Focus on the APERTURE PRIORITY
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- What is it?
- Why is it important (in my selection of a digital camera)?
What is it?
You don't need to buy a digital SLR to gain more control over your aperture opening (typically referred to as "aperture priority"). Even today's "point and shoot" digital cameras have custom controls (or "settings") in addition to the automatic settings that most people use.
For example, during the day, you pick the "Day" or "Sun" setting. For landscapes, you choose the "Landscape" setting. For each automatic setting, your digital camera automatically sets the required F-stop and shutter speed required for a proper exposure.
Each manufacturer can include different automatic settings; although the common ones are macro, night, sports (high speed movement), and portraits.
For more control over the outcome of your picture, many cameras have non-automatic settings. One of these settings may be called "aperture priority" (occasionally referred to as "AV"). This allows YOU to determine which aperture to use.
In the AV mode, you set the F-stop, and the camera selects the appropriate shutter speed for a correct exposure. Why would you want to do that? That answer is in the next section.
Why is it important?
We previously covered the concept of having the foreground subject in focus, while the background was either in or out of focus. To have the background out of focus, set the AV to a low F-stop number (such as F/2.8 or F/4.0). Conversely, to have the background in focus, set the AV to a high F-stop number (such as F/11 or F/16).
If you want the flexibility to be able to choose whether your photographs have a blurred or sharp background, your camera needs this feature. Feel free to search this site or the entire internet from here...
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