Shooting modes of Canon PowerShot S95 - from fully automatic to fully manual (part 2 of 2)

In the 1st part of this article, I wrote about the shooting modes of Canon PowerShot S95 digital camera when you dial its mode dial clockwise from Auto (inclusive). Now I would like to share about what I learnt about the shooting modes of this camera when you dial anticlockwise from Auto.

P-mode (Program mode)

P-mode is very close to Auto mode as opposed to Manual mode, in the sense that the camera will automatically adjust the aperture and shutter speed for you. One of the major reason for using P-mode (and above) is the ability to save the picture in RAW format for post processing.

In P-mode, you can decide on the image brightness/darkness by controling the ISO level. You can also make correction to the white balance.

Normally, we like to keep the ISO level as low as possible to produce better quality photographs. That's why we want to take control over ISO level adjustment rather than using Auto-ISO.

ISO level controls the light sensitivity of the camera's image sensor. If the ISO level is too low, you might get camera shake (blur) in the photos. If the ISO level is too high, you will get a lot of digital noise (grains).

Canon PowerShot S95 supports ISO levels from 80 until 3200.

P-mode is handy when quick adjustment is needed to shoot the precious moment that won't wait.


TV-mode (Time Value, Shutter Priority mode)

TV-mode allows us to control the shutter speed, which determine how long the camera's image sensor is exposed to light.

You can use longer shutter speed to capture trailing motion effect, and shorter shutter speed to freeze the moving objects.

Canon PowerShot S95 supports shutter speed as fast as 1/1600 second and as slow as 15 seconds. You need TV-mode to set for slower shutter speed less than 1 second.


AV-mode (Apperture Value, Apperture Prioirty mode)

The aperture controls the depth of field of the photo.

Wider aperture enable you to produce photos of shallower depth of field, with clear focus object and blur out its background. Smaller aperture creates deeper image, with more sharpness across the whole picture.

AV-mode is best when shooting macro (close up) photography with wide aperture. It is also suitable to shoot for landscapes and sceneries with small aperture.

Canon PowerShot S95 supports apperture value from f/2.0 to f/8.0. The smaller the f-number, the larger will be the aperture. One of the selling point of S95 is its f/2.0 capability.


M-mode (Manual mode)

This is the fully manual mode for the professionals. In Manual mode, you take full control to adjust the aperture (rotate the front dial) and shutter speed (rotate the control dial). You can also decide on the ISO level.

As opposed to the P-Mode, the exposure reading is displayed on the LCD screen, and change accordingly when you adjust your aperture and shutter speed.


C-mode (Custom mode)

This is a place for you to instantly get back your favourite settings. You can make the adjustments and settings to the camera, then save them by using the "Save Settings" menu options. When you come to C-mode, you'll get back the settings and adjustments.