G6 Modes

A good percentage of pictures I take fall into the category of situations where I can’t control many of the variables. I can’t control the lighting, my position in relation to the subject, etc. I frequently don’t have time to adjust ISO speeds, apertures, shutter speeds, etc. beyond what I can anticipate before I “see� the picture I want to capture. Therefore I am trying to learn to use the “modes� of my G6 to give me some head start on capturing the image in the best possible way.

I can’t seem to find a clear explanation of exactly what I’m changing when I select either “portrait� or “landscape� modes. Is it just the point of focus? Or am I oversimplifying it?

Thanks.

Hi Jim, Portrait mode will lean towards a more shallow dof (depth of Field), in other words, less area in front of and behind the focal area will be in focus by reverting to a larger aperture(smaller number numerically), with the idea being to isolate your subject from both the back and foreground.

Landscape mode will go the opposite direction to take in more detail.(greater dof)

I hope now I haven't thoroughly confused you.
-Bruce

Bruce,
As a matter of fact your answer drove me to actually fire off some test shots — advice given often in this forum, but rarely followed by me . . . at least up to now.
I just walked into my parking lot and took 3 shots of my car with a background that stretches several hundred feet behind the car. First shot, full auto = 1/500 at f4.0. Second shot, portrait = 1/1000 at f2.8. Third shot, landscape = 1/250 at f5.6.
My conclusion, correct me if I’m wrong, is that in fact I’m not changing the focus point (as I thought), but in fact adjusting some of the variables, aperture and shutter speed (as you suggested), when I change modes.
I was in fact not just oversimplifying, I was underestimating the flexibility of the camera.
Many thanks.
— Jim

Glad I could help in some small way.

That is correct Jim, Those settings have nothing to do with where the camera actually focusses, that part is entirely up to you.
As you have now proven to yourself, those particular settings control how much of the scene front to back is in focus(Not to be confused with actual point of focus). BTW, You're Welcome.

Learn how to use the Manual mode!

I have found that shooting digital images is not unlike shooting slide film, which is unmercilessly unforgiving; I use the Manual mode, adjusting the shutter speed once I figure out what aperture (f/stop) is suitable for the subject material.

The beauty of this is the relative brightness shows up on the LCD as I make these fine-tuned adjustments; I usually check to see what the metered (i.e by the G6) exposure says, just for reference, then take the shot.

Sounds cumbersome but it always works.