Program AE is defeated when slow shutter speeds are
selected since program mode selects both aperture and
shutter speed - but by specifying shutter speed,
technically you are no longer in program mode (by
definition...;-), but you are still in auto mode,
with auto selection of aperture and gain... I rarely
use the slow shutter speeds, so I'm not sure what
happens with portrait mode and slow speeds selected...

On Tue, 16 Jul 2002 16:41:26 -0700, "Luc" wrote:
>
>Checking the manual of PC120 which should be similar it says Program AE does
>not work in slow shutter mode. But I guess it only doesn't work partially
>(not clarified exactly what not working means). So portrait mode and slow
>shutter may or may not work any different from default program AE.

>"Neuman - Ruether" wrote in message
>news:3d3484b4.1121665@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu...
>>
>> All the current 1-chip Sony Mini-DV camcorders, as
>> far as I know, work the same way, and have the same
>> features, with the exception that at least on the
>> TRV30, portrait mode does not limit focus (and it
>> does appear to lower edge sharpening, reduce average
>> auto exposure a bit, force the lens to a wide stop
>> [for more limited DOF], and improve low light color,
>> all generally useful things with this camera...
>> BTW, selecting shutter speeds below 1/60th (NTSC)
>> dumps one field, reducing resolution somewhat, and
>> going below 1/15th produces excessive "trailing",
>> and can cause marginal pixels to show as white dots
>> in the picture if the gain is at +18db...