What is "auto mode" on a camcorder?

What is "auto mode" on a camcorder?

Tim Smith (Camcorder Training Specialist) gives expert video advice on: How do I record on my camcorder?; What is the "iris" of a camcorder?; How do I adjust my camcorder's white balance? and more...

Your camcorder, I'm sure, has some sort of auto record mode. That means that it's going to set its own f-stops, its own shutter speeds, really set your white balance and your exposure, and the pros of that are obvious. It makes it so much easier for you to deal with. All you have to do is aim, press the record button and let the camcorder do everything else. However, the camcorder is not you. It can't think for you. It makes decisions based on information it gets like how bright it is or what the focus is, but creatively, that doesn't allow for a lot of room for you in there. So, if your camera has auto mode and you want to use it in auto mode, you can get by with it more than you think. If you've got a creative idea, however, you've got to switch to manual. You've got to make those settings yourself. The downside to auto mode is that auto modes don't really anticipate or know really what you want to do creatively with the image. It may change the exposure when you don't want the exposure to change. It may shift the focus to something that you don't want to be focused on. It does things in automatic mode. It does things that are intuitive to the electronics of the camera but maybe not intuitive to you: the camera operator or the film maker; the person responsible for telling the story. So, that's why camcorders offer manual. You have much more control in a manual environment. That said, auto mode does a pretty good job most of the time.