40 41

Basic Photography
2

TAKING PICTURES WITH AE LOCK

AE lock allows you to set the exposure for a specific subject in your shot. This technique is useful
when brightness of your subject differs greatly from its surroundings.
1
Center-weighted metering
Spot metering
Set the metering system selector dial to “-”
Center-weighted or “0” Spot metering.
hMatrix metering is not recommended since the
effect of the Auto Exposure Lock cannot be
effectively attained.
2Position the focus area over the subject you want
correctly exposed, press and hold the shutter
button down halfway and then press the “AE-L/AF-
L” button. The “EL” (exposure lock) indicator
appears in the viewfinder.
hThe exposure and focus are locked as long as
the “AE-L/AF-L” button is held down (default
setting).
hIf you press the “AE-L/AF-L” button in the “AF-S”
or “AF-C” focus mode when the shot is not in
focus, the exposure is locked with the shot out of
focus. Always check that the focus indicator “●”
is lit.
3While keeping the “AE-L/AF-L” button pressed,
recompose, focus and shoot.
hBecause the settings are maintained after you
take the shot for as long as the “AE-L/AF-L”
button is held down, you can keep the same
settings as you recompose the shot.
hThe following functions can be operated while the
“AE-L/AF-L” button is kept pressed:
1. In “P” exposure mode: Sets program shift.
2. In “S” exposure mode: Changes the shutter
speed.
3. In “A” exposure mode: Changes the aperture.
hRotating the metering system selector to another
setting does not change the metering system
during Auto Exposure Lock operation. Release
the AE lock.
CSM 5: Auto Exposure Lock can be set to be activated by pressing the shutter button down
halfway (➡P.111).
CSM 9: The operation performed when the “AE-L/AF-L” button is pressed can be modified
(➡P.111).
Operation: AF/AE lock (default setting), AE lock only, AF lock only, AE lock maintained, AF
operation

USING AF LOCK

If you take a shot with this type of composition
using Single-area AF with the focus area in the
center, the subjects (the two people in this case)
are outside the focus area and will not be in focus.
Move the camera slightly so that one of the
subjects is in the AF frame.
1
4
3
2
◆When AF (Auto Focus) does not focus the shot ◆
hPosition the focus area over another subject at roughly the same distance and press the shutter
button down halfway. Then recompose the shot and take the picture.
hYou can also set the focus and take the shot by selecting “M” (manual) as the focus mode.
Keep the shutter button pressed down halfway (AF
lock) and check that the focus indicator “●” is lit in
the viewfinder display.
Continue to hold the shutter button down halfway
(AF lock). Move the camera back to the original
image and then fully press down on the shutter
button.
●
!
You can reapply the AF lock as many times as you like
before releasing the shutter.
●
!
The AF lock operates in all photography modes and can be
used to ensure excellent results.
●
!
If you are using the “AF-C” focus mode, hold the shutter
button down halfway and press the “AE-L/AF-L” button
(➡P.41).