How to use each gear of the camera?

When you buy a camera that you have longed for, the first thing you need to do is to understand the camera. Only when you are familiar with your camera can you take photos that satisfy you.

Most of the photo modes of modern digital cameras are switched using a turntable. We can see that there are P, Auto, Av, Tv and other modes on the turntable. What are these modes used for? How should we choose the mode that suits us when taking pictures?

Let’s talk about automatic mode first. If you are new to photography and don’t know much about the exposure triangle, automatic mode may be a good choice. Most modern cameras have two automatic gears: P and Auto. Generally speaking, these two are automatic gears. We only need to press the shutter button to take pictures, but strictly speaking, P gear is still just an automatic gear. Semi-automatic in gear.

There is no need to explain the Auto mode. It is fully automatic. The camera will automatically select the shutter, aperture, sensitivity and a series of other settings according to the light on site. The photographer does not need to do anything. He only needs to aim the camera at the desired location. Just frame the content you want to shoot and press the shutter. P mode is programmed automatic exposure. The camera is only responsible for selecting the aperture and shutter. Other settings, such as white balance, exposure compensation, etc., still need to be set by the photographer.

However, the disadvantage of automatic mode is that everything is determined by the camera, and the choice of camera is often only the most reasonable in terms of exposure data, but not the most suitable for your imagination in terms of shooting effects. Maybe we want to shoot high-speed sports The object turned out to be blurry. Maybe we wanted to take a blurred background, but the background turned out to be clear.

At this time, you need to use the semi-automatic gear. There are two semi-automatic stops on the camera, A, which is responsible for aperture priority exposure, and S, which is responsible for shutter priority exposure (some cameras use T).

Speaking of aperture priority exposure, we can imagine that light enters the camera through a small hole, and the A setting controls the size of this small hole, keeping the size of the hole that enters the light fixed, and then camera to choose the appropriate shutter. The larger the hole is, the more light will come in, and the shorter the shutter time will be under the same environment.

The aperture also controls another very important factor, which is the depth of field. We all know that the larger the aperture, the shallower the depth of field, and the easier it is to take a blurred background. When we are shooting portraits When shooting, you can control the depth of field by using aperture priority, select the appropriate aperture, and let the camera decide the shutter speed.

But one thing to note is that the depth of field is not determined solely by the aperture. It also depends on the length of the focal length and the distance between the subject, the camera, and the background. In other words, if you can't take a blurry background, it may not only be because the aperture is not wide enough, but also because you are using a wide-angle lens, or you are too far away from the subject, or your subject is too far away from the background. Close.

Shutter priority exposure controls the opening time of the small hole through which light passes. If the shutter speed is slow, it means that the light takes a long time to pass through. As time goes by, the amount of light will increase. In order to ensure that the photo will not be overdone. exposure, the camera will automatically select a smaller aperture to balance the shutter. In the same way, if you use a high-speed shutter, it means that the time for light to pass through is very short, and the amount of light entering may not be enough. In order to ensure that the photo is not underexposed, the camera will automatically select a larger aperture.

Shutter priority is generally used in two situations. One is when you want to capture high-speed moving objects, such as people jumping or running, or small animals. Use a high-speed shutter to capture the moment. Another way is that when shooting street photography, if you choose aperture priority, you may face a low-light environment, causing the shutter to slow down, and you will not be able to capture fleeting images. Therefore, it is helpful to choose shutter priority when shooting street photography. In terms of shooting efficiency, for example, if you want to shoot a still person, you can use a safety shutter speed or higher, but if you want to capture a moving person, you need a faster shutter speed.

Finally, the full manual gear, also known as M gear, as the name suggests, requires us to manually set all camera settings, including aperture, shutter, sensitivity, exposure compensation, and white balance. As for all the camera settings, the camera is not responsible for thinking. What kind of pictures can be taken is entirely up to you.

Therefore, full manual exposure is the most time-consuming and laborious, so in most cases, full manual exposure is not necessary, except in some scenes that require precise exposure, such as landscape photography, architectural photography, Starry sky photography and more. Although we don’t need to use full manual exposure in most cases, we might as well use it during daily practice. This can help us deepen our understanding of the exposure triangle, and also allow us to apply other techniques more easily. operating mode.