List of digital camera modes - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Digital camera

A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...

s support a number of digital camera modes
Mode dial
A mode dial or camera dial is a dial used on digital cameras to change the camera's mode. Most digital cameras, including dSLR and SLR-like cameras, support modes, selectable either by a dial or from a menu. On point-and-shoot cameras which support modes a range of scene types is offered. On dSLR...

for use in various situations. Professional DSLR cameras modes focus more on manual modes, consumer point-and-shoot cameras focus on automatic modes, and amateur prosumer

Prosumer

Prosumer is a portmanteau formed by contracting either the word professional or less often, producer with the word consumer. For example, a prosumer grade digital camera is a "cross" between consumer grade and professional grade...

cameras often have a wide variety of both manual and automatic modes.

Manual-enabled modes

Manual-enabled modes give the photographer control over the various parameters of an exposure. There are three exposure parameters – aperture, time (shutter speed), and sensitivity (ISO), and in different modes these are each set automatically or manually; this gives 2³ = 8 possible modes. For a given exposure, this is an underdetermined system

Underdetermined system

In mathematics, a system of linear equations is considered underdetermined if there are fewer equations than unknowns. The terminology can be described in terms of the concept of counting constraints. Each unknown can be seen as an available degree of freedom...

, as there are 3 inputs but only 1 output. Accordingly, there are many combinations that result in the same exposure – for example, decreasing the aperture by one stop but increasing the exposure time or sensitivity to compensate, and there are various possible algorithms to automatically choose between these.

Most often, ISO is considered separately, being either set manually or set to Auto ISO, and then only aperture and shutter speed need be determined – either determines the other.

The four main modes, sometimes abbreviated "PASM", are:

P: Program mode has the camera calculate both shutter
Shutter (photography)
In photography, a shutter is a device that allows light to pass for a determined period of time, for the purpose of exposing photographic film or a light-sensitive electronic sensor to light to capture a permanent image of a scene...

speed and aperture
Aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. The aperture determines how collimated the admitted rays are,...

(given a manually or automatically selected ISO). Higher-end cameras offer partial manual control to shift away from the automatically calculated values (increasing aperture and decreasing shutter time or conversely). The difference between Program mode and Full Auto mode is that in program mode, only the exposure is automatic, while other camera settings (e.g., shooting mode, exposure compensation, flash) can be set manually; in Full Auto mode everything is automatic.
A or Av: Aperture priority
Aperture priority
Aperture priority, often abbreviated A or Av on a camera mode dial, is a setting on some cameras that allows the user to choose a specific aperture value while the camera selects a shutter speed to match. The camera will ensure proper exposure...

or 'Aperture value' enables manual control of the aperture, and shutter speed is calculated by the camera for proper exposure (given an ISO sensitivity).
S or Tv: Shutter priority
Shutter priority
Shutter priority refers to a setting on some cameras that allows the user to choose a specific shutter speed while the camera adjusts the aperture to ensure correct exposure...

or 'Time value' enables manual control of the shutter speed, and aperture is calculated by the camera for proper exposure (given an ISO sensitivity).
M: Manual mode both shutter speed and aperture and independently set manually (with ISO sensitivity also set manually), where proper image exposure requires accurate manual adjustment.

Together with setting ISO manually or automatically, this yields the 4×2 = 8 possible combinations of manual/auto.

Exposure is further controlled in each of the above modes with an independent setting for:

Ev: 'Exposure value', which enables an increase/decrease in image exposure compensation to make the resulting image brighter/darker, typically selectable in steps of whole or partial exposure "stops" (discrete widening/tightening of the aperture). Many cameras offer "exposure bracketing" where sequential images will be exposed at the different compensations selected, so as to increase the probability of a perfectly exposed image.

Less commonly seen modes include:

Sv: Sensitivity priority
Sensitivity priority
Sensitivity priority, often abbreviated Sv on a camera dial, and colloquially called "ISO priority", is a setting on Pentax cameras that allows the user to choose a specific Sensitivity value while the camera selects a shutter speed and aperture to match. The camera will ensure proper exposure...

or "ISO priority" controls the Sensitivity value (ISO speed), with both shutter and aperture calculated by camera, similar to Program mode. This mode is found on some Pentax cameras; on many cameras (such as Canon and Nikon) this is not a separate mode, but instead is accomplished by using Program mode and manually selected an ISO.
TAv: Enables the user to control both shutter and aperture values. Sensitivity (ISO speed) is then calculated by the camera. This mode is found on some Pentax cameras, whereas other manufacturers may provide this functionality through automatic selection of ISO speed in manual mode.
DEP: In DEP (DEPth of field) mode, seen on some Canon cameras, the aperture is set to yield the desired depth of field: one points at the nearest object, half-presses the shutter, then points at the farthest object, half-presses the shutter, at which point the camera sets both focus and aperture so that both objects are in focus. One then reframes the scene and fully depress the shutter to take the photo. Unlike other modes, this also sets focus, and requires two separate metering/focus stages.
A-DEP: Canon also offers A-DEP (Automatic DEPth of field) mode on some cameras, which sets the depth of field and focus in a single shot. However, this requires lining up both the nearest and further objects on autofocus points at the same time, which may be difficult.

