Digital Camera Shooting Modes - Which is Most Popular?
Last week I asked readers what shooting mode they shoot in most.
The results actually surprised me a little (and so did the massive numbers of responses - well over 200 so far). From the emails that I get from readers and the last time I informally asked this question I was half expecting ‘Automatic’ to feature a lot more heavily in the responses.
However the vast majority of readers get a little more manual than I was expecting with the most using Aperture Priority Mode, followed by Full Manual Mode. I’ve graphed the results below to give a visual representation of what people are using.
Note: It is worth noting that I did receive a few emails from more beginner readers saying that they didn’t vote because they felt a little ‘out of their league’ as ‘Auto’ shooters.
I wanted to let those of you who are shooting in Auto know that there’s no need to be embarrassed by this at all. We all start somewhere and many experienced photographers will admit to using automatic or semi-automatic modes from time to time when the situation calls for it.
The purpose of this site is to help digital photographers of all levels to expand their knowledge and skill levels of their photography. While I do hope that some who predominantly shooting in Auto mode learn to discover the full potential of their cameras features the mode that you shoot in doesn’t make you a great photographer - there are many other factors that are just as important.
I should also note that while my personal preference is for Aperture Priority Mode - that my own choice is very situational and will depend upon the scene I’m hoping to capture and the circumstances that I’m shooting in (as I’m sure it is with many of you).
For those of you wanting to learn more about Aperture (and Shutter) Priority Mode you might like to check out this tutorial on the topic.
PS: Semi-Auto Modes refers to other modes like Portraits, Macro, Sports and Landscape (which I bundled together).
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May 22nd, 2007 at 2:27 am
That’s funny, the graph actually reflects my personal shooting preferences. Most of the time I’ll shoot aperture priority. I’m shooting manual more and more lately — especially when doing tripod work. Sometimes I’m just lazy and I shoot program. I rarely shoot shutter priority. And I never shoot auto or semi-auto.
Great results — very interesting.
May 22nd, 2007 at 2:47 am
I didn’t respond, but it is reassuring that as someone new to photography my preferences for shooting mode seem to be normal . 90% of the time I shoot in aperture priority, then shutter priority followed by Program (I like the camera picking do the light reading and being able to modify the aperture/shutter speed within the reading). I would love to be able to use manual more though, but I just don’t have enough experience yet. One day!
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:12 am
I generally shoot aperture priority, too. I started out using the automatic settings on my Canon Rebel, even though I was used to manual shooting from my slr film days. I know a lot of people jump right into manual; I guess I was a little more cautious. I hope people understand it’s alright to use automatic modes until they feel more comfortable with their cameras. When you have the time and want to explore what you can do with your camera, try the creative modes. You might surprise yourself and never go back!
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:49 am
I’ve read my manual a dozen times but am still puzzled. What is the difference between program and automatic? My Olympus E-300 has ‘program shift’ as well.
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:19 am
Quite astounding! These people with cameras preferring to shoot aperture preferred using cameras which have nothing other than full aperture settings. 97+% of all digital cameras in use have no irises to control.
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:19 am
When you shoot in “automatic” mode, the camera does ALL the “thinking” for you, whereas with program mode, I believe that some cameras allow you to make certain changes in your exposure variance. Plus, when shooting “automatic” it will fire the on-board flash if the camera deems it necessary…but you might not always want that.
There is a GREAT book you should consider picking up called “Understanding Exposure” by Bryan Peterson. After reading that book, I have become MUCH more comfortable using AP, TV, and Manual modes on my camera. I can’t recall the last time (since then) that I’ve ever used Program mode. Can’t imagine going back either.
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:49 am
I started with P mode (D40X). Then I played with Aperture and shutter speed. If I have time I don’t mind spending time looking at the shots, and trying and improving them. But when I’m in a hurry P mode is the best (ej. candid).
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:26 am
i can’t believe Tv mode came in so low!! If I am not shooting Av, then the only reason why is because I need shutter priority!
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:06 am
Well I too prefer Aperture Priority, normally as depth of field is always something I like to have the full control over. Might have been useful to ask for the top three to better reflect true usage. As you say yourself at the end of the article, it really depends “upon the scene I’m hoping to capture and the circumstances that I’m shooting in”. For example, does the above graph show that only a small percentage prefer to use Shutter Priority regardless or that a small percentage are action photographers?
Michael: I agree that is a really good book. I can also recommend ‘Learn to see creatively’ by the same author which is an excellent guide that will definately improve your photography.
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:38 pm
I think that’s more or less the progression for users. It starts off with automatic and then people who get serious with photography go on to experiment with the modes.
On a personal note, most of the casual photographers I know cannot be bothered to move beyond Auto - which I think is a shame.
May 22nd, 2007 at 2:09 pm
I agree with Puja on this one. I do a lot of hand-shooting, so I’m Shaky McGee with the camera and NEED a fast shutter speed to keep blur to a minimum. (I tend to prefer moving targets as well.) As you can imagine, I don’t do much low-light shooting.
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:55 pm
I shoot Aperture Priority almost all the time unless I want a specific effect like motion blur, or for panning shots, then I’ll use Shutter Priority.
