When do you use the <p> mode?

S

sidxms

Messages
991
Edit My Images
Yes
This is something I've never understood.

IF the lighting is the same-ish - It makes sense to go manual.
For sports - you want to keep the shutter high so Tv
I mainly use Av as I need the max possible shutter when its wide open.

That just leaves the <p> mode really. I'm guessing this is sort of an auto mode but you get to control iso? What advantages does it have in specific situations?

sid
 
I guess its for the moments when your not ready and you need to be quick. You cant really do much wrong in program mode.
 
I keep mine in P mode when I carry it around, because it is easy to change either the speed or aperture quickly.
 
Yeah it's pretty much an automatic mode for people who understand their camera more.

It gives you control, I believe, over ISO, white balance, metering mode, drive mode and focus mode, and also allows you to shoot in raw.

Automatic (green box), on the other hand, gives you a choice of JPEG images, gives automatic white balance, metering is evaluative (i think), iso is automatic, focus is set to AI focus, and drive mode can be set to either single shot or timer.

Basically, program does a) shutter speed and b) aperture and that's it (on some more modern cameras you can also set the ISO to automatic, too)
 
Fair enough, its just the combination of shutter and aperture it picks is never really good.

I guess thats what you get for a jack of all trades mode. Pro cameras don't have green box mode so P is as close as I can get really.

sid
 
I will use it if I am out with a camera but not specifically out to take pictures. e.g. family outings, etc.

However, I have two cameras with a P setting and another thirty which are fully manual so I don't use it very much!


Steve.
 
My 40d has green box mode!
I feel upset now :(

Anyway, the shutter and aperture it picks is simply a balance. It gives you the correct exposure, which no doubt is completely different to the creative exposure you're looking for, hence why M is fantastic when you have time, or TV and AV for when time is of the essence.
 
I started using it but on my camera at least it resets the settings after each shot , so yes it's an auto mode where you get to pick predefined combinations of aperture and shutter speed but for me unless it remembers it it's not much use, so I tend to use manual more... and I don't really know what I'm doing and still prefer it.
 
I think in P mode if you use a zoom lens it changes the balance between the aperture and speed depending on focal length. So if you have the zoom at it's longest focal length it increases the speed and opens the aperture. As you reduce the focal length the speed reduces to suit. I find it useful for taking quick shots.
 
Strangways said:
I think in P mode if you use a zoom lens it changes the balance between the aperture and speed depending on focal length. So if you have the zoom at it's longest focal length it increases the speed and opens the aperture. As you reduce the focal length the speed reduces to suit. I find it useful for taking quick shots.
Click to expand...

I did not know that! I just checked and can confirm that it works :)
(a 24-60/2.8 lens isn't the best specimen to try it though :p)
 
foodpoison said:
I bet you can guess within a stop the correct exposure for pretty much any scene!
Click to expand...

In the normal range of daylight from bright sun to dismal overcast, yes. Lower than that, I need a meter.

I used P mode on my Nikon F-601 on Saturday as we had a family trip to a wildlife park. I just wanted to be a normal person (as near as possible!) with a camera, not a photographer, so I put it on P mode so I could just pick it up, press the shutter and put it down again without fussing around.


Steve.
 
Suppose it has the advantage of being like Full Auto but you set the ISO and control when the flash pops up
 
I use P mode almost all the time. No different from A or S mode really - it's just that the camera picks what it thinks is a suitable shutter speed for the focal length you're using and and aperture to suit. A quick turn on the rear dial and you get the shutter speed or aperture that you want (if you think the camera's chosen wrongly). Add or subtract a bit of exposure with the exp.comp. button (if you need to).

For people who don't know how to use a camera? I don't think so! I know pretty well what results I'll get from a given aperture at a given focal length (and I'm even better at that again now I've gone FF!) and what shutter speed will give me the right amount of background blur when panning or allow me to handhold without camera shake. Hell, I can even make a good guess as to what settings the camera's going to give me for a scene and be able to tell when the meter's going to get it wrong.

