"What does this P mode on my digital camera selector dial do?"
I have been asked this question a lot. Understandably, many people who want to take pictures are not necessarily photographers in the traditional sense. They are artists, or family members, or travelers, or hobbyists participating in various hobbies. They really are documentors who are wanting to capture and preserve given moments in time. They are the new definition of photographers who have been empowered by the relative ease and economy of making their own photographs. They don't want to be bothered by learning a bunch of new skills or reading a lot of technical instructions. This is great! More power to you, if you fall into this category of photographer. So let me help you expand your photographic capabilities--just a little.
It is helpful to understand what the icons mean on your camera settings selector. Most of them are fairly intuitive, requiring little explanation. Others, not so much. "P" is one of these setting Literally, it means Programmable. This setting was first offered on advanced consumer film cameras, offered by Canon, Minolta, and Olympus back in the day. The nomenclature stuck.
It may be easier for you to just consider that the P stands for Preset. It allows you to preserve the precise setting to be recalled for conditions which are not covered by the other icons. If you are inclined to take pictures of birds, it is likely that your are often viewing birds from a distance which does not fill the frame. Often these bird scenes are necessarily surrounded by the much lighter outline of the sky or lighter colored foliage. You may have noticed that these pictures are winding up being too dark at first try. You are missing a lot of good opportunities because the birds don't always stay perched as long as you'd like them to.
In this case, you may read the manual or ask someone who better understands your camera or the physics of photography and determinethat your cameras light meter is reading more of the lighter background light than the light that's reaching the bird. So adjustments are made to your camera's exposure setting, allowing for this common reoccurring condition you encounter while birding. You are not yet confident that you will quickly remember exactly how to make this mechanical adjustment. The solution may be for you to save these setting while in the P mode. Then you can recall this ideal bird picture setting to be recalled quickly by simply changing to the P setting at anytime it's needed.
The setting can be continually enhanced and resaved under P until you have it nailed for most of such bird pictures. You may determine that it needs to use the Spot Focus setting and spot exposure setting that your camera allows in order to gain the sharpest picture. You may want the additional low light capabilities of a higher ISO setting. You may also prefer the added depth of acceptable focused offered by a smaller aperture setting. All of these can be readily saved under P.
Similarly, any ONE setting combination can me saved P. Most cameras only allow for one special circumstance setting to be saved at a time. This is for simplicity sake. Too many exotic setting would be as confusing as learning how to make all of these minute individual settings on the fly. I have used the setting for quickly making all of the setting to optimized photographing butterflies and dragonflies in mid-air. This is no small feat. Thisopportunity sometimes arises out of the blue while taking other types of outdoor pictures. With one quick dial change, my camera is readied to respond in time to gain the necessary advantage to take such pictures.
I walk my dog at night. I try to have a small digital camera with me at all times. Being outside after dark, I often find the need to take pictures of objects in the night skies or otherwise in the dark These pictures can be very tricky. While I advocate learning the science behind photography for the best photographs under such extreme conditions, I also enjoy not having to fumble around in the dark to adjust from a daytime setting to a night setting encountered while walking Biggin after dark. The P mode allows me to do this.
There are so any special circumstances for which the P setting can be used that will increase your enjoyment of your hobbies and interests. If you are into skateboarding or motor-sports or other action sports, you can save a set of setting to optimized these pictures with or without the desired motion blur. If you take pictures indoors under mixed light sources without a flash, you can save setting to capture and color-correct for these unusual settings. If you travel a lot, you may want to use P to save settings for very wide-angle scenics with the most vivid colors. If you use ebay to sell coins or other small product requiring close focus and lighting, the P mode properly set for such photos could help enormously. The possibilities are endless.
As you become more familiar with your camera, you will find other opportunities for the P mode setting and others. In the future, I will attempt to bring you helpful hints about how to use the most common mode settings.