IDguy Loc: Idaho

No, it really isn’t. It appears to me to continue to confirm your confusion...including not getting that you are confused.

P mode uses your settings such as metering mode and ISO, and includes using the thumbwheel to get the preferred combination of shutter speed and f-stop. It is the same as A and S mode, with the advantage of offering an initial guess.

Auto mode is closer to the point and shoot counterpart. Although most point and shoot cameras are not nearly as sophisticated as DSLR Auto algorithms.

BebuLamar

I can make my camera to provide any exposure it can provide in M using P mode in combination with AE-Lock, and Exposure Compensation but M is simply easier. Slow yes but easier. As a beginner you're not going to need to work fast so use M it's easier on your brain although a bit slow. I don't one should use P mode unless one know exactly how it's going to set the exposure. As one gets more experience one would know exactly what the camera is going to do in each mode but not as a beginner.

wj cody Loc: springfield illinois

point camera, take image.

GalaxyCat Loc: Boston, MA

Thanks for this information. I'm going to try Manual.

GalaxyCat Loc: Boston, MA

Ha! Very good!

IDguy Loc: Idaho

It might be a good learning exercise.

You’ll get over it as you learn how to use the power of your DSLR. You can unhook the horse from your Lexus.

GalaxyCat Loc: Boston, MA

Are you talking about the car, a Lexus? I just want a new Jeep Grand Cherokee! Just kidding. Way out of my reality.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

Hah! I recently bought a Jeep Patriot to tow behind my motorhome. I went for it because of the light weight and ease of adjusting for flat tow. It is a very basic model. Especially compared to the 4Runner I dumped when I got it.

Interestingly, I really like the little critter!

So, to bring it back to the discusion at hand, it is full manual! (Including the door locks, which I grew up with, but now miss the most).

I already wanted to replace it with a Cherokee ( not grand...too heavy) but they messed it up for towing.

ronf78155 Loc: Seguin Texas

Two four letter words that begon with J and mean the same thing................
Jeep
Junk

tomcat

Amen to that. Check out their reliability ratings and Jeep is among the worst (worse?) of all. I had two in my life---the first and the last.....

"Pretty to look at, this nice little car, but once you own it, you won't go far"

ronf78155 Loc: Seguin Texas

Ive also had rwo (top of the line Junks...I mean Jeeps
One blew the engine on a Colorado ski trip
Jeep #2 blew it's transmission in Canada...and the dealership there had to wait two months for the parts
I flew back to Texas, then back to Canada to retrieve it and drive it back to Texas......when I go close to home the transmission started slipping again.....so I drove it to a Chevrolet dealership and traded it on a Tahoe!

NEVER AGAIN !

IDguy Loc: Idaho

I knew Jeeps used to have a bad rep. Hadn’t heard much about that in recent years.

I bought my little Patriot used with two years left on the warranty. So far it has been a gem. Seems like I might want to send it fown the road when it nears the end of the warranty.

Since I’ve had it I have noticed that there are lots of them here in Idaho. Seems like the most common car.

My son had a Liberty for several years. No issues.

Bugfan Loc: Toronto, Canada

Actually when you set it to P you really should not have to do anything more than press the shutter. But like all things it's not always that simple.

When I head out to a shoot I take a few pictures of things that represent my typical subjects of the moment. This gives me a chance to test the brightness of the day and the colour balance too. I will then adjust the camera to ensure optimal pictures and head out to take some. Taking this approach I have minimal adjustments to make every time a subject appears.

The P in your camera automatically sets the aperture and the shutter speed. So take a few pictures and see what happens in P. If the shutter speed is fast enough and the aperture gives you the depth of field you want there's nothing to do but take the picture. On the other hand if the shutter speed is too slow you can increase the ISO to offset this or you can open the aperture more. The mode allows you to adjust the aperture/shutter combination up and down. So usually you just take the picture but if that doesn't get you what you want adjusting the combination using P usually does address the issue.

One other thought. I note a lot of people talk about the green auto button. Yes you can use that too but it works differently. That button completely ignores all your camera settings and decides for itself what to do. Sometimes that's good, sometimes the algorithm that is used actually gets you good stuff. But ... often that is not the case. P works sort of like auto but it also takes into account the camera settings you selected and it works with them.

I hope that helps a little. Good Luck.

canon Lee

Hi Cat. "P" mode is a semi automatic mode, in that it takes a guess at what exposure should be, but you have the option to "tweak" the results. After you push the shutter down half way, your camera is focusing, Pressing it all the way locks in the exposure. The next thing you do CAT, is look at your histogram, and make a correction with the "exposure compensator" dial... Then take another shot to see if the correction is good. Learn about histograms, as this graph will guide you to a good exposure.

Shel B

You will learn a lot using manual settings....mostly about depth of field, stopping action and such. Mostly I think you will learn that they invented the automatic settings for a reason....they make photography easier and allow you to concentrate more on the subject and less on the camera. IMO they've made the digital cameras way more complex and computer like than they needed to. I'd be very happy with a simple full frame dslr with a fixed aperture of f8 and adjustment for iso. I think I could take the vast majority of my photos with a camera like that. But I'm old school...mainly old.