Is Program Mode the most-often overlooked mode on the Mode Dial on Modern DSLRs? (Page 3): My thinking is exactly the opposite. Start in manual then go to the auto modes. The student...

Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona

JPL wrote:

I agree, program mode is the mode I recommend to people to use until they learn how to use the other stuff.
I mostly use manual mode.

My thinking is exactly the opposite. Start in manual then go to the auto modes. The student will learn photography faster.

wingclui44 Loc: CT USA

Chris T wrote:

There was a post here about the relative advantage... (show quote)

"M" is my favorite mode on my DF which doesn't have "Auto" mode.

ecurb1105

While I consider myself a student of photography, I started my studies in the 1960s and have worked with everything from Minox spy cameras to 20x24 view cameras.so I have some understanding of manual exposure technique. My default mode on all my DSLRs is P. Easy to control f-stop or shutter speed as needed and I use auto ISO with limits. I also prefer primes but am using zooms more now because of my failing physiology.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

It always surprises me how many photographers are not aware that Program Mode allows one to rotate through the different aperture/shutter combinations by using the dial wheel. When used to its full extent, Program Mode is not full auto mode, but semi-auto mode - Shutter and Aperture Priority Modes rolled into one.

I find Program Mode is most useful when I have some idea which aperture setting and shutter speed setting I want, yet I am somewhat flexible on either of the two values. Rotating through the available combinations, I simply pick the combination I think works best for the image I want to capture.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

Nalu wrote:

My thinking is exactly the opposite. Start in manual then go to the auto modes. The student will learn photography faster.

Nalu,

Up until the 1960's, that is how you learned to use a camera because EVERYTHING was manual. Today, young people tend to be impatient and want to use a new toy now and learn later. So we have the P-mode. I agree that a serious person should jump right in and learn manual, but that is not how most people today will do it.

Why would anyone in their right mind who does not know the basics want to start off with an expensive high end camera? If you feel that you need to depend on the Program Mode, it does not make sense to start off on a high end camera. Buy something inexpensive and less complicated to learn the basics on and then move to the high end when your skills make you worthy of the upgrade. I would suggest starting off with one of two cameras. If you want to buy new, a Nikon D3400 with a kit lens (currently on sale for $500 on the Nikon website). It is Nikon's bottom end DSLR, but has P-mode along with all the others including manual. That camera will serve you well for a year or two until you are truly ready to move up. You should than be able to sell it and recover a good portion of the $500. My other choice would be to buy a used D90 body (current E-bay price around $250-$300) and a lens. When you are ready to move up, you could keep the lens and sell the D90 body for about the same price you bought it for. Either way, the newbee will get to learn at minimal cost. More importantly however, when the person is ready to take the next step, he/she will have gained the knowledge necessary to evaluate what they will use and won't use on their next camera so they can make an informed decision.

terry44 Loc: Tuolumne County California, Maui Hawaii

Haven't tried p mode in years I use manual the most then amode and s mode every now and then. Doing primarily landscape scenes I have the time to set the shot the way I want it to be I like the control I get.
Now I would recommend the auto mode for those that are learning to compose a shot.

Chris T wrote:

There was a post here about the relative advantage... (show quote)

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

DanielJDLM wrote:

I mostly use program mode. Grew up using 35mm cameras And am well able to use manual settings when necessary. However, I rarely use manual. If I do not like the shutter / aperture combo I simply change it, depending upon what I am shooting. I sell my photographs online and at art shows. My customers don't care if I shoot manual or on program mode.

No reason why they should, Daniel ... if you're making money with your photos - what the hey? ....

Just a reminder ... Program takes care of BOTH shutter and aperture ... but, all the rest is up to you ...

Pentax has a couple of extra Modes - TAV - which - essentially, is the same thing as Program (incl. ISO) and Sensitivity Mode ....

Still trying to figure out what THAT one's all about ....

Hey, go with the flow ... make bundles of moolah .... okay, Daniel?

SierraP Loc: Eastern Sierras

I use the program mode 98% of the time. I can adjust ISO, aperture, shutter, exposure at any time. I can't be any near as fast in the manual mode. This applies to autofocus also. If you have the time and are a traditionalist have fun with manual.

Alafoto Loc: Montgomery, AL

rook2c4 wrote:

It always surprises me how many photographers are ... (show quote)

If your car has cruise control, do you not set it for whatever speed is prudent, then override it when conditions change. Same as using Program mode on your camera. You can vary any of the elements of the "exposure triangle" in a fraction of a second and the other elements will automatically compensate for the change you made. Setting exposure manually is not that much fun to me unless required for a particular situation. Otherwise I'd be regularly using using my old RB-67, Bronica square frame or Graphic which has been converted to a field camera instead of my Canon digital cameras. Digital photography offers convenience in editing, printing and storing as well as in the actual making of a photograph. Why not enjoy all the convenience the type has to offer?

