Program Mode

To get away from the “Green Camera” mode and Scene modes that your camera offers, while still letting the camera make most of the exposure decisions, switch to Program (“P”) mode. Program mode is very similar to the “Green Camera” mode in that the camera is choosing the aperture and shutter speed. Where these two modes differ is in the amount of options that you have to choose from in the menus once you switch to Program mode.

The limited control over the camera that you gain by switching to the Program mode is most apparent in the menus of your camera. Some options that were greyed out and inaccessible are now available for you to change. In fact, you may see new menu options that you have never seen before. Take a look at these new options and see which, if any, you would like to use.

By looking through the menus and choosing the different options that are available you can decide how the camera makes some of the choices it does. Depending on the camera you have, you can select the way the camera’s light meter evaluates a scene and how its image processing engine processes your images. Most importantly you will now have control over two very important functions, ISO and White Balance.