In praise of the green auto-everything "idiot" mode

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>I was at a very short event yesterday that was a big day for me and my wife. A hearing to finally adopt our child. I had to hand my camera off to a couple of total strangers to take a photo of the new family together in the courtroom. It was truly a once in a lifetime shot and I was in a bit of an emotional state, too.</p>

<p>I popped my SB600 on top, set it at "semi-bounce" and flipped the mode to that green auto-everything-program mode that we all seem to make fun of around here, myself included. photo... perfect...</p>

<p>They ought to call it the "hand-your-camera-to-some-idiot-who-hasn't-ever-used-one-before" mode. This is the only time I ever use this mode.</p>

<p>Just thought I'd share.</p>

[birdied]

<p>Congratulations, and wishing you a lifetime of memories to capture in whatever mode you can!! </p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>I'd rather call it the "beginner mode."</p>

<p>However, it is not a good idea to us flash with the Program mode because the range of shutter speeds allowed is very restrictive. With flash indoors, I would rather set it to M, pick something like 1/125 sec to avoid camera shake (or 1/30 sec if you want some ambient light to contribute to the overall exposure, thus giving you some background detail at the risk of camera shake), a reasonable aperture such as f4 or f5.6 and let iTTL work out the flash level. Manual focus can also prevent the photographer from accidentally focusing it to a wrong area.</p>

<p>Last but not least, congratulations.</p>

[greg_alton]

<p>I only call it the 'idiot mode' when that idiot is me. Which is not infrequent.</p>

[vrankin]

<p>Among today's DSLR and advanced P&S digicams, those "idiot mode" shots are often darn good, and once in a while even better! For a humbling experience, try using it some more! </p>

[nishnishant]

<p>So some kind stranger takes a photo for you, one that'll be treasured for a lifetime or two, and you indirectly refer to him as an idiot? :-(</p>

<p>Shun's usage is nicer - beginner mode.</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>Shun,</p>

<p>That was EXACTLY my plan. I tried that in the 90 seconds I had to take a test shot (more like 30 seconds), but the room was so weird in its lighting and I was so emotional. If I were the photographer, I would obviously not shoot Program at all actually. I live in M and A mode.</p>

<p>I put the camera in RAW + JPEG, set it to green Auto, took a test shot, saw that it looked VERY good on the screen, and handed the camera to my 81-year-old dad, and the shots came out great.</p>

<p>Just wanted everybody to know that if they're in an extreme situation and need to be able to trust their Nikon camera's brain, it won't totally let you down.</p>

[david_carroll4]

<p>That's cool - congratulations. Some dear friends of ours adopted an infant from Korea, and the whole exchange took place at Logan Airport in Boston. The "minder" from the agency met them in the arrivals lobby, pretty much said "sign here" and it was a done deal (notwithstanding the ~year of travail leading up to this moment). A friend came along for support, and, as a professional photog, she had her D2X with her, and she captured the whole strange business beautifully. Random travellers stopped to see what was going on, and one commented about she was standing there watching the creation of a family right before her eyes in the middle of an airport. The pics still squeeze tears from me.</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>Nish,</p>

<p>Most of the people I've ever had to hand my camera to in these cases was an idiot. In this case, the idiot for most of the photos was my dad, and trust me, he's the very best kind of idiot. He trained me to be an idiot, and my son enjoys having a silly dad.</p>

<p>It was tongue-in-cheek, I was joking.</p>

<p>But interestingly enough, I think "Auto" is a bad "beginner" mode. When I bought my first SLR camera in about 1983 (I had used my dad's a little before that), a friend who really new cameras convinced me to get one that had no automation, so I'd learn how to shoot. I bought a Pentax MX. totally mechanical, no "modes" at all. I learned on that. Had only a 50mm f1.4 lens for about 2 or 3 years. Learned a lot more than I would have with a camera with a Program mode.</p>

<p>No, I think the ONE thing that the green auto program mode is best for is when you find yourself suddenly in a situation where you very suddenly have to have a stranger take a photo and you want to make sure they can't mess up the exposure. This is one of the only 2 or 3 times I've ever had to use it for this purpose. And it really didn't let me down.</p>

[david_carroll4]

<p>To an extent I agree - however, if not to allow the camera to take over some of the "mundane" requirements of photography, like achieving rapid and accurate focus, and calculating an accurate exposure under even difficult conditions, then what is the point of all of these technological advances? The case could be made that, if the camera can competently take care of the technicalities, this really <em>does</em> free up the photographer to do his part, which is to look through the VF and compose the picture. A D3X set on "auto-everything" may allow the photographer to literally point and shoot, but by no stretch of the imagination could it be called a P&S camera - it's doing things - automatically and instantly - that the most experienced photog with a manual camera couldn't dream of keeping up with. We're not at the stage where the photographer composes the shot, visualizes the end result and the camera delivers that exact picture, but we're tending towards it all the time. It's OK to ride the technological wave.</p>

[ussorca]

<p>Thanks, Shun. I am a beginner, and still think of myself as a guy with a camera, rather than a photographer. In some situations I get excited and have a chance to shoot something that I just "must" get right. My tendency is to "go green", and do my best to get the composition I want, and then get the shot.<br>

Peter, I understand. In your situation I might just have dropped the camera. Congrats.</p>

[elliot1]

<p>I think it should be called the green 'genius' mode, because for most general shooting circumstances, it gets everything right. What's wrong with that?</p>

[976photo]

<p>First, congratulations!</p>

<p>But remember the first rule of photography... "<strong>Get The Shot"</strong></p>

<p>It doesn't say "do everything you can to avoid using the auto mode." If there's no time to set up the camera to get your exposure right, better to snap off a quick pic using the auto-mode to make sure you <strong>get the shot</strong>, <em>then</em> if there's time you can make adjustments and get your settings on manual if you want.</p>

