Digital Camera Modes — What Do They Mean?

Cameras come with various shooting modes which have application in specific conditions. Lets have a look at the common shooting modes on a digital camera and what they mean. The point here is to allow you to study the settings the camera chooses in a particular situation and give you some experience when the need comes for you to choose these settings manually or for a particular situation. While consumer cameras have fancy things like face detection, pros generally have the following with only a variation in the names.

• Auto – All the settings are chosen automatically based on the subject and the light available. In most of the cameras in case of low light the built-in flash automatically fires to compensate for the low light.
• Portrait – It keeps the main subject in clear focus and the background is out of focus with shallow depth of field.
• Landscape – The flash is turned off, a small aperture is used for a high depth of field to keep the maximum part in focus. Best for what the name suggests.
• Macro – It sets to take close-up shots of small objects, flowers and insects. Lens can be moved closer to the subject than in other modes. Hold the camera steady or use a tripod.
• Sports – High shutter speed to freeze action. Especially meant fordynamic motion shots. The flash is turned off. While the high shutter speed can compensate for a moving subject, it really doesn’t matter much if the photographer is on the run because the motion of the camera is way higher in the perspective than the object in focus. But that still the best mode to shoot in if you are on the run. Gives sharp picture if you hand the camera to your kids. Most of the cameras use continuous focus in this mode since a moving subject goes out of focus as you compose.
• Night Scene – It sets the camera to take long shots in low light with slow shutter speed. Use of tripod is highly recommended. This works better than auto mode most of the times because auto doesn’t expose long enough which is required for a night scene.
• Programmed Auto – the camera sets shutter speed and the aperture. These come in a pair of different values. So if you choose to use a higher shutter speed the camera will automatically set the aperture to a large value to compensate for the low light.
• Shutter-priority - In this mode you choose the shutter speed, the camera sets the aperture automatically. This is different from the “Programmed Auto” since the aperture value for a particular shutter speed is fixed and these values are paired. More on this in another post. Best when you want to freeze the motion or induce a trail in the movement.
• Aperture-priority - You choose the aperture and the shutter speed is set automatically. Best when you want to control depth of field.
• Manual – Traditionally speaking this is the mode you need to aim to work on. But DSLRs have changed things. Most of the latest gear does everything automatically allowing you to compose and shoot. Why bother with setting the shutter speed when the camera can detect motion and turn on continuous focus and high shutter speed? The aim of the camera is to take off the load than to bother you with buttons and settings. However this comes in handy when you want complete control over the settings. Things can be tricky sometimes and the light may ditch the camera metering. Or perhaps you want to hold open the shutter to capture thunder. It allows you to interefere directly with the settings so you can even choose a wierd combination, break some rules and come out with some fantastic images.

There may be other modes as well on you camera depending on the brand you chose. Use these effectively to be ready when the family calls upon. Will save ones grace instead of exposing their technical-manhandling capabilities.

Do you shoot manual or one of these modes? Which one and why?

Photo by dcassaa