Aperture Priority Mode F/4.0 at 1/25, Among Others
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Chapter 3: Shooting Modes for Still Images | 23 The Program Shift function is available only in Program you’re taking pictures quickly using Program mode, and mode; it works as follows. Once you have aimed the you want a fast way to tweak the settings somewhat. camera at your subject, the camera displays its chosen settings for shutter speed and aperture in the lower- Another important aspect of Program mode is that it left corner of the screen. At that point, you can turn the expands the choices available through the Shooting Control dial at the upper right of the camera’s back, and menu, which controls many of the camera’s settings. the values for shutter speed and aperture will change, You will be able to make choices involving ISO if possible under current conditions, to different sensitivity, metering mode, DRO/HDR, white balance, values for both settings while keeping the same overall Creative Style, Picture Effect, and others that are not exposure of the scene. available in the Auto modes. I won’t discuss those settings here; if you want to explore that topic, see With this option, the camera “shifts” the original the discussion of the Shooting menu in Chapter 4 for exposure to your choice of any of the matched pairs information about all of the different selections that that appear as you turn the Control dial. For example, if are available. the original exposure was f/2.8 at 1/50 second, you may see equivalent pairs of f/3.2 at 1/40, f/3.5 at 1/30, and Aperture Priority Mode f/4.0 at 1/25, among others. When Program Shift is in effect, the P icon in the upper-left corner of the screen Select Aperture Priority shooting mode by turning the will have an asterisk to its right, as shown in Figure 3-8. Mode dial to the A setting, as shown in Figure 3-9. Figure 3-9. Mode Dial Aperture Priority In this mode, you select the aperture and the camera chooses a shutter speed for proper exposure. With this mode, you can exercise control over the depth of field of your shots. When you select a narrow aperture, such Figure 3-8. Asterisk Near P Icon for Program Shift as f/16.0, the depth of field will be broad, with the To cancel Program Shift, turn the Control dial until the result that more items will appear to be in sharp focus original settings are in effect or move the Mode dial to at varying distances from the lens. On the other hand, another mode, then back to Program. with a wide aperture, such as f/2.0, the depth of field will be relatively shallow, and you may be able to keep Program Shift is useful to set a slightly faster shutter only one subject in sharp focus. speed to stop action better or a wider aperture to blur the background more, or you might have some other In a camera with a full-frame sensor like the RX1R creative reason. This option lets the camera quickly II, the effect of using a wide aperture is particularly evaluate the exposure, but gives you the option to striking. The large sensor produces a shallow depth of tweak the shutter speed and aperture to suit your field that is not attainable with the smaller sensor of current needs. less sophisticated cameras. Of course, if you need to use a specific shutter speed In Figures 3-10 and 3-11, the settings were the same or aperture, you probably are better off using Aperture except for aperture values. I focused on the front of the Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual exposure mode. model car in the foreground in each case. For Figure However, having Program Shift available is useful when 3-10, I set the aperture of the RX1R II to f/2.0, the 24 | Photographer’s Guide to the Sony DSC-RX1R II widest possible. With this setting, because the depth numbered values. For example, between f/2.8 and f/4, of field at this aperture was quite shallow, the objects you can select f/3.2 or f/3.5. in the background are fairly blurry. I took Figure 3-11 with the camera’s aperture set to f/22.0, the narrowest When you set the aperture, as seen in Figure 3-12, the setting, resulting in a broader depth of field, making f-stop (f/16 in this case) will appear at the bottom of the background appear considerably sharper. the screen next to the shutter speed. Figure 3-10. Aperture Set to f/2.0 Figure 3-12. Aperture Value on Shooting Display The camera will try to select a shutter speed that will result in a proper exposure given the aperture you have set. The available shutter speeds range from 30 seconds to 1/4000 second, but this range is dependent on the aperture setting. The camera can set the shutter speed to 1/4000 second only when the aperture is set to f/5.6 or narrower, and it can set a shutter speed of 1/2500 Figure 3-11. Aperture Set to f/16.0 or 1/3200 only when the aperture is f/4.0 or narrower. At apertures wider than f/4.0, the fastest shutter speed These photos illustrate the effects of varying aperture available is 1/2000 second. by setting it wide (low numbers) to blur the background and narrow (high numbers) to enjoy a broad depth of Although in most cases the camera will be able to select field and keep subjects at varying distances in sharp a corresponding shutter speed that results in a normal focus. A need for shallow depth of field arises often exposure, there may be times when this is not possible. in the case of outdoor portraits. If you can achieve For example, if you are taking pictures in a very bright a shallow depth of field by using a wide aperture, location with the aperture set to f/2.0, the camera may you can keep your subject in sharp focus but leave not be able to set a shutter speed fast enough to yield the background blurry, as in Figure 3-10. This effect a normal exposure. In that case, the fastest possible is sometimes called “bokeh,” a Japanese term for a shutter speed (1/2000 second at that aperture) will flash pleasing blurriness of the background. In this situation, on the display to show that a normal exposure cannot be the fuzzy background can be a great asset, minimizing made using the chosen aperture. The camera will let you distraction from unwanted objects and highlighting the take the picture, but it may be too bright to be usable. sharply focused image of your subject. Similarly, if conditions are too dark for a good exposure With the Mode dial at the A setting, use the aperture at the aperture you have selected, the slowest possible ring to select the aperture value. The major settings shutter speed (30”, meaning 30 seconds) will flash. are f/2.0, f/2.8, f/4.0, f/5.6, f/8.0, f/11.0, f/16.0, and f/22.0, but you can make intermediate settings by In situations where conditions are too bright or dark turning the ring to one of the white lines between the for a good exposure, the camera’s display may become Chapter 3: Shooting Modes for Still Images | 25 bright or dark, giving you notice of the problem. This will happen if the Live View Display item on screen 3 of the Custom menu is set to Setting Effect On. If that option is set to Setting Effect Off, the display will remain at normal brightness (if there is enough ambient light), even if the exposure settings would result in an excessively bright or dark image. I will discuss that menu option in Chapter 7. Shutter Priority Mode In Shutter Priority mode, you choose the shutter speed you want and the camera will set the corresponding aperture to achieve a proper exposure of the image. Figure 3-14. Shutter Speed Set to 1/500 Second In Figure 3-14, I used a setting of 1/500 second, which was fast enough to freeze the action so you can see individual grains of rice. In Figure 3-15, with the shutter speed slowed to 1/2 second, the same grains of rice are transformed into what looks almost like a Figure 3-13. Mode Dial Shutter Priority stream of milk in a continuous flow. In this mode, designated by the S position on the Mode dial, as shown in Figure 3-13, you can set the shutter to be open for a time ranging from 30 seconds to 1/4000 of a second. However, this range of settings is dependent on the aperture setting. You can set the shutter speed to 1/4000 second only when the aperture is set to f/5.6 or narrower, and you can set a shutter speed of 1/2500 or 1/3200 only when the aperture is f/4.0 or narrower. At apertures wider than f/4.0, the fastest shutter speed available is 1/2000 second. So, if you set a speed of, say, 1/3200 second in somewhat dark conditions, the camera cannot select an aperture wider than f/4.0, which may result in an excessively dark image. If that happens, select a slower Figure 3-15.