Dial it in

No matter which digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera you get, you will find a mode selection dial on the top of your camera. Since there are many camera brands out on the market, I will stick to the 3 most popular brands of DSLRs: Canon ®, Nikon ®, and Sony ®. On the dial, there will be four modes that will be on all most of the cameras available which are aperture priority, shutter priority, program, and manual.

Canon

• AV-aperture priority
• TV-shutter priority
• P-program
• M-manual [1-3]

Nikon and Sony

• A-aperture priority
• S-shutter priority
• P-program
• M-manual [3-5]

Aperture priority allows you to control the aperture of the lens while letting the camera adjust the shutter speed to correctly expose the photo. This mode is used to control the depth of field within the photo. Depth of field is the size of the range of depth that is in focus. Once you are in aperture priority, your adjustment wheel will allow you to change your f-stop. The f-stop indicates the ratio of the focal length of the lens over the size of the opening. A small f-stop will give you a larger aperture while a larger number will give you a small aperture. With a small f-stop, you can use faster shutter speeds and your photos will have a shallow depth of field, which will blur the background. Large f-stops will do the opposite [3].

Shutter priority reverses the controls of aperture priority. You control the shutter speed and let the camera choose the aperture. Shutter speed control allows you to control how motion is depicted in the photo. The slower the shutter speed is, the longer the sensor of the camera is exposed to the light. Slow shutter speeds will give you motion blur, meaning anything that is moving within the photo will become blurry. Fast shutter speeds are used to freeze motion [3].

In program mode, the camera will choose both the aperture and shutter speed settings for you. But it differs from auto mode because you are still able to adjust the settings that auto mode would lock you out from [3].

Finally, manual mode is for complete control of the settings. This is used when you might want control of the shutter speed and aperture without letting the camera adjust it for you [3]. Manual mode is best used when quick or constant setting adjustments are used.

Sources::

[1]Canon DSLR camera icons explained - DSLR Handbook - Digital SLR Photography. (n.d.). Digital SLR Photography - DSLR reviews, news and user guides for Sony, Nikon, Olympus and Canon digital cameras - Digital SLR Photography. Retrieved March 5, 2011, from http://www.digitalslrphoto.com/dslrbasics/dslrhandbook/13019/canon_dslr_camera_icons_explained.html

[2]Gibby, D. B. (2010, November 24). Digital SLR instructions for Canon, Nikon, 203040506090300 d digital camera. San Diego Wedding Photographer, Beach Photography Deals, 1000, CA. Retrieved March 5, 2011, from http://www.idmphotos.com/digital

[3]Brown, M. (n.d.). Shooting Modes, digital cameras, digital photography, photography, digital slr, camera recommendation, price comparison, photographic companies, camera companies, digital camera best prices,. Photo Review, digital cameras, digital photography, photography, digital slr, camera recommendation, price comparison, photographic companies, camera companies, digital camera best prices,. Retrieved March 5, 2011, from http://www.photoreview.com.au/guides/digitalslr/shooting-modes.aspx

[4]Rockwell, K. (2008, March 27). Nikon D80 Controls.KenRockwell.com: Photography, Cameras and Taking Better Pictures. Retrieved March 5, 2011, from http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d80/users-guide/controls.htm

[5]Sony Dslr-A200 Review: Camera Features & Controls (Cont.). (2008, March 26).Steves Digicams - Digital Camera Reviews, Camera News, and Photography Information. Retrieved March 5, 2011, from http://www.steves-digicams.com/camera-reviews/sony/dslr-a200/sony-dslr-a200-review-3.html