When not in P mode, I'll tend to be in M. Mainly because that'll give me consistent exposure around a multi shot panorama or because the lighting is odd or I'm after a specific effect.
 
I think the &#8216;P&#8217; mode is over looked and underestimated.
You get a starting point for exposure and you can then, with your front dial, change it up or down to get what speed or F-stop you want.
If you know your camera well, as you should, you will already have your exposure adjustment set for your exposures, so it work no different then &#8216;Tv&#8217; or &#8216;Av&#8217; but with more flexibility.
 
I don't use the P mode. I find A mode by far the most useful.

I once heard someone say "P is for Pro". That may have been Ken Rockwell.
 
No it is prayer mode for when you are to ****ed to think....
 
p is for PANIC mode in my head anyway so i always use it at weddings :lol:
 
I use P quite a bit. Sometimes, I am using a camera just to capture something. I was listing some bits on eBay the other day, for example.

Sometimes I pick the camera up quickly and just need to capture it. Camera on, P, snap. Ah, little dark... Up one click, snap. Perfect.

I know how to use a camera but sometimes I just don't want to...
 
I went to Silverstone last weekend and stuck my camera on landscape mode for taking pics of the circuit cause I couldn't be bothered and just wanted some snaps, I felt so dirty :)
 
I tend to use A mode on my d90 - aperture priority, sometimes using S mode if i need to concentrate on that.

I have used Manual a few times, although on holiday recently in cyprus (so bright sunshine) the exposure was fine on anything from 1/2000 to 1/4000, or on some occasions 1/640 to 1/1600. What do I do there - go for something in the middle??
 
Yeah it's pretty much an automatic mode for people who understand their camera LESS.
 
Only when I accidentally knock it onto it...which is with alarming regularity :(
 
awp said:
Yeah it's pretty much an automatic mode for people who understand their camera LESS.
Click to expand...
How so? I understand my camera yet I use it now and again.
 
awp said:
Yeah it's pretty much an automatic mode for people who understand their camera LESS.
Click to expand...

I think it the green square your thinking of The P mode need some thinking as it will set your speed and Fstop but its up to the user to adjust it for what they want It no differant then Av or Tv as your still letting it read teh light and then YOU adjust it as you want.
 
P mode.

used when i am taking pics of car parts im selling and im not in the mood to set a camera up as im in a rush/taking pics of multiple items quickly in a not bothered about pic kinda way.

Using it any other time when you are shooting and its important just makes me think, why buy an SLR if you are going to use P mode LOL
 
fastworldimages said:
P mode.

used when i am taking pics of car parts im selling and im not in the mood to set a camera up as im in a rush/taking pics of multiple items quickly in a not bothered about pic kinda way.

Using it any other time when you are shooting and its important just makes me think, why buy an SLR if you are going to use P mode LOL
Click to expand...
£4,000 professional bodies have the P mode. Ask yourself why...
 
InkZ said:
I went to Silverstone last weekend and stuck my camera on landscape mode for taking pics of the circuit cause I couldn't be bothered and just wanted some snaps, I felt so dirty :)
Click to expand...

Lolll I used to use P when I first got an slr But now usually keep it on av, tv and m However reading through this post makes me want to go and try it out some more!
 
foodpoison said:
I bet you can guess within a stop the correct exposure for pretty much any scene!
Click to expand...

Can't you???

I thought everyone could do that
:shrug:

DD

PS - oh - and I use P-mode on holiday when I'm P-shed, isn't that what the P stands for... being drunk ??? :D
 
Jayst84 said:
Funny thread, which explains a lot of the photos posted on here.

I've never done a test (obviously) but I reckon it takes about half a second to set the right exposure in manual.

EDIT: and most of the time, much less.
Click to expand...

I'd like to take you up on that as a challenge - 1/2 sec or less my arse :D

Now 2 secs and I may agree, just depends how you're metering and how far 'off' you're willing to accept

DD
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top