Using the Aperture Priority Mode with this camera is really quite simple.

Just turn your Mode Dial to AV. AV stands for Aperture Value. And what this allows you to do is set the Aperture while the camera sets in appropriate Shutter Speed in order to capture a well-exposed image.

Now, in order to change the Aperture setting, just go ahead and roll the dial right next to the Shutter button.

Now, right now, the widest Aperture I can choose given the lens I have connected to the camera is F3.5. If I zoom in and press the Shutter button halfway, the Aperture automatically changes to F5.6 because when the lens is zoomed in, the widest is F5.6. If I zoom back out, it will automatically revert to the F3.5 that I previously set.

The reason why you might want to change the Aperture is to control your depth of field. The depth of field is how much of the picture is going to be in focus.

Now, depending on the lens, every lens has its own optimal Aperture opening. Meaning, if the Aperture is open too wide then the picture may come out a little bit softer. And if the Aperture is close to small then the picture may come out a little bit softer but somewhere in the middle is an optimal Aperture Value. It’s different for every lens that will get you the absolute sharpest picture.

I usually don’t worry about that too much because the difference in focus is very, very subtle and you really will have to look very close at the image in order to see the softness caused by the Aperture setting so really I don’t think about that too much. All I think about is the depth of field that I’m going to get with a larger or smaller Aperture.

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