metering....help!

[puyjapin]

:blushing:Hi, please could someone help me a bit....im still quite new...
Am i correct in thinking that the meter reading is taken and this then allocates a shutter speed from the amout of light when in the Aperture mode?
Also when someone says, meter for the sky for example does this mean point the camera at the sky then fix the exposure before re pointing the camera at the whole scene before shooting...??
Also it seems on my d40 i have to point then half press the shutter and release before it will allow me to lock the exposure thus when i re point the camera the auto focus does not seem to adjust?
thanks for your help !

 

[swmocity]

are you in manual mode?

 

[puyjapin]

apeture.... why does the metering work only in manual?

 

[Big Mike]

Am i correct in thinking that the meter reading is taken and this then allocates a shutter speed from the amout of light when in the Aperture mode?

Yes, that's right.

Also when someone says, meter for the sky for example does this mean point the camera at the sky then fix the exposure before re pointing the camera at the whole scene before shooting...??

Yes.

Also it seems on my d40 i have to point then half press the shutter and release before it will allow me to lock the exposure thus when i re point the camera the auto focus does not seem to adjust?

Check your manual. Sometimes there are ways to separate AF lock and Exposure lock...or maybe there is another way around it.

On my camera (Canon), I have set the AF to a button on the back of the camera so that I can lock the exposure with the shutter button and turn AF on or off with the separate button.

 

[puyjapin]

thanks, i can see the point of metering and locking the exposure to compensate the sky. what is the point in locking the autofocus as surely unless the camera is put back in the identical position in relation to the subject it would be out of focus thus the lens may as well be set to manual focus? thnks

 

[mrodgers]

what is the point in locking the autofocus as surely unless the camera is put back in the identical position in relation to the subject it would be out of focus thus the lens may as well be set to manual focus? thnks

I think most people use center or center weighted autofocus point. Thus, if you do not want your subject smack in the center of the image, you can set the focus using the center point, then move the camera to create the composition you are looking for while keeping the focus of the subject.

 

[puyjapin]

sorry i dont follow. if the scene ius fixed, if no moving subjects etc then what is the procedure? point the camera at the scene, focus, move camera away to take a reading then re position camera? once the reading has been taken the camera will not refocus the lens on the subject....so if the position of the camera is not exact the shot will be out of focus?

 

[Dao]

I believe you can use the AE lock button to lock the exposure settings and then re-composition the frame and auto focus the object.

Or, using the manual mode, take the meter reading, adjust your settings, re-compose the shot, auto focus the object and take the shot.

 

[FlyingFly]

It seems you combine both AE lock and AF lock on half-pressing shutter release button.

Please carefully check your user manual to separate exposure lock and auto-focus lock. My D70 locks auto-focus only when half-press shutter release button by default. To lock exposure, press the AE-L button at the back of the camera. The behavior can be re-defined by menu selection. I think D40 does the same.