DSLR cameras offer a lot of different automatic exposure "modes" for controlling the camera, but for astrophotography we really only want to use the full manual mode. You can just set your camera to manual and skip the rest of this section if you want. Information on other exposure modes are presented here because these settings can be confusing to the beginner, and because, right out of the box, DSLR cameras come set to the all-automatic setting.
The main control dial on the top of Canon and Nikon DSLR cameras can be a little confusing at first to beginner photographers. Each shooting mode offers different feature sets for different types of normal daytime photography. One mode offers complete automation where the photographer only has to press the shutter release button and the camera will do everything else automatically including autofocusing and autoexposing. At the other end is a mode that offers complete manual control, where the photographer can set every different parameter that the camera offers, such as shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focus, white balance, sharpening, etc. In between, different modes are offered for different specialty types of photography, such as sports photography, or macro photography. Canon Canon calls these zones. There are basic and creative zones available on the mode dial of most Canon DSLR consumer and prosumer level cameras.
Nikon calls their controls Scene Modes, Auto Modes, and Advanced modes, although different camera models in the past had different names for these modes.
On Canon's basic zones, and Nikon's scene modes, you press the button and the camera does the rest. These zones and modes are represented by little icons on the dial which are hard to remember. You have more control with Canon's creative zones and Nikon's advanced modes, but really, the only one you will use for most long-exposure deep-sky astrophotography is full manual control.
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