Using an Exposure Lock, then zooming out to catch whole picture

Okay, i was reading up on the AE-L on my D60, so i gave it a whirl tonight. granted, i may be 100% wrong, but am I doing this right? I focused on the Armidas sign, got it to balance out, then i zoomed out and took a picture of the entrance.....Anyone here ever use it? What is it used for anyway?

 

i dunno. i thought exposure lock captured the exposure you were at, and as long as you hold it. any picture you take with it "on" it maintains it. like, in this instance, i only wanted the armidas sign to be in focus/brighter than the rest of it, as to draw your attention to it, and not the shoddy lot.

 

Yes I have done for testing/learning purpose only. You got this right with nice clear ARMIDA'S sign but I think you zoom out a bit too much. I only see OPEN sign. What are the rest?

Definately your d60 is working well by the look of it.

 

perhaps test a different subject. would not a bright sign like that stand out from the rest anyway?

 

hmmm....i'm gonna run back down the street and see what i can come up with. (grabs tripod)

 

this was all i could get.... theyre bunched together, one with AEL on and the other isn't

 

I use it for when I'm in Av or Tv mode for exactly what you use it for. If I want the exposure of a particular object to be the main focus, I'll zoom in or point at it, lock the exposure, then recompose and shoot. It's a great tool that I use alot

 

I was googling that. and it appears to be the same thing basically....

Anyone think something different? Online, it says: compose the picture (-too bright/dark thing messing it up) activate AEL, compose original image, and shoot.

however, with spot metering, at least on my D60, it works on the AF point, which this camera only has "3" so would it be advantageous to use Spot Metering, or AE-L?

 

i dont like exposure lock, causes a lot of things to be underexposed

 

Only if you're locking the exposure on the wrong object for the scene. It doesn't cause under-exposure, the user does.