<p>You'd be very disappointed if you had set to manual and not had time to get a good exposure, and I'm sure you'd feel worse about having a crappy pic of that moment than you would with using auto-mode and getting a decent pic.</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>Luc, yes I agree. In my case it was not "get the shot" so much as "preserve the memory" at all costs. I have no doubt that had it been somebody else's event and I had been the one with the camera in my hands, I would have gotten a better photo with Manual mode and futzing with a couple test exposures and flash settings. no doubt whatsoever.</p>

<p>But, I also admit, I have found THE time and place for "AUTO". Thanks, Nikon!</p>

[ramon_v__california_]

<p>congratulations, peter!</p>

<p>i shoot A, M and S in that order of preference. but the GREAT GREEN mode has never let me down, even in shoots where i get paid. okay, okay, i must admit, in extreme conditions (especially lighting) i wouldn't take the chance.</p>

<p>another but, some of us will (or must) admit that the use of the green mode doesn't make one less professional. the same goes with the use of a prosumer camera! okay again, maybe that's because i can only afford a D90 for my professional shoots :-)</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Ditto, very handy. I've handed the D2H and SB-800 to someone else so I could get in a photo. Just set it all to auto-everything. VR helps too.</p>

<p>Funny thing, photos of my niece's wedding in 2005... I can hardly tell the difference between the photos I took with my rig and the snaps another family member took with her Coolpix 8800. My flash was a little more subtle since I used a bracket and diffuser, but otherwise the photos were very comparable, even in prints. In fact, the Coolpix auto white balance might have been better than my custom white balance for that venue.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Peter, you are a father now. I don't think it is a good idea to describe your own dad with the i word. :-)</p>

<p>I have mentioned before that ever since I bought the N8008 with a command dial and flex program back in 1989, the program (P) mode has been the standard mode for me until perhaps a year or two ago. I always prefer flex program and treat it as a more advanced aperture priority. However, in the last few years, it begins to annoy me that when I switch off the camera, Nikon does not maintain my flex program setting and starts with the default program setting again, which is typically some middle aperture and shutter speed (e.g. f5.6, 1/125 sec) that is not what I preferred. A few times I have used the wrong settings because I forget to re-select my preferred flex program setting after I switch on the camera again. Nowadays I am back to mostly aperture priroity as I used way back in the late 1970's with the FE.</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>Shun,</p>

<p>It's a term of endearment in my family... NO... Really, it is...</p>

<p>And I totally agree with you on the Aperture-Priority thing. My camera lives there about 99% of the time. I've never been a "flexible program" guy, though. Also, I take better photos (when I'm not shooting a moving kid or something like that) in Manual mode anyway. As I'm thinking more then. I recently bought my second AI lens, a 105mm f2.5, and I have to say, even without a meter, when I want to make a pretty image, I'll shoot with one of those old lenses anytime.</p>

<p>Went on a camping trip a few weeks ago, kept my camera with me, but only one lens at a time, either the 105 (which is SO fun) or the 35mm f1.8 (I like this lens more and more, it is the one that the camera stores with on). I enjoyed taking photos way more than with my zooms.</p>

[lee_richards2]

<p>First Congratulations!!!! What a great thing!</p>

<p>Aren't we all being a little smug with our "I only shoot manual mode with both eyes open and the flash bounced off a 3x5 card taped to my forhead" stuff? ;)</p>

<p>As a newspaper guy I am in the habit of setting my D2H in dummy mode, shoot like the wind and I-TTL everytime I walk away from a shoot 'just in case' the Pulitzer shot pops up. The D3 is on A mode, shoot as fast as you can, ITTL also. The Press photographer's motto. F8 and be there. </p>

<p>My first camera (A Petri VIII) did not have a meter so I also learned to shoot the easy way. When I got a Nikormat EL I got better not worse. That meter had a better eye than I did much of the time. </p>

<p>Nothing like doing the smart stuff ourselves when we have the time but Nikon has spent a lot of money making their cameras really-really smart. Often a lot smarter than I am. </p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>The flex program option Shun mentioned is the niftiest part of Nikon's automatic exposure system. I seldom use aperture or shutter priority because the flex program accomplishes both more efficiently. Combine that with a custom setting for one-controller exposure compensation (rather than the press-and-hold-this-button, then-adjust-EV method). Quickest method I've found for biasing the exposure toward a faster shutter speed or shallower/deeper DOF as needed.</p>

<p>Ideally I'd like a camera with more finesse to also plug in my preferences for auto-ISO range, such as telling the camera:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Mr. Camera, you may vary between ISO 200-400 in this situation. Please don't drop below 1/500th second, but go as fast as needed. Please don't stop down more than f/4, but open up as wide as needed. (For outdoor daylight sports/action.)<br>

or...<br>

Vary between ISO 200-1600; don't drop below 1/125th but go as fast as needed; keep aperture between f/5.6-f/11. (That'd cover my usual candid snapshot situations.)</p>

</blockquote>

<p>But I can't say I've missed many critical shots with the automation already in the D2H. It's so good I'm no longer a manual-everything purist, which I was for decades.</p>

[zoid]

<p>I've had relatively good faith in Nikon's auto program mode since my N90s. I shot the N90s for two years in A and M before really giving P a chance. With print film, I always got an acceptable shot, and most times, I got a good shot. I should try it with slides sometime...</p>

[dan_south]

Peter, congrats to you and your family! Who cares how the image is made as long as it's meaningful? If someone feels the

need to insult a mode on a camera, perhaps they should pull out a palette, a canvas, and some paint brushes and show

us how it's really done!