Locking The Exposure (Ae Lock) - Sony a (alpha) DSLR-A100 Operating Instructions Manual

Locking the exposure (AE lock)

You can fix the exposure before deciding on the composition when taking a picture. This is
effective when the metering object and focusing object are different, or when you want to
shoot continuously while keeping the same exposure value.
1 Target the subject for which you want to meter the exposure.
• Adjust the focus (you do not need to lock the focus.)
2 Press the AEL (AE lock) button.
• "AEL"* lights up in the viewfinder and on the LCD monitor to indicate that the exposure is locked.
* AEL: Stands for Auto Exposure Lock
3 While pressing the AEL (AE lock) button, recompose the image, if necessary, and press the
shutter button to take the picture.
• If the AEL (AE lock) button is kept down after a shot, you can continue to shoot with the same exposure
value. The setting is canceled when the button is released.
• When the flash is fired in a mode other than shutter speed priority mode or manual mode, slow sync
control is activated and AE Lock is performed (page 69).
• You can set the camera to keep the exposure value after releasing the AEL (AE lock) button (page 93).
• Regardless of the type of metering mode selected, you can set the camera to temporarily fix the exposure
using the spot metering (Spot AEL) by pressing the AEL (AE lock) button (page 93).
About the Ev scale when the AEL (AE lock) button is pressed
When you lock the exposure by pressing the AEL (AE lock) button, the locked exposure value
is set as the standard (0). After recomposing, the Ev scale displays the metered light level
within the spot metering circle. This tells you the difference in brightness among the segments
of the screen.
• If the light level within the spot metering circle exceeds 2.0Ev more/less than the standard value, gG
appears at the end of the Ev scale. The gG starts flashing if the difference becomes any greater.
Shutter button
AEL (AE lock) button
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