program mode is very similar to the auto mode but it will let you have more flexability to the settings if you want. I think the menu in auto will only allow you to adjust a few things and won't even let you adjust the ISO whereas the program mode will.

 

[Scurra]

Yeah Hobbes is spot on here. Program mode gives you a little more control over your settings than full auto but not as much as Manual. It's a kind of middleground that I found very useful when learning what all the functions on my 20D did.

 

[fadingaway1986]

It also allows you to choose when to use flash, whereas auto tells you when you will use flash, and when you will not.

 

[JEFFB]

Thank you very much for the info, that makes a little more sense to me now.

 

[Happy Medium]

In program mode, if you lengthen the shutter speed, the camera will automatically close the aperture a bit to compensate. As has already been said, it gives you more creative control than auto, but less than fully manual.