Using the Aperture-priority AE mode with your Canon 35mm SLR cameras. Canon's first 35mm SLR camera utilizing the Aperture-priority (Av) AE feature was the multi-mode manual focus model, the A-1, introduced in 1978. Other manual focus models, which have the Aperture-priority AE feature, were the Canon AL-1, AV-1, T60, T90 and the professional New F-1. In the EOS System, with the exception of the discontinued EOS 700, 750 and 850 models, all the models, past and present, have the Aperture-priority AE feature as standard. As opposed to Shutter-priority (Tv) AE, which allows the user to place emphasis on shutter speeds, the Aperture-priority AE gives the user of selecting the f-stops to control the depth-of-field. This feature is very useful for portraits, travel, nature and landscape photography. You need shallow depth-of-field for portraits and deeper zone of sharpness for travel and landscape photography. Or you can use it simply to set the same aperture setting for all of your pictures, for example, at f/5.6 or f/8 without having to worry about the shutter speed combination. Portraiture, at f/4 Nature, at f/4 Landscape, at f/8 Travel, at f/9 As featured in issue No: 5 on Aperture and Depth-of-Field, using the Aperture-priority AE mode is one way to make full use of the fundamentals concerning f-stops in your photography. Combine it with the other fundamentals like perspective, angle-of-views, selective or deep focus, shutter speeds, plus composition and framing, you will have plenty of ideas of how to create better pictures. Over the next few pages, I will show what types of creative effects are possible with the Aperture-priority AE mode and the combination of fundamentals used in making them possible. << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 .