Why use apperture priority?

[Jovog]

In this weeks reader poll a large majority states that they prefer apperture priority. I instead preferred shutter priority so far. Can you tell me the benefits of apperture priority - why is everyone using it? Thanks!
Joachim

[AnonymousKiwi1]

Hm. I use Manual 98% of the time. But this weekend I was at couple of events where I wanted to relax a little, so I switched to Aperture priority. Both times because I knew the light was going to be varying from shot to shot. The first was a parade under scudding clouds, the second a children's party in and out of trees. I knew I wanted my DoF deep enough to get lots of the scene in focus, and I knew that the light would be bright enough that motion blur was not likely to be a problem very often. So I chose to control the DoF, and let the shutter speed sort itself out. A couple of shots where the kids are whizzing past at high speed, the motion blur adds to the story.

[Jonbar18]

In 99% of cases (unless you're photographing something moving quickly), aperture has more visual affect on the image.

[navcom]

Aperture's first and most important function is controlling depth of field. DOF is vital to most genre's of photography.

I'm a landscape photographer. With landscapes, you usually need a lot of DOF, therefore it is the first thing I consider when setting up the camera for a shot. I rarely ever consider shutter speed except when I need to capture something moving fast as sharp as possible, such as water. And I never shoot without a tripod.

In reality, I usually use manual mode, but if there is any setting other than manual that I use the most, it's aperture priority.

DOF is also vital to portraiture. Much of the time it is the opposite of landscapes...a smaller DOF is required to blur the background and bring out the subject. Consider a light meter. Since aperture is usually considered before shutter, most determine what aperture to use based on your ISO, not shutter speed. In many situations, shutter only becomes important when light is low and handholding is the only option. Of course shutter can also be used for artistic effects as well, but aperture is generally chosen before shutter in most situations.

Hope that helps!

[faeriegodess612]

When I actually have the camera in my hands, I'm usually in Aperture Priority or Manual. Haven't picked it up lately other than to do some photos for some friends to put on their Christmas Cards. I think I shot in Manual, because AP wasnt doing it for me. Discovered how much my ghetto lighting sucks for portraits. Even with them diffused. Thank God for Photoshop, or they wouldve looked bad. ( Not that they looked fabulous or anything, but they were ok. )

[RichardTaylor]

I use it when aperture is the main concern, mainly to throw the background out of focus or if I want lots of DOF.

I don't use it when shooting action, except in very low light, I use shutter priority.
I usually shoot manual when shooting in in difficult lighting conditions

[ravncat]

I almost always use aperture priority - I don't shoot action much

As others say, it lets me control depth of field. I like to use the aperture rings on my lenses. I then judge via the histogram and keep an eye on the shutter speed to know if I am alright on the exposure.

I'll drop into manual if I am doing stitching of multiple shots, but most often, I only care that the shutter speed is fast enough for me.

[Doug Pardee]

1. Aperture has limited range. Most non-pro lenses only have maybe 2 stops of aperture range where they give reasonably sharp images. Mine needs to stay between about f/7 to f/14 if I want the best results. That's just one stop: not a lot of latitude for changing light conditions.
2. Aperture controls depth of field and diffraction.
3. For still subjects — landscape, architectural, still life, portraiture, etc., — the choice of shutter speed isn't very important.

Item #1 is not as critical in a camera that has the ability to change ISO as part of auto-exposure. Most cameras today don't have that. I'd like to have it, but I don't.

[OsmosisStudios]

I've used shutter speed priority twice: both were for stopping action in indoor sports. Even then, I'd likely have been better off in manual.

[SwissJon]

Most of what I'm shooting is static.. Aperture Priority gives me depth of field control I'm not usually interested in the exposure speed for static subjects. In the cases I have been, I switch to manual.

Even when I was shooting a recent airshow, I stayed on Aperture priority. The light was pretty sh*t so I just kept the lens wide open, bumped the ISO up to 800 and let the camera figure out what the speed was.. Panning on a plane screaming past at up to mach 1 is difficult enough.. No way I was going to try manual, and knowing that the camera was at f/2.8 meant I knew the camera would shoot at the highest possible speed.

I don't think I did too bad..