Exposure Lock

Can someone explain the need for Nikon's command lock button?

 

If I set an aperture in aperture priority mode, or a shutter speed in shutter priority mode, it's not going to change

anyway, unless I dial a new number.

 

Why the need to lock it?

 

What am I missing here?

Have you ever accidentally touch the dial and changed your settings unintentionally?

I certainly have, and I would imagine that most people have.

Shun,

 

Ok, I get it, so it's like a key lock on a mobile phone.

I think it's most useful in program mode, which I use all the time (having discovered that the camera makes the same decisions in that regard that I have made for the last 40 years or so).

Is you are using spot or center weight meter you may want to take you measurement in an area that isn't is the center of the picture. Then you can 1) Metter, 2) Lock, 3) Reframe, 4) Shoot.

Breogan Gomez,

 

In Single-server AF it will lock after metering anyway. That's my point. No need to use the command lock.

 

How is it useful in program mode, Michael? I don't get that.

I can see a little confusion developing here.

 

Alastair is referring to the feature that locks the command wheels (via the lock button on the left hand dial), he is not referring to the AE/AF feature.

 

The lock feature disables either (or both) the front and rear command wheels, effectively locking aperture and/or shutter speed as required.

Robert and Alastair, that lock (L) button is only available on a few high-end models such as the D2 series and D3. There is no such button even on the D200 and D300. That is why most Nikon users are not familiar with it.

Robert, Shun... I was talking about the AE/AF button. I didn't know the existence of the "L" button.

 

Please, continue your discussion.

It might be noted that the feature is not available on the D700 either.

Wish my D300 had it. It's a great feature.

 

Alastair, when shooting sports, you typically take ambient readings and lock in your exposure in manual mode and don't

change it unless you lighting conditions change (clouds, etc.). I can't tell you how many times, in the heat of the action,

I've accidently moved the aperture wheel and changed my exposure without knowing it. The lock prevents this.

 

Hope the 700 has it. That's almost reason enough to get one.

The D700 is a cross between the D3 and D300. I would say consider it as a D300 outside but D3 inside, and you'll understand most of its features. I know, there are some exception such as the viewfinder; the D700 has a round external eyepiece that is similar to the D3.<div></div>

Right, I get it.

 

I can imagine that if you're a professional photographer (which sadly I'm not), it would be very useful if, for example, you're doing studio portraits with set lighting and you might want to lock your exposure at f11. If you're taking a lot of pictures I imagine it would be very irritating to discover afterwards that you'd accidently shifted the aperture to f8 and over-exposed everything.

My problem isn't with the dials. My clumsy big hands tend to press the vertical shutter release accidentally and I find myself firing off a serious of pictures unexpectedly.

Alastair, your camera may have a lock for the vertical shutter release. However, if you choose to use the lock, you may find yourself trying to take a vertical shot and wondering why the heck the camera won't fire. I've been there and done that, so I leave mine unlocked all the time. Just delete the accidental shots.

Actually I shouldn't really have this camera; heaven knows I can't afford it. I'm quite used to using the normal (horizontal) release for taking pictures in portrait mode. My hand reaches across pretty easily. If I bought a D300 I wouldn't bother to get the grip. So the vertical release is just another function that I don't actually need.

 

There were two things that I think are essential and I know that if I bought anything less I wouldn't be satisfied:

 

1) +- 100% finder

 

2) Full frame

 

Thirdly, it's a Nikon. I really wanted a digital Leica M3 so this is second best and hardly comparable since it's 10 times the size and not a range finder. But I delight in the 14-24 f2.8 and the 85 f1.4.

 

The low light performance - really stunning pictures at ISO 6400, and the 9 frames per second for me are just a bonus.

Wow, lots of confusion here.

 

With the D200, I removed the AF portion of the AE/AF lock button through the menus.

 

Here is where it is very valuable:

When you're shooting Shutter or Aperture Priority (or another semi-auto mode), if you have some subjects sitting at a picnic table in the shade (or there's a sunset behind them, etc. etc.), the backlighting will cause you massive problems with your meter. You point the camera at a nice, shady area that matches the one your subject is in, hold the AE/AF, recompose, squeeze to focus and shoot. You get nicely exposed subjects.

 

I use this extensively in event and wedding photography. :)

Gary,

 

The confusion was resolved. We're not talking about the AE/AF button but a locking button on the D2 series and D3 cameras..