List of digital camera modes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Generic mode dial for digital cameras showing some of the most common modes. (Actual mode dials can vary from camera to camera. For example, point-and-shoot cameras don't often have manual modes.) Manual modes: Manual (M), Program (P), Shutter priority (S), Aperture priority (A). Automatic modes: Auto, Action, Portrait, Night portrait, Landscape, Macro.

Many digital cameras support a number of digital camera modes.

[edit] Manual modes

Manual modes give the photographer control over the various parameters of an exposure. They include:

P: Program mode offers partial control over shutter speed and aperture.
Tv or S: Shutter priority controls the shutter speed, and aperture is calculated by the camera.
Av or A: Aperture priority controls the aperture, and shutter speed is calculated by the camera.
M: Manual mode controls shutter speed and aperture independently.

[edit] Automatic modes

In automatic modes the camera determines all aspects of exposure, choosing exposure parameters according to the application within the constraints of correct exposure, including exposure, aperture, focussing, light metering, white balance, and equivalent sensitivity. For example in portrait mode the camera would use a wider aperture to to render the background out of focus, and would seek out and focus on a human face rather than other image content. In the same light conditions a smaller aperture would be used for a landscape, and recognition of faces would not be enabled for focusing.

Some cameras have tens of modes. Many cameras do not document exactly what their many modes do; for full mastery of the camera one must experiment with them.

In general:

Action or sports modes increase ISO and uses a short shutter speed to capture action.
Landscape modes uses a small aperture to gain depth of field.
Portrait mode widens the aperture to throw the background out of focus. The camera may recognise and focus on a human face.
Night portrait modes uses an exposure long enough to capture background detail, with fill-in flash to illuminate a nearby subject.
Fireworks modes ...
Snow modes ...
Natural light or night snapshot modes...
Macro or close-up modes ...
Movie mode allows a still camera to take moving pictures.

Information on the operation of some modes used by some camera models, often not documented in user manuals, follows: