Nikon P5100 P5100 User's Manual - Page 59

P, S, A and M modes Shooting in P, S, A, and M Modes P, S, A, and M modes offer control over a variety of advanced settings, including shutter speed, aperture, and white balance. Mode Description P Programmed auto (A 46) Camera sets shutter speed and aperture for optimal exposure. Recommended for snapshots and in other situations in which there is little time to adjust camera settings. Flexible program, which changes the combination of shutter speed and aperture, can be used (A 46). S Shutter-priority auto User chooses shutter speed; camera selects aperture for (A 47) best results. Use to freeze or blur motion. A Aperture-priority auto (A 48) User chooses aperture; camera selects shutter speed for best results. Use to blur background or bring both foreground and background into focus. M Manual (A 49) User controls both shutter speed and aperture. P, S, A and M modes D Shutter Speed and Aperture The same exposure can be achieved with different combinations of shutter speed and aperture, allowing you to freeze or blur motion and control depth of field. The following figure shows how shutter speed and aperture affect exposure. F 1/125 F4.3 Shutter speed 17 Aperture Fast shutter speed: Slow shutter speed: Small aperture (large Large aperture (small 1/1,000 s 1/30 s f-number): f/7.6 f-number): f/2.7 45