Use autoexposure lock to recompose photographs after using center-weighted metering and spot metering (0 Metering) to meter exposure.

  1. Lock exposure.

    Position the subject in the selected focus point and press the shutter-release button halfway. With the shutter-release button pressed halfway and the subject positioned in the focus point, press the A AE-L/AF-L button to lock exposure (if you are using autofocus, confirm that the I in-focus indicator appears in the viewfinder).

    Shutter-release button

    A AE-L/AF-L button

    While exposure lock is in effect, an AE-L indicator will appear in the viewfinder and the monitor.

  2. Recompose the photograph.

    Keeping the A AE-L/AF-L button pressed, recompose the photograph and shoot.

Spot Metering

In spot metering, exposure will be locked at the value metered at the selected focus point.

Adjusting Shutter Speed and Aperture

While exposure lock is in effect, the following settings can be adjusted without altering the metered value for exposure:

Mode Setting
P Shutter speed and aperture (flexible program; 0 Flexible Program)
S Shutter speed
A Aperture

The new values can be confirmed in the camera displays.

Note that metering can not be changed while exposure lock is in effect.

See Also

For information on using the shutter-release button to lock exposure, see A > Custom Setting c1 (Shutter-release button AE-L, 0 Shutter-Release Button AE-L). If On (half press) is selected, exposure will lock when the shutter-release button is pressed halfway.