"Roger N. Clark (change username to rnclark)" wrote in
message ...
Norm Dresner wrote:


Most of the later Nikon's (N75, N90, F100, D50, D70) have a program-mode
which can be varied with the "command dial" to any equivalent exposure
just by twirling it. I spend most of the time in P-mode but look at
every exposure and modify it as necessary. I find that most of the time
I can't stay in either S- or A-modes because the things I'm shooting are
so varied.

Norm

Norm,
I do not understand. In aperture or shutter priority modes, one has
complete control of the settings: you choose the exact aperture or
shutter, and the camera choose the other. You then use the compensation
dial to modify the cameras "best exposure." In P mode, the camera
chooses the aperture and shutter based on some pre-programmed
table. You have compensation control, but only over a very
narrow range compared to all apertures and shutter speeds, and
the compensation modifies both aperture and shutter according
to a formula for which you do not have control.

So aperture or shutter priority modes have the most flexibility,
unequaled by any other mode, and only surpassed by full manual.
At least this is the way it is on canon film and dslrs.

Roger

Roger -- sorry to be so late in responding but life doesn't always follow
the plans we make.

Anyway:
1. In P-mode with both film and digital Nikon SLRs and even my EVF camera,
I can choose any equivalent exposure (shutter speed/aperture combination)
the camera allows which gives me complete control over motion-stopping and
depth of field. I also apply exposure compensation (+/-) on top of this to
correct for situations in which the light fools the meter.
2. Since most of the time now I'm shooting as a "tourist" with no
correlation of subject or lighting from one shot to the next, I can't decide
in advance whether A or S would be more appropriate for my "next" shot.
3. If I get into a situation in which there's a high degree of similarity
between shooting conditions from one frame to the next, I'll most likely
switch to either "A" or "S" as appropriate -- e.g. "S" when shooting from a
moving car or playing grandchildren and "A" when walking around a flower
garden.
4. With 50+ years of experience, I've learned to be very conscious of the
settings the camera chooses for *each* shot (assuming it's not an unexpected
grab-shot) and I think I never press the shutter release without looking at
both the speed and the aperture first. At least by keeping the camera in
P-mode, I'm guaranteed that I'll get something reasonable when I don't have
time to do anything else.
5. I'd estimate that only about 1/3 of the pictures I take are actually at
the first P-mode setting and that I change the exposure to something
equivalent the rest of the time, at least for the first exposure on a
digital -- then I look at the LCD and determine if exposure compensation is
also required, though sometimes I'll just go that way for the first shot as
well based on prior experience and prior results.
6. When I use MF & LF cameras, I always work at the equivalent of M-mode
since none of my larger-than-35mm cameras has even an internal meter.

Do I recommend that everyone shoot the way I do. Hell, NO! But after
decades of shooting in a large variety of situations on three continents,
I've found that the older I get the more selective I am about what I shoot
and I can take the time to modify each exposure to suit the shot. That
said, I feel that P-mode gets me "close" and I feel comfortable using that
as a starting point.

Norm