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.
Main digital camera shooting modes
If you want to simply point and shoot, use one of the fully automatic modes on a digital camera. For more control over the final outcome of your photos, learn to use a semi-automatic and manual modes.
Common digital camera scene modes
Scene modes are factory optimized, pre-programmed exposure modes helpful to those who don’t want to fuss with camera settings.
Panorama mode
Panorama mode allows you to create a single, wide vista photo by “stitching” a series of single shots taken with a digital camera.
Movie mode
Some digital cameras record video that approaches the quality of a dedicated camcorder and even capture video in high definition.
Image Stabilization modes
Take a look at the three 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.
Face recognition mode
Digital camera Face Recognition mode detects faces in a scene. It automatically focuses and optimizes exposure for the faces.
Burst mode
Continuous shooting mode, also known as burst mode, allows you to shoot images continuously in rapid succession.
Extended Optical Zoom
An Extended Optical Zoom increases the zoom range of a digital camera with little, if any, loss in image quality. However a smaller image size than the largest size available must be used.