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How to Lock AE and AF
AE-L (Auto Exposure Lock) is one of the very important features in all kinds of SLR cameras. Here’s how to set it up.
Lock AE only:
The exposure is only locked when you hold down the AE-L/AF-L button. Conversely, when the button is released, the SLR camera will continue to automatically meter the light. However, because individuals are sometimes nervous during shooting, it is easy to hold down the AE-L/AF-L button, so some photographers almost never set “Lock AE only”.
To lock autofocus only:
Focus is locked when you hold down the AE-L/AF-L button. Conversely, when the button is released, the camera continues to autofocus. This feature is still very useful, especially when the light is relatively dim. When you are in focus, press and hold it to recompose the image, without worrying about the laborious adjustment to find the focus point. If the lens has a function to lock the focus, it will be much more convenient, just press it directly on the lens.
AE Lock (Hold): When you press the AE-L/AF-L button, the exposure and focus are locked (the lock is still in effect after you release the button), and it remains after you press the shutter. This setting is suitable for continuous shooting after exposure lock. This is generally used when shooting continuous scenes, such as large-scale sports meetings, football games, etc.
Why Use Focus Lock
The abbreviation of focus lock is AF-L, the full name is Automatic Focus Lock, which is represented by AF-L on SLR cameras. Autofocus is the same as autoexposure, and the normal setting is done when the shutter is half-pressed. However, AF needs to have a good reference object for focal coincidence comparison, otherwise, it will cause slow AF or AF failure. For example, when you are shooting moving objects (birds flying), due to the uncertain running trajectory and slow focusing, the image is blurred. At this time, you can wait for the focus, or you can focus lock to take slow photos.
If autofocus cannot be achieved when shooting, you can prioritize focusing on an object at the same distance. Then press the focus lock button to lock the focus value. Then point the lens at the object you want to shoot, meter the light according to the picture. And then complete a series of shots.
Why Use Exposure Lock
The abbreviation of exposure lock is AE-L, the full name is Automatic Exposure Lock. And it is generally represented by AE-L on SLR cameras. Generally, the automatic mode of our SLR camera, the exposure mode adopts the average metering mode. This basically meets our requirements when shooting general scenes. However, in scenes with complex lighting conditions, the captured images will have inaccurate exposures.
The most obvious example is shooting portraits against the light. At this time, if we choose the automatic exposure mode to shoot, you will find that the main body of the portrait is underexposed in the later photos. If we choose to approach the model’s face, let the face fill the entire metering area. First perform subject metering on the face, and then press the AE-L button on the body. Lock the exposure value, then return to a suitable position to recompose the shot and shoot. At this time, you will find that no matter where the subject of the portrait is in the frame, the exposure is always excellent.