When dealing with a camera with such a small sensor, I find that I can’t rely on the auto settings in any way.  They kinda work if you’re only interested in snapshots. You know the type: flash in normal conditions that blows out the subject and darkens the room, something that really doesn’t make the pics good, just good enough. Auto mode on this camera isn’t even used when my 4-year-old picks it up!

It does a somewhat decent job when taking outdoor photographs in bright sunlight, though.   Unless the light is behind the subject.  Normally.

Auto is just hard to predict.  You’re much better suited to shift either into scenic or manual mode.

Scenic Mode

Buttons & switches on the sd500. Note the "SCN" and "M" buttons.

Most cameras have a scenic mode.  Some have several: lower-end DSLRs tend to have “sports”, “portraits”, “beach”, etc.  settings.  The sd-like series are no different – except that it’s a single scenic mode, and you toggle a menu setting to get to your desired setting.  I may write about this someday, but that’s not the topic I’d like to cover today.

To the right: “SCN” is the “Scenic Mode” option on the sd500.  Dial “M” for “Manual.”

Manual Mode

They can call it “manual” all they want, but it really isn’t.  I consider it more of an “almost manual” mode, or an “advanced scenic”.  Why?  Well, it’s somewhat limited.  You can’t set your own F-stop, nor can you control shutter speed.  You can, however, control ISO, white balance, exposure values, and a few other (lesser-used) settings.

Again, it’s not really manual, but it’s as close as you can get without hacking the firmware.

And that will introduce you to the next series of posts: why I care about customizing the settings.  Coming up:

• ISO – why I care & where I usually set it.
• White Balance – what I use & when. Also, how I customize it.
• Exposure Value compensation – where I leave it and why.