In cases where there is camera discretion (e.g., Auto ISO), different cameras allow different configuration of how decisions are made. For example, , Nikon cameras allow one to set the maximum and minimum ISO sensitivities, and slowest shutter speed that will be used in automatic modes, while Canon cameras will select within the fixed range of ISO 400–ISO 800 in Auto ISO mode. In Nikon cameras, the Auto ISO mode first adjusts the shutter speed, keeping ISO at its minimum desired value, then, when shutter speed reaches the user-defined limit, the ISO is increased, up to the maximum value.

All of the above functions are independent of lens focus and stabilizing methods.

Automatic modes

In automatic modes the camera determines all aspects of exposure, choosing exposure parameters according to the application within the constraints of correct exposure, including exposure, aperture, focusing, light metering, white balance, and equivalent sensitivity. For example in portrait mode the camera would use a wider aperture to render the background out of focus, and would seek out and focus on a human face rather than other image content. In the same light conditions a smaller aperture would be used for a landscape, and recognition of faces would not be enabled for focusing.

Some cameras have tens of modes. Many cameras do not document exactly what their many modes do; for full mastery of the camera one must experiment with them.

In general:

Action or sports modes increase ISO and uses a faster shutter speed to capture action.
Landscape modes uses a small aperture to gain depth of field.
Portrait mode widens the aperture to throw the background out of focus. The camera may recognize and focus on a human face.
Night portrait modes uses an exposure long enough to capture background detail, with fill-in flash to illuminate a nearby subject.
Fireworks modes, for use on a tripod
Tripod
A tripod is a portable three-legged frame, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The word comes from the Greek tripous, meaning "three feet". A tripod provides stability against downward forces, horizontal forces and moments about the...

, use an extended exposure (around four seconds) which results in showing several fireworks as well as their paths.
Water modes, depending on what the mode is designed to do, will either widen the aperture and increase the shutter speed for an action shot or shrink the aperture and slow down the shutter speed to show the motion of the water.
Snow modes compensate for the misinformation the white snow gives the light meter and increases exposure in order to properly photograph subjects.
Natural light or night snapshot modes attempt to raise the ISO and use a very wide aperture in order to take a photograph using the limited natural light, rather than a flash.
Macro or close-up modes tend to direct the camera's focus to be nearer the camera. It may shrink the aperture and restrict the camera to wide-angle in an attempt to broaden the depth-of-field (to include closer objects).
Movie mode allows a still camera to take moving pictures.

Secondary modes

Aside from the main modes which control exposure, there are usually other, secondary settings common to digital cameras; examples follow.

Shooting modes

Shooting modes – "Burst" or "rapid fire" mode will take a number of photographs in quick succession, often used when a photograph of a specific instance is needed (e.g. the end of a race), while "Single" model will take a single picture each time the shutter is depressed.

Autofocus modes

Autofocus

An autofocus optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus fully automatic or on a manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system has to be done manually until indication...

modes – autofocus can either activate until a lock is found (single, AF-S) or be continuously active (continuous, AF-C, servo). Single mode is especially used for stationary subjects, when focus, once found, should stay fixed, while continuous mode is instead used for moving subjects. Some AF systems also include anticipation of position of moving subjects – Canon calls this "AI servo" (for "artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...

") – or can automatically switch between single and continuous depending on whether the subject is moving – Canon calls this "AI focus".

A separate but often related distinction is between and release priority – whether the camera will take a picture when the subject is out of focus or not. In focus priority, the camera will only take a picture when the subject is in focus (as detected by the AF system), while in release priority, the camera will take a picture whenever the shutter is pressed. Release priority is particularly used of fast-moving subjects, which may not be perfectly in focus, or by experienced photographers, who wish to override the camera's judgment of whether the scene is in focus.

These are usually combined – for stationary subjects, AF is set to single (lock when found) and release is set to focus priority, while for moving subjects, AF is set to continuous and release is set to release priority. Manual focus is generally in release priority – AF is neither detected nor set.

Note that these "priority" modes should not be confused with the same word in exposure modes.

Focus priority can also be used for the trap focus trick, to take a picture only when a subject hits a focus point, by using AF to detect focus but not set it.

Flash

Flash modes allow the user to choose between common settings such as "Fill flash

Fill flash

Fill flash is a photographic technique used to brighten deep shadow areas, typically outdoors on sunny days, though the technique is useful any time the background is significantly brighter than the subject of the photograph, particularly in backlit subjects...

" to always use flash, "Auto flash" which will use flash in low-lit areas, "Red-eye reduction" which may flash once before the actual photo in order to shrink the subject's pupils and reduce red-eye, or "Flash off" which will never use flash.

Flash can have its own exposure compensation – how brightly it flashes – which allows one to independently adjust the exposure of the foreground (lit by flash) and background (out of flash range).

Other modes

Although also sometimes used as a scenery mode, macro modes are often not used with the scene mode and rather only change the focus area and nothing else.
Some cameras provide options of fine-tuning things such as sharpness and saturation, which may be referred to as "Styles" or "Films".
Some cameras offer color-altering settings to do things such as make the photograph black-and-white, sepia tone, swap specific colors, or isolate colors.