Exposure Modes
(User’s Manual – D300S page 104; D300 page 104)
I mentioned my old Nikon FM in the beginning of this
chapter. I remember that camera with fondness, since that was
when I got really serious about photography. It’s hard for me
to imagine that it has already been 30 years since I last used
my FM! Things were simpler back then. Now that I think
about it, I remember my grandma saying something similar
about her Brownie Hawkeye.
When I say simple, I mean that the FM had a basic
center-weighted light meter, a manual exposure dial, and
manual aperture settings. I had to decide how to create the
image in all aspects. It was a camera with only one
mode—M, or Manual.
Later on, I bought a Nikon FE and was amazed to use its A
mode, or Aperture priority. I could set the aperture manually
and the camera would adjust the shutter speed for me.
Luxury! The FE had two modes: M-Manual and A-Aperture
priority.
A few more years went by and I bought a Nikon F4. This
camera was loaded with features and was much more
complex. It had four different modes, including the two I was
used to, M and A, and two new modes, S-Shutter priority and
P-Programmed auto. I had to learn even more stuff! The F4
was my first P, S, A, M camera.
This progression leads us to the D300 and D300S. The point
is that today’s cameras are amazingly complex compared to
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