Digital cameras have a number of modes for use in different situations. These modes are set according to the consumer priority and degree of expertise, with the professional cameras emphasizing on manual modes, point and shoot cameras on automatic modes and amateur cameras on both the modes. Of all the modes, automatic mode is the most useful mode for amateurs since the flash and exposure are completely controlled by the camera itself.
Auto mode is found in most of the cameras which is denoted either as “auto”, “A” or (P)rogram. In this mode, the camera decides several parameters of shooting by itself. These may include exposure, aperture, white balance, focusing, sensitivity and light metering. The mode lets the camera select the best suited parameters and generally gives best results with many shooting conditions.
Program mode is a manual mode which is similar to automatic mode but allows control over certain settings. The camera follows some preprogrammed settings but allows a little control over flash, ISO and white balance. It is denoted as “P” and is the advanced version of auto mode. This is ideal for amateurs who wish to capture better images with little control over some of the settings.