If the lighting is really tricky, in the Studio or for Macro shots I’ll use Full Manual.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:32 pm
My appreciation for the survey because it reminded me that Manual Mode is an option that I should not forget. Last weekend when I was taking pictures of our Rotary Conference, I was having problems with the “stage lighting”. The speaker was lit with spotlights while the majority of the frame was dark. I switched to “spot metering”, but the exposures were inconsistent…changing from person to person; then I remembered “manual mode” is an option. Using the “spot metering” for a good representative skin reading, I set the manual mode to those values. Worked like a charm: all of the pictures were consistently exposed making easy to process them with Lightroom.
May 23rd, 2007 at 12:03 am
When I was first taught sports photography, I told to manually expose for the grass and shoot plus 2/3rds of a stop, but now I tend to use aperture priority, changing the ISO setting to keep the shutter speed high.
May 23rd, 2007 at 12:14 am
Manual mode for me , I figure its the best way to learn my camera ( canon rebel xti )
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:37 am
the easiest way to shoot in aperture priority, but many a times depending upon lighting conditions, i prefer manual mode. shutter priority shoot in low light is a difficult task. programmed and auto are almost same and good for beginners and the people who do not want to take trouble of which aperture, which shutter speed. creativity ends there. a tripod, aperture priority accompanied with manual settings are only satisfactory shootages.
May 23rd, 2007 at 8:43 am
99% of the time I use full manual. In situations with lots of action/movement I sometimes will flip over to AP, open the iris all the way, and let the camera pick my shutter speed. This saves me the split second needed to manually adjust the shutter speed and gives me a better success rate of capturing ‘the shot’.
I’m pretty much learned in full-manual mode, and while I made a lot of mistakes early on, it taught me pretty quickly the impact shutter, aperture, and ISO settings had over the final image.
May 23rd, 2007 at 9:59 am
I find these forums very interesting…I have been a keen photographer for more years than I can remember, including a period of professional photography..Over the years with the development of the digital camera I find I am using the auto setting more often..Fully manual was formally my preferred mode, but times are changing..My wife is also a keen photographer (Auto mode)she uses an Olympus C750 and I a digital SLR. My passions are landscape and micro photography. (the latter in purely manual mode)
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Personally, I find very little wrong with shooting in auto in some instances.
I started on a Panasonic lumix dmc fz5, which has a really long start-up time for on-and-off shooting. it got to the point where I just left it in “easy” mode so I didn’t have to think about anything other than getting the shot. I slowly moved to full manual, but when I didn’t have enough time to meter and re-meter, back to auto it went.
now that I’ve upgraded to dslr, I leave it in either AV or the “no-flash” mode (semi-auto) for night sports I’ll leave it in Tv to try and see if it’s at all worth trying to shoot. anything lower than 1/100 and I save my batteries.
May 25th, 2007 at 1:57 am
i used to ise auto but now i use shutter speed most of the time most people seem to use aperture am i doing it the wrong way round?
May 25th, 2007 at 5:00 am
This is an odd topic, but I shoot primarily in manual. There are few instances that I shoot anything else. Anyone who is still shooting in auto, should probably not be shooting professionally anyway.
May 25th, 2007 at 6:56 am
Manual gives the consistently best exposure results for me in uneven lighting situations. Exposure latitude of digital is less than that of film, which I’m more accustomed to using, and the “what you see is what you get” available with manual fills the bill. Manual with a film camera shows you what the lens sees but with digital its as if you are seeing the image as recorded. Over time, almost 50 years, I seen film characteristics and camera technology change the images we record. A great photographer is both a visual artist and a technologist that understands how the image is effected by their equipment.
May 26th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Apperture Priority and full manual when I have time to frame each shot, Shutter Priority in Flash mode and when I have little time to frame a shot. If I am bored I will use the Program Mode.
Nick
May 28th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
Can someone explain the reason for using Apperture Priorty as the primary shooting mode? This may seem rather basic but would be interested in responses.
Jim
May 29th, 2007 at 9:00 am
For those of you who use Manual mode most of the time, do you have any tips for those of us who want to use Manual, but need to get the camera set for a shot rather quickly? For example, small children photography?THanks.
May 29th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
I usually use manual mode. It is easier for me to take a picture, and it is faster. Especially outdoor, I used the sunny 16 rule to predict the aperture and shutter speed. It is really faster work flow.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:04 am
What are some of the methods used to obtain the manual exposure settings? Spot meter reading? Gray card? Skin?
Thank you for your comments…
Todd
June 3rd, 2007 at 3:43 pm
I went to click on link for Aperture and Shutter modes and got hi-jacked to an Amazon.com book Failure Mode and Effectve Analysis: FMEA From Theory to Execution
were you aware of that??
how disappointing, I was really interested in finding out more about the A & S modes.
June 4th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
I wnated to shoot very high quality Close Up pictures.
Please guide me which specification is most important to check in a digital camera for this Purpose. Is it the MP, Macro Mode, both, Macro Mode, Focal Length or something else.
Please comment.
waiting for your kind reply
June 5th, 2007 at 6:19 am
I use Aperture mode much of the time. However, if I am just shooting snap shots of my children playing I will venture to Program and if I give the camera to my wife or someone else to take a picture I always switch it to auto.
Given the vast number of Cannon XTs I saw at my daughter’s ballet recital last week most with cheap wide/tele zooms I am sure there are many more auto shooters out there but they probably don’t read this blog or any others. I am all for people starting a hobby and I know you start somewhere but if please learn something about it.
June 16th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
manual ;)