Exposure Modes on DSLR and Mirrorless Camera
Each digital camera, even DSLR camera, mirrorless camera nor pocket camera, there is command dial on the top of camera where we can choose operation mode of camera. And at least they always have modes such as : Auto, P, S, (Tv), A(Av), M and Scene. You
can look at command dial of camera like this photo bellow:
Nikon and
Sony using S and A notation, while Canon and Pentax using Tv and Av, both of
them is same but different in notation. The abbreviation of this modes are : Auto for automatic, P for Program mode, S or Tv for Shutter Priority Mode, A and Av for Aperture Priority Mode, M for manual Mode and Scene for automatic mode that suitable with kind of object option that will be take.
Let’s see
one by one of modes, to make it clear enough:
Auto Mode
Auto mode
usually marked by green icon on camera that accompanied with letter "A" . In
this mode, camera will trying to analyze object that we will shoot and then
determine all camera setting. When there’s term point and shoot without have to
change anything, this mode called auto mode.
Looks so fun
isn’t it? Unfornately the resulf of this mode isn’t give maximum result. In
auto mode , camera will determine ISO size, Shutter speed, Aperture using
computer work plot which is determined by camera maker based lighting condition
when we press the shutter in an half (
doing Metering)
When we
shoot in tricky condition, like sunset for example, camera will enough confused
to shoot photo that don’t describe the sunset what we want. Moreover,
because you’ve bought DSLR/Mirrorless camera that more expensive better that
pocket camera or smartphone, keep shooting with using auto mode it’s feel so
waste.
Overall ,
Auto mode is suitable for the conditions like this :
- When we so hurry, the most important is the moment that we don’t want to pass away, we don’t have much time to set our camera.
- When you are truly beginner, when you still don’t understand about Exposure Concept.
In new
generation cameras, also there are available Intelligent Auto mode, this is auto mode with additional feature like
face detection, i-Contrast (Canon) or D-Lighting (Nikon). Also there’s another
mode which is named Creative Auto where we
can change the Depth of Field. When your camera equipped by this mode, you should using intelligent
auto/creative auto mode better than usual auto mode, at least there will be
enhancement of photo result.
Need to know
that when we’ve used auto mode, there are many camera options and setting will
be turned off by camera it self to make camera work easily.
Scene Mode
Scene mode
is mode option where we choose certain object type or landscape that we will
shoot. For example we will take a picture of friend: rotate command dial to scene
position then choose Portrait. In Scene mode, camera was equipped with common
camera setting that use in typical of photoshoot condition.
There are types of situation that available in scene mode :
- Portrait : camera will restict sharp space (depth of field) automatically, so that the backround become bluured and make the model face more stunning ( adding setting of skin tone and shoftening in order to make skin more looks soft)
- Landscape ; when we shoot
landscape, camera will use depth of field more wide so the object which is
near nor farthest of object looks soo depth. Green and blue color also
will more contrast.
- Macro (Close Up) : when you
want to shoot flower from close distance or want to shoot meat ball in a
bowl before you eat that.
- Sport : Used when we shoot
object that moving so fast. Camera will move to focus method that doing
tracking following the movement of the object.
- Night portrait : Used when we
want to shoot face at night. The Flash light wll turning on automatically.
- Sunset/Sunrise : used when we want to shoot snuset/sunrise to make the picture clear enough.
- Fireworks : to shoot fireworks by using shutter speed very slow.
- Beach/Snow : camera will doing
compensation to avoid under-exposed because measure white background.
- The other modes options depend
on type and merk of camera.
Program Mode
(P)
When we are
in program Mode (P) , camera will determine the number of shutter speed and
aperture automatically. Even though, we can change aperture or shutter speed
combination.
Camera will
trying to balancing between Shutter Speed and Aperture, we will direct the lens to the bright area, the number of Aperture will increasing automatically , meanwhile
the shutter speed will keeping on number which is decent fast fair. Direct the
camera to the dark area and the number of aperture will decline to mantain the
shutter in order to make the object not so blurred/unfocus.
The way to
change setting that we’ve choosen is with rotating command dial of camera. If we
turn to left camera will be forced to slowing down the shutter speed and
increase the aperture. If we rotate the comman dial to the right, camera will be forced to accelerate shutter speed and decrease the aperture.
Shutter Speed Priority Mode (S atau Tv)
In Priority Shutter Mode, we can set the number of shutter speed manually, and camera pick
the number of aperture automatically based of
how much lights that come through lens. We use This
mode usually in the case when the shutter speed in the most critical condition
: for example when we will freezing the object movement that move fastly ( need
high shutter speed setting) or if we design to create the blurred photos what we want (
need very low shutter speed setting). Likewise when we want to use panning photo
technique like the picture bellow, move to priority shutter mode will make it
easier:
If there are
too much lights, therefore the number of aperture will increase ( aperture lens
decreasing) so the number of lights which is come through lens will
decline, more of lights are come into lens.
Therefore in
priority shutter mode, the number of shutter speed will constantly never change
suitable with our setting, meanwhile there are variation of number of aperture depend on how much the
lights come into lens.
Aperture
Priority Mode ( A or Av)
In Priority Aperture mode, we determine value of aperture setting manually and camera will
determine the value of shutter speed suitable with how much lights that come
into lens. When using Priority aperture mode, we have full contol about depth
of field, because we can decline or incline the aperture lens and let the
camera counting the number of shutter speed.
Using
priority aperture mode is the safe way when using camera because the risk of
under-exposed (dark) photo or over-exposed ( too bright) is pretty small. Why ?
because the number of shutter speed of camera have pretty wide ranges: from 30 seconds untill 1/400
seconds (or 1/8000 seconds in current camera), and the ranges of number like
that is quite wide for any situation of photoshoot lighting.
To make
water pool looks quite sharp like the end of bridge at the far side, set the
priority aperture in f/14.
Manual Mode (M).
Like the name “manual”, we determine the value of camera aperture and shutter speed full
manually, The camera will only measure
the lights and give recomendation through metering scala, but it won’t do
anything except it.
This mode
can be used when we shoot photo object whose have lighting condition that make
confuse the camera. For example, when we shoot our friend on the beach that very
calm, camera maybe wrong when measure the exposure, so our friend face
becoming black. In order to make sand in the beach isn’t over-exposed. In this
condition, we can use manual mode , use metering with the spot metering with
measure exposure on our friend face before then determine aperture and shutter
speed based the result of metering before. The result is photo that more focus
on your friend face better than the beach.
Manual mode
also useful in current condition, for example when we shoot panorama/landscape, to make it
consitently. Panorama photos that was created from some photos , and the number
of aperture or shutter speed could be consistent, thus the final result of
panorama photos will consistently in perfect color , there’s dark and there’s
the bright area. Another example is when photoshoot session using many variant
of flash in studio that will so hard in measure with camera metering and need
separate lightmeter.
To changes
shutter speed and aperture setting, when you use the camera that only have one
command dial, rotating the command dial will change only one of them ; aperture
or shutter speed. The other setting would changed with rotating the command dial
while pressing the button of exposure compensation.
Bulb Mode (B)
Bulb mode is
one of settings especially in camera, where we can use the shutter speed above
30 seconds, moreover we can using shutter speed as long as we want. The maximum
shutter speed range on DSLR/ mirrorless camera when use the other , it will
ending in number 30 seconds, so with this bulb mode we can use shutter speed
more far than the number before.
The word
bulb appear along time ago, our grandfather and grandmother who were
photgrapher using wind buble in bulb that press the shutter mechanism in order
to opening the shutter.
The bulb
mode is needed to make photo with the exposure times 120 seconds.
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