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

jerryc41 wrote:

In P, you still have to make a decision. If the decision you made for your last shot isn't right for the current one, the camera could make adjustments that would make the picture less than perfect. I prefer to shoot in Aperture. However, there's nothing wrong with Auto mode. It will give you good results most of the time, and there's no stopping and thinking and adjusting as that special shot gets away. Just raise the camera and push the button.

Exactly, Jerry ... I prefer Aperture Priority, too ... but, sometimes, in Low Light ... you need to make adjustments ....

Also, if you're shooting something moving, you need to go to Shutter Priority, using something ABOVE 1/500th ....

But, Program Mode is a great default mode, straight out of the Bucket (bag) and will help, in a grab shot ...

For, that matter - so will Fully Auto ... but, I only go to that, in Low Light ... as it activates the flash ....

I'm all for automating - in those situations, which can do with a push ... otherwise, I'm a button and wheel fiddler ....

Angmo

Even on medium format Rolleiflex, no autofocus. I’ve used hyperfocal focusing at certain events where there’s no time to manually focus. Turned out fine.

I try to learn and become as adept as possible in all modes and use them as the tool they are intended. I learned years ago I was depending on certain modes as I saw as a crutch for myself and avoided other modes. It was not fair for my growth. That’s totally just my experience. Once studio work - on location and in studio started, I changed my thought processes and started paying attention to f-stops.

My camera works Entirely in stops, Strobes Are measured in f-stops , meters are in f-stops everything is f-stops. So I started learning f-stops too. Even light falloff is f-stops. I see light and shadows first and how f-stops interact. Even shutter speed is stops. ISO is stops. Dynamic range is stops...

Now I can start learning...

...now, about t-stops.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Alafoto wrote:

I use program mode as my default setting but manua... (show quote)

Ala ... just a reminder .... Program Mode ALWAYS allows YOU to master ISO ... but if you don't want to, put it on AUTO ISO, and you have that covered, too ... then, all you need worry about is flash usage, which FULL AUTO provides you ... still - using Program Mode as your default - makes a lotta sense ... then, you don't have to stop and fiddle - making adjustments with aperture and shutter speed ....

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

ELNikkor wrote:

"P" is my default mode when I want to be ready for general shooting on my D5100. If DOF or freezing the action becomes the priority, I'll look for what the usually-wise "P" has chosen and if I disagree, I'll over-ride with my preference with either "A", "S", or "M".

That's a neat way to play it, El ... and highly recommended ... I like your reference to it as "usually-wise" .... Kudos!!!!

Alafoto Loc: Montgomery, AL

Chris T wrote:

Ala ... just a reminder .... Program Mode ALWAYS allows YOU to master ISO ... but if you don't want to, put it on AUTO ISO, and you have that covered, too ... then, all you need worry about is flash usage, which FULL AUTO provides you ... still - using Program Mode as your default - makes a lotta sense ... then, you don't have to stop and fiddle - making adjustments with aperture and shutter speed ....

I generally WANT to select either an aperture or shutter speed to suit what I am shooting, but the P mode is a great fallback position to be ready for "targets of opportunity." I do not want the camera to decide the proper ISO speed for me since it doesn't know what quality of light I am shooting in, only the quantity of light it measures. I rarely use the pop up flash and don't want the camera to decide when to deploy it. If flash is needed I prefer my old reliable 580ex. This is the principal reason I use P instead of A. For most family photos, I leave the cam's ISO @ 400 and will often change that when doing more deliberate shooting.

Thanks for the additional insight though, Chris.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

cameraf4 wrote:

Have never used Program/Full Auto mode on any Nikon I have owned. Use Aperture Priority 80% of the time and Manual "the other half."

F4 ... writing it as "Program/Full Auto mode" - as you just did ... makes the implication they're BOTH the same. They're NOT!

Full Auto takes over completely - setting ISO (which Program doesn't) setting both shutter speed and aperture (which Program does) AND making the choice of using the built-in flash (if supplied) - which is WHY it's called FULLY AUTO ... it also negates Creative Settings on JPGs.

Program Mode, on the other hand - works just like the AP, SP and M modes - in that respect. Anything you've changed in THAT department - is carried through to your end result. Fully Auto disregards all that. So, Program Mode does things quite, quite differently, than F/Auto.