What % of your phots are taken using "P" setting? C'mon, be honest

<p>I shoot almost exclusive AV. When I do studio work, I shoot Manual for control. Sometimes when I let someone borrow the camera, I put it in green.<br>

The big point of having a dSLR is the control. A green mode shot in many cases don't look that much different than a photo from a good point & shoot. It's the unique aesthetics you can create in the non-green modes which draw advanced shooters to dSLR's. <br>

More importantly, composition is the biggest thing. My first award for a photo was taken with a point & shoot in it's green mode. Using different modes is part of a tool set to get what you want. The art is within the photographer.</p>

<p>Rarely, only to see what it's says out of curiosity.</p>

<p>Mostly I use Av (General Photography) and M (ETTL flash).</p>

<p>0% of the time do I use "P" setting. Mine is usually in manual mode with manual focus.</p>

<p>never, 0.<br>

I shoot in AV or M.</p>

<p>I use the "P" setting for the majority of picture taking events, but the majority of images are shot with a manual setting. The night launch of the space shuttle last week and the basketball game on Thursday were 100% manual. </p>

<p>How many people will admit to using auto-focus? </p>

<p>In the studio - never. On a editorial outdoor shoot - never. At an outdoor event for the newspaper, over 80% if the time. </p>

<p>Walking around on vacation. All the time.</p>

<p>Might as well use P when you have slow zooms attached. It's not like you can go to f/1.5 using Av.</p>

<p>Less than 1%. I'm not comfortable letting the camera pick both aperture and shutter speed. 90% of the time I'm on AV mode. The rest of the time is split between Tv for night shooting and M for really critical stuff where I meter with an old but Uber Accurate Gossen Luna Pro.<br>

I always joked that "P Mode" stands for "Probably OK"!</p>

<p>I think Dave Collett has the best idea. Leave the camera in P Mode. If you're walking down a trail in the woods and that once in a lifetime shot of Bigfoot presents itself, you'll likely either miss the shot or get a poor picture if you have to dial in settings in manual mode. P mode is how my camera goes in the bag, for the above reason (not that I actually expect to see Bigfoot). When I'm sure that my subject isn't going anywhere in a hurry, or that conditions are going to change rapidly, I'll switch to manual for most of my shots.</p>

<p>P: 1% (not going to claim I NEVER used it... but it sure feels that way.)<br>

Av: 79% (can change shutter speed with exposure comp, but aperture usually needs to be manually adjusted from subject to subject.)<br>

Tv: 5% (for those very rare times when I don't care about aperture but shutter speed is critical, e.g. syncing to CRT displays or getting the right blur or freeze on a fast-moving subject).<br>

M: 15% (usually when I try to artificially "set up" a shot, as opposed to running-and-gunning, I'll end up using manual. This includes a lot of macro, tripod-shot landscapes/panoramas, some composed portraiture, HDR, etc.).</p>

<p>Mostly Av or M, unless I'm using flash, in which case it's almost invariably P, because I'm still not used to calculating flash output on the go. I'll work on that aspect of my craft next</p>

<p>Even though I don't like the idea of the Camera thinking for me, most of the time I find the camera and I agree on the best exposure, since on most shots I would go by the meter reading anyway.</p>

<p>Honestly, 99% on P with my 17-40/4 and 15/2.8 fisheye.</p>

<p>Honestly, 99 % on Av, M or Tv with my 50/1.4, 85/1.2II, 100/2.8 Macro, 70-200/4 IS and 300/2.8 IS.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>80% P outside in good light. You need to know your camera's metering. Inside, 100% man, easier to drag shutter. In studio, whatever the meter is reporting, so 100% manual. v/r Buffdr</p>

<p>0% P<br>

75% M (when I can take my time)<br>

24% Av (when I cannot take my time)<br>

1% Tv (panning)</p>

<p>0% here as well. In fact, I don't even have it on my 1DmkIV anymore. Well, I technically have it, but its not available in the mode selector anymore.</p>

<p>Shoot mostly film on old manual cameras and a hand held meter. When I do use my digital SLR it's most often with my old manual legacy lenses that limit metering to Av or M. I have tried it with the kit lens, seems to work OK but I find the kit lens not very useful for most of my needs.</p>

<p>Never. My camera doesn't have a "P" mode. Well, the one I use most anyway. I rarely use anything but aperture priority on my Contax G1, or manual on my Nikon D40</p>

<p>96% P mode with exposure compensation if required.</p>

<p>2% Av and 2% Tv under special conditions.</p>

<p>I find the camera is a much better judge of light levels than I am. But then I'm an automation engineer, so I believe machines can be better than humans sometimes. The camera is better at exposure and I'm better at composition; that suits me fine.</p>

<p>Henry</p>

<p>I always shoot in manual. That's why you invest in an SLR, so that you can control the camera. If you're shooting P you might as well just buy a point and shoot.</p>

<p>Walter, it looks like the "P" shooters are a decided minority. Doesn't much matter, though -- we all have our reasons and different shooting situations, and they all appear to be working for us.</p>

<p>I'd guestimate I use Program mode for 95%, maybe higher, and Manual for the remainder. I use Aperture Priority or Shutter Speed Priority auto exposure mode very rarely, basically if I have an overriding need for a specific Aperture or Shutter Speed.</p>

<p>I've never quite fathomed the AV and Tv devotees enthusiam for the modes. It's still auto exposure, you're just locking one of the settings, for dubious benefit in the majority of situations, imho.</p>

<p>< 1%</p>

<p>never</p>

<p>P? As in the "Program mode" of my digital cameras? 0%.</p>

<p>I use Aperture priority in 90%, manual in about 8% and shutter speed priority in about 2%.</p>

<p>Or there about.</p>

<p>Sorry, I forgot, I may use the P mode for about 5% of my pictures shot with the Canon S90, but all my Nikons could very well not have that setting.</p>

<p>Percentage of shots taken in P? Hard to tell, since it depends very much on what I am shooting.<br /> In a studio or on a copy stand?, never in P.<br /> But I know this much, I would never want to be walking around any place where anything might happen suddenly without leaving the camera on P. In fact most of my missed shots have been where the camera was on M, Av, or Tv from its last use (meaning I forgot to set it back to P) and so the picture has been ill-exposed, balked, or blurred as a result.</p>

<p>This "I do my own thinking" can be taken entirely too far and become a fetish.<br /> It's like never using the automatic transmission on your car. These are tools, not purity tests. I shot on manual cameras for some 50 years, so I think I've paid my dues in terms of doing my "own thinking."</p>

<p>If you're going all the way with "manual" you need to turn off your auto-focus as well, of course.</p>