Shooting modes

All digital cameras have fully automatic modes to take photos by simply pointing and shooting. The camera evaluates the scene and selects what it determines are the best exposure settings.

But a fully automatic mode has its limitations. Using a semi-automatic or manual mode gives the photographer more control over how well a photograph is captured. Obtaining optimal results often requires that some camera settings be manually changed.

Intelligent Auto Mode

Good news for compact digital camera users who prefer to point and shoot rather than fuss with settings. Full Auto Modes are now smarter and more effective at automatically capturing a subject.

If you want to simply point and shoot, use one of the fully automatic modes on your digital camera. For more control over the final outcome of photos, use semi-automatic and manual modes.

Scene modes are factory optimized, pre-programmed exposure modes helpful to those who don’t want to fuss with camera settings.

Panorama mode allows you to create a single, wide vista photo by “stitching” a series of single shots taken with a digital camera.

Some digital cameras record video that approaches the quality of a dedicated camcorder and even capture video in high definition.

Take a look at the main types of digital camera optical Image Stabilization modes. Learn which mode to use for a particular scene, or when not to use Image Stabilization at all.