Question about a button and a switch on my D90

GlasgowGunner

GlasgowGunner

Suspended / Banned
Messages
712
Name
Kevin
Edit My Images
No
I have a button on my Nikon D90 that i cant make head nor tail of even when i read the manual just cant figure out what it does.

First,, the button in question is the AE-L/AF-L button. Can any body tell me what this does or give me an easy to understand situation of when you would use this. I ask as i dont want to be missing out on something that i could be using that would help me in some manner(maybe somebody post a shot where they have used the button.

Second,, there is a switch/lever on the back next to the screen that has a L and a white dot, what would i be using this for?


Any help here would be great.

Kev.
 
I believe they're exposure lock and focus lock? I don't own a Nikon, but I think that's a safe assumption.
 
Ahhh i see, Cheers now just the ae-l/af-l button. I would like a situation as to where i would use it unless somebody can give me an idiot proof set of words to its use.


Thanks.
 
Hiya Kev

How coincidental - I have just been reading my D90 User Manual and just got to this bit.

Have a look on page 56 about the 'L' Lever (It's what Joe T said it's for), and page 57 about the AE-L & AF-L button - it's to with Locking Focus & Exposure - not sure how to use it yet :thinking: lol just thought this might help.

Alison :)
 
GlasgowGunner said:
Ahhh i see, Cheers now just the ae-l/af-l button. I would like a situation as to where i would use it unless somebody can give me an idiot proof set of words to its use.


Thanks.
Click to expand...

You might use the AE lock button where you're photographing someone strongly back lit, in which case, you'd move in close so the face filled the frame, then press the AE lock button. Now move back to your original position and take the shot.

The AF lock button would be handy where your main subject is in the centre of the frame, Focus on your subject, press the AF lock button and you're now free to recompose the shot placing your subject anywhere you like in the frame.
 
gemini said:
Hiya Kev

How coincidental - I have just been reading my D90 User Manual and just got to this bit.

Have a look on page 56 about the 'L' Lever (It's what Joe T said it's for), and page 57 about the AE-L & AF-L button - it's to with Locking Focus & Exposure - not sure how to use it yet :thinking: lol just thought this might help.

Alison :)
Click to expand...

Yeah i have also read the manual but i cant work out when i should use it.

I did read about it being another kind of lock but i was wondering when i should be putting it to use.

Cheers though, Kev:thumbs:
 
CT said:
You might use the AE lock button where you're photographing someone strongly back lit, in which case, you'd move in close so the face filled the frame, then press the AE lock button. Now move back to your original position and take the shot.

The AF lock button would be handy where your main subject is in the centre of the frame, Focus on your subject, press the AF lock button and you're now free to recompose the shot placing your subject anywhere you like in the frame.
Click to expand...

So the AE Lock,,, say i was taking a picture of somebody in front of a real bright light or the sun behind them i get them to fit the view finder i move back and whatever is behind them will not be a mass of bright white light(blowout i think its called)???? This what you mean.


Cheers, Kev
 
GlasgowGunner said:
So the AE Lock,,, say i was taking a picture of somebody in front of a real bright light or the sun behind them i get them to fit the view finder i move back and whatever is behind them will not be a mass of bright white light(blowout i think its called)???? This what you mean.


Cheers, Kev
Click to expand...

Not exactly. if you took the shot from your starting position the face would have been drastically under-exposed due to the meter being over-influenced by all that bright light. Using the AE lock the face will be properly exposed, but the bright light will be even brighter due to getting more exposure than it would have. It will still look a whole lot better - something you need to try to see the effect. You can get some very nice rim lighting effects from the backlight - a sort of halo effect which is very attractive.
 
You know how you will often point at a subject, half press the shutter release to focus, then recompose whilst half-holding the shutter so that your subject remains focussed? AE Lock works in the same way but locks exposure rather than focus.
 
neilia said:
You know how you will often point at a subject, half press the shutter release to focus, then recompose whilst half-holding the shutter so that your subject remains focussed? AE Lock works in the same way but locks exposure rather than focus.
Click to expand...

No sorry i dont.lol

Sorry but that was double dutch to me there i have never done this. I think i am going to have to read up on this a bit more as im lost.:bang:
 
depending on the setting for your D90, u can lock exposure (AE), focus (AF) and both

CT explained the advantages of AE and AF as individual locks. but you can set it up for lock both setting such case would be you need to recompose the same shot in the case of a panorama stitching where you want the same exposure and DoF to compose a good shot.

most of the time i dun see the point of it, as it's in such a nasty location for to press for me at least, as I am left eye strong, so i peep in my left eye and thus the rest of my face is covering that button and having to force my thumb into my right eye is just not on.

Also, focus can be locked by half press the shutter and AE can be adjusted accordingly using spot metering in Auto and then dial in the exposure in Manual Mode.
 
right sometimes you want the lens to focus on an object, for instance a person playing in the field, but the autofocus just won't pick him up. so you centre him and half press the shutter to focus on his, then you move the camera up down left right until you find the right composition, the perfect picture.

this is called focus lock. cos you are locking the focus to a specific distance and subject.

the above assume the person you are focusing hasn't moved.

very similarly you can do the same as exposure through the AE-L/AF-L button. as CT described in his post about a subject cast against a really strongly lit back ground, you want the exposure to be of the subject not the back ground thus you go in close so the subject is filled with the viewfinder and then press the AE-L so that the exposure is locked and then you step back, move your camera up down left right....till you get the perfect shot. This will occur very often if you want to take a picture of a dark statue on days such as today or even better lit days.
 
neilia said:
You know how you will often point at a subject, half press the shutter release to focus, then recompose whilst half-holding the shutter so that your subject remains focussed? AE Lock works in the same way but locks exposure rather than focus.
Click to expand...


i have to say the ae lock is one of the most important buttons on my cameras (set specifically to only lock exposure) for when using spot or centre metering and shooting fast, it gets used all the time.
im very much a person that uses the middle af point, locks and recomposes though so i suppose that transcendes to exposure locking. probably my bad habits over the last 10 years.
 
:agree:

I use the shutter button to lock focus and the AF/AE button set to AE to lock exposure
 
Everyones allready told you this but maybe it'll help listed out like this..

In single AF mode. A half press of the shutter button will lock the focus so you can recompose.

In continuous AF mode. A half press of the shutter will focus, but moving the cameras focus point will mean it will re-focus.

In conjunction to those locks..
& depending on the AF/AE lock buttons default settings in the cameras menu...

With AF/AE lock button pressed the focus will be locked.

With AF/AE lock button pressed the exposure will be locked.

With AF/AE lock button pressed both the exposure and focus will be locked.


Not forgetting more AFL buttons on the ends of longer lenses, and some AF distance locks ... and the long forgotten, manual focus
:help:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top