The [AP] Blog

Hello Everyone,

I thought I’d just write a quick one to cover the functions of most vaguely advanced cameras. (Here meaning, SLRs, and Prosumer cameras, check out which cameras there are, HERE). There are some modes that can help make a subtle difference to your pictures, and also make it easier on you. I will explain the basic modes and then you can choose what you want to do…!

Program
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Program, is very similar to that of the ‘Automatic‘ function, this basically means that the camera will work everything out to do with the shutter speed and the aperture.

People often ask me why there is an Automatic mode, and then also a Program mode. The short answer is that the Program mode leaves you to configure ‘Soft’ settings, by which I mean, White Balance, Metering, ISO etc. Whereas in most cases, Automatic will leave you with nothing to change yourself and it will do everything for you.

Tv / S
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Known as Tv, (Time Value), on Canon cameras, and S, (shutter), on everything else this option gives you one variable to control, Shutter Speed.

This is quite useful if you want to either capture movement or not, and basically means that when you choose a shutter speed, the camera chooses the aperture to suit, and the end result will be a correct exposure. Of course, you have to remember that you cannot choose extreme values, as these will not work…!

Av / A
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Known as Av, (Aperture Value), on Canon, and A, (aperture), on everything else, this gives you the opposite variable to Tv/S. Here, you control the Aperture.

This is what I use nearly all the time, it is the most useful for me. And it will be for you too if you wish to create dramatic images with shallow depths of field, say using an f-stop of around 2.8, or if you want to shoot landscapes at f/16/32. If the aperture things are confusing, I’ve written a 101 article explaining it: HERE.

M
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Known as M on everything, (that I know of), this function is complete manual control. I.E. you have complete control over every function.

As far as I’m concerned, this function is only really useful when you wish to take extreme shots, for example, night shots, or HDR images. Otherwise, I feel that it is safer for you to stick in the one variable sections.

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I hope this has been a quick but concise guide explaining your camera’s modes for you.

Thanks a lot for reading,

Charlie - Teenage Photographer