Aperture priority

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Glossary Terms

Aperture-priority describes a metering method which automatically sets (or displays) a shutter speed, based on the aperture chosen by the user. The term typically refers to a camera offering autoexposure—for example, one where an A or Auto position is found on the shutter-speed control. But aperture priority could also describe a method of manual exposure metering.

Aperture Priority may be be the preferred type of metering when control of depth-of-field is required. This may be either to ensure objects at different distances are in focus - by specifying a small aperture, or that some objects (perhaps the subject of a photo) are in focus whilst others (perhaps the background) are not - by specifying a large aperture.

(Compare with Shutter priority.)