Tv, P and AP

[radioman]

Should I only use Tv when i am worried about the movement of my subject? Also when should I use the Aperture priority mode, whenever I use it it is hard to see a difference when I am changing it. Also what is the program mode?

 

[davebmck]

Program mode is pretty much the same as automatic except that it gives you some limited adjustments depending on your camera. You should use Tv (shutter priority) when you want to control motion, such a blurring water motion or freezing fast motion. Use Av (aperture priority) when you want to control depth of field.

Get yourself a copy of Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. That's a great place to start to understand this.

 

[LarryD]

The answers are... Not necessarily.... Whenever you want to control your Depth of Field or get your lens in it's best performance parameters, and Program Mode is an automatic setting...but you can usually easily override it with most sophisticated DSLR's..

Now, let me explain the first one...If you want to convey speed, you are inerested in a slower shutter speed, so, you are not interested in "stopping" the action because you may pan with the subject...stopping it with your motion, yet blurring the background..

 

[Josh66]

Also when should I use the Aperture priority mode, whenever I use it it is hard to see a difference when I am changing it.

You will not see the difference unless you press the DOF preview button. The lens is always wide open untill you press the shutter button (with the exception of pressing the DOF preview button).

 

[radioman]

You will not see the difference unless you press the DOF preview button. The lens is always wide open untill you press the shutter button (with the exception of pressing the DOF preview button).

Thanks everyone and do you mean pressing the shutter button halfway down?

 

[LarryD]

Let me make an argument for Program Mode for you..... I see way too many beginners on forums who think that they must shoot in Manual, or TV or AV...

These days I usually shoot with either a 30D or a 5D, and I like P mode after 40 years behind a camera...

With either of these cameras, in P mode, I can see immediately what the shutter or aperture are and I feel pretty confident that I will know if I like what the camera has set, and then I can spend more time on composition.......however, with only a movement of a thumb or forefinger I can instantly set either the shutter of f-stop to something else I might feel will capture the shot better...... and the camera obliges me by shifting to either Av or Tv, depending on which finger I twitch...

I just don't see any reason to not learn how to make use of the technology cameras provide today that photographers have yearned for for decades...

 

[Josh66]

Thanks everyone and do you mean pressing the shutter button halfway down?

The lens stops down (to whatever you have it set at) when you open the shutter. The only way you will actually be able to see the effect of your chosen aperture before the picture is taken is with the DOF preview button.