What does the P setting on the Mode Dial stand for?

• A. Auto Exposure
• B. Manual Exposure
• C. Programmed Exposure
• D. Aperture Priority

Answer: (C)

Programmed Exposure means you’re in a mode where the camera handles the exposure settings for you. The camera automatically selects a shutter speed and an aperture that should yield a good exposure for the scene, though you still have some control options, like adjusting exposure compensation or shifting to a different shutter/aperture pair without changing the overall exposure. This is different from fully Auto Exposure (where you have no control), Manual Exposure (you choose both shutter and aperture), and Aperture Priority (you choose the aperture and the camera picks the shutter).