Camera modes

[algea]

I had some questions concerning some of the modes of my camera and the concepts behind them. I just got the Fuji s5100 as many of you have probably seen and love it! I do want to learn more advanced techniques to help me get the better than average results this camera can achieve. I was wondering if anyone could explain to me what the purpose of the P, S, A, and M modes are. Also, I don't fully know what aperature means and when to use different shutter speeds and things of this nature. Any help/links would be appreciated!!

[Grinder]

WOW - starting out from scratch aye?

I suggest you read the manual? and look for some other books on basic photography. I have some great links but they are at work.

P,S,A,M are manual modes each adjusts a certain part of the camera - for instance - with S you adjust the shutter speed and the camera will adjust the aperature, A - you adjust the aperature and the camera adjust the shutter speed. P - puts in what the camera THINKS is perfect and you adjust either and the camera adjust the other. M- you adjust everything.

aperature is like the iris(sp?) in your eye - it opens and closes letting in light - combined with the shutter which is your eye lid.

The faster the shutter the more stop action. The smaller the aperature the greater field of focus.

Check this link out
http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/toc.html

[algea]

Thank you so much Grinder! That gets me off to a start. I never really knew just exactly what those terms meant. I somewhat did but those analogies gave me a little help. Thanks man!

[msantos]

I also suggest you read the manual first. However I think this is not what you are looking for. Here is a very simplified description and some recomendations:

P - Program Mode. It is the most similar to having a film "point & shoot" camera. This is the fully automated mode. Very useful for most situations.

A - Aperture priority. Yo set the diaphragm aperture and the camera sets the shutter speed.

It is easy to be confused, double read this

Low aperture value = big aperture;

High aperture value = small aperture.

In general words, aperture meansDeep of Field. If you want to have "everything" in focus, set aperture value to a high value (small aperture) ie: f6.5 or higher.It is very useful for landscape picts. If you want to have your subject in focus and the background blured, set low aperture value, i.e. f4 or lower. This is very useful for portraits.



S - Shutter priority. You set the shutter speed (in seconds) and the camera automaticaly sets the aperture. Controlling the shutter speed you can control the "movement" of the subject.

If you set a low shutter speed (1/60 or less), you can capture the movement of the subject. If you seta high shutter speed, you can"freeze" all the movement.

M - Manual mode. You need to manually set both, Aperture and Shutter. It is only recommended for advanced users. I suggest you try a lot of shoots with A & S programs and then start playing with Manual mode

***

Both parameters are very related each other, but you can have very nice shoots knowing the above.

Below I post some exaples of what you can get with different Apertures and Shutter parameters.

[msantos]

msantos wrote:

Below I post some exaples of what you can get with different Apertures and Shutter parameters.

Low aperture value: f2.8 Note the face in focus and the background totally blurred. (he is my son :love

[msantos]

High Aperture Value: f7.3 Note everything (near & far) is in focus.

(Xochicalco Pyramid, Morelos, Mexico)

[msantos]

High shutter speed: 1/125 Everything looks static (the car was running!!)

[msantos]

Slow shutter speed: 1.3 sec (with tripod). Note the car is running, however, if your main subject is the car...mmhh... bad thing, you can not see it. If you want to show the dynosaurs and "something" running in between, it is ok.

[msantos]

Panning with Low shutter speed: 1.3 sec. If your main subject is the car, and you want to show it is running in Jurassic Park :lol:, you can move the camera following the subject while the shutter is open. This technique is quite dificult, but with a little bit of practice, you can achieve impressive shoots.

[algea]

Thanks very much santos! Great examples there. You have a cute son too. Thanks man.