Program shift

A recent thread in the Nikon compartment here asked, "Who uses P mode?" As expected, the thread soon degenerated into ideological sparring.

There, the use of P mode was vilified as "giving up all control of the exposure". (I make a similar concession every time I start my Passat and put the transmission control lever in D rather than in the manual up/down side slot.)

Although I never advocated, nor discouraged, the use of P mode (I just jumped in to correct a misstatement about the mode as found on Canon EOS cameras), I was soon reviled as "preferring less, rather than more, control of my camera." Wow! I'll be glad when election season is over!

But the "event" reminded me of an important feature of the Canon EOS cameras (and many other cameras as well): the program shift function. Many have never used it, or even thought about it.

Briefly, what that means is this. We place the camera in P mode, aim it at the scene, and half press. The camera chooses a combination of aperture and shutter speed that will provide the exposure suggested by the metering process, with the balance between aperture and shutter speed empirically controlled by a "program curve".

But suppose we note the choices as shown in the finder, and think, "Oh dear, I had no idea it was so dark in here. I wish the camera had chosen a bit slower shutter speed and a bit smaller aperture." (The IS on the lens will probably let me get by with such a slower shutter speed.)

Well, no problem. Just spin the top wheel a little to the left, and the balance will shift for us (the exposure remaining the same) until we see what seems to be the best compromise . We fire and go about our business.

Now if I had known the general range of scene luminance by visual observation, and was able to solve the exposure equations in my head, I could have put the camera in Av mode and set that ideal compromise shutter speed at the outset. And felt the thrill of power.

But I'm just a telephone engineer.

Brilliant as usual!

Doug,

Today I visited with Kathy Rapparport and she told me about Canonites swamping into the Mikon area like hungry day-laborers swarming around customers cars at the lumbar yard, looking for jobs. I had not even realized that this "P" mode discussion was ever about Nikon cameras! I just assumed that this was a discussion about the "P" mode! How foolish!

In fact I have no idea whether or not the "P" mode is a Nikon thing or whether or not it is analogous to the "P" function on Canon Eos cameras. I happen to use Av or M mode. The latter when I want to think, knowing well the camera can do a great job, but betting I can do better knowing what I'm seeing.

I just noticed that in the quite brilliant strobed pictures of hummingbirds, Jaime Johnson uses "Program mode".

Doug_Kerr said:

... But I'm just a telephone engineer.

Click to expand...

So am I and Ray too (the electronics variety). And we have taken an oath to be bound by the Nyquist frequency. We observe twice the information we dispense (LOL).

Good post Doug, as usual. BTW, that is exactly how I've used the P mode for many years and still do every now and then.

Cheers,

Allo! allo! Doug?

Yes good post…

FYI, the Sinar Hy6 also has a "P" mode… but I use all manual… because of the socalled darkness or the speed needed or whatever I feel should be better for the intent…

Allo! allo!Allo! allo!Allo! allo!Allo! allo! Can't hear you! speak louder!

LoL

Hi, Asher,

Asher Kelman said:

Today I visited with Kathy Rapparport and she told me about Canonites swamping into the Mikon area like hungry day-laborers swarming around customers cars at the lumbar yard, looking for jobs. I had not even realized that this "P" mode discussion was ever about Nikon cameras! I just assumed that this was a discussion about the "P" mode! How foolish!

Click to expand...

Well, it was introduced without specific reference to Nikon cameras, and I took it to be generic (likely posed by a Nikon user, of course).

But I gave some information about its implementation on Canon EOS cameras (to dispel a possible misunderstanding from a very broad statement made in the thread about "P modes" in general - that they brought with them the peremptory deployment and firing of cameras' onboard flash units).

When my supposed advocacy of P mode (which I never made) was attacked as foolish by an ideologue, I pursued the discussion, in a camera-independent way.

Nevertheless, a later result was a "complaint" about Canon facts being discussed in a Nikon-labeled forum.

It reminds me of that famous witty metaphor about the three basic laws of thermodynamics, which are said to mean, in popular terms:

- You can't win
- You can't break even
- You can't even get out of the game

But the discussion of P mode was fortuitous. I helped me not to forget a little duty I had this morning before going to the medical lab.

Best regards,

Doug

Telephone and P Mode

As I said, when I want someone else's opinion of what setting to use, I readily will use P mode and then switch to AV or adjust to taste. Isn't the P for Professional (just kidding).

And you will frequently find me with the telephone in use but that's about it. I am however somewhat of a computer geek doing accounting work and some software consulting.