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How about indoors or shooting in any available light conditions? No problem here. If you are relying on available light alone, make sure the lens you use has a maximum aperture of at least f/2.8 or an EF lens utilising Canon's Image Stabilizer (IS) feature if you are shooting with an ISO 100 speed film. Otherwise, you will find yourself shooting with slow shutter speeds. The P mode will try to select the highest possible shutter speed that is possible given the lighting situation, film speed in use as well as the maximum aperture of the lens. If the lighting is really low, the shutter speed selected can be really slow for you to hold steadily. The photos of the automobiles shown below were shot inside their showroom in P mode with the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens.
For available light shooting, the P mode will analyse the situation and select the most appropriate shutter speed and aperture combination. If you need deeper depth-of-field in such conditions rather than higher shutter speeds, all you have to do is shift the electronic input dial of your EOS camera to alter the settings to your desired choice and shoot. In photo below (left), both the front windscreen and the bonnet of the red car's warm cast were provided by the reflection of the awnings above it as well as its own colour. In the photo on the right, the available light was reflected by the awnings itself that had subdued the sunlight behind it.
To be able to create excellent images using the P mode alone, several factors have to be considered. First, the ISO film speed in use, secondly, the EF lenses you have in your arsenal. Third, whether you are using your EOS camera's Evaluative, Partial or Spot metering, always be careful of where you place the correct AF point to lock into the main subject to ensure correct exposure. Fourth, Program Flash AE is best used for balanced fill-in flash in broad daylight to provide details against the shadows or back lighted subjects rather than indoors if you are not shooting with higher ISO speed film or having EF lenses with larger maximum apertures. In this mode with the camera/Speedlite combination, the shutter speeds will be selected between 1/60 and 1/250 sec (depending on the EOS models) and at such speeds, you may lose details in the background. Slow-sync flash works better in indoor events if you want to record the background's ambience light. Fifth, since the Intelligent Program AE mode leaves you free from selecting both the shutter speeds and aperture combinations, EOS users who have followed the Art of Photography columns can utilise all the techniques described in the previous issues to shoot their pictures without having to concentrate on the appropriate settings. You can always alter the camera's suggested settings by turning your EOS camera's input dial in either direction till you come to the desired combination. In the next few pages are photo
galleries of images that are all shot in the P mode in various lighting conditions. |
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