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i have had my D80 for a month now
which most of you know as i bought it thru here
upgraded from the D50 which the wife let me keep as a backup
I'm interested in what people have the (d80 #18)AE-L/AF-L button set on

for starters what is your normal setting & also i am going to the Tour of Adelaide bike race(minimeet) next week & want to know what settings is best to use for these fast moving objects
I know Fozzie & big V & the others will set me on the right track on the day but id like to be as least bothersome to everyone by having an idea lol i have never shot spots before so all new
@ the moment i have it @ AE hold lock after reading a post on another forum about matrix metering averaging which aparently happens in both the D80/D200 & D2x
id asume for sports i would be better with AF on/AF area ???
which is where i usually have this setting
if i havent totally confused everyone id be interested in your thoughts
warren aka aussichef

Hi Warren,


Different lock modes will allow you to achieve different creative exposures.

For instance, you want to perform a panning shot with pre-focus spot. You set your button function to AF-L only. Focus on the spot/ground and hold the button, you camera will no longer perform AF even if you half-press. But it will still perform changes in metering as light changes if you move your lens around. Useful for performing panning shots where light changes over but you need only one focus point.
Alternatively, you may want to set it on "AF-ON" (I think the D80 should have this, as D70 did). What this does is the camera will not AF until you press this button, will still perform metering function on half-press. Useful for sport where only one focus is needed on demand (but it takes time to get used to this technique).

On the other hand, you may use AE-L if your light is inconsistent. Say, you have a bright highlight over a small section but darker in the others, you may want to spot/centre meter the prefered area and lock the exposure and then acquire focus on your subject moving. More useful for tricky light conditions and area which you need your AF to work continously.
Alternatively, you only need to set your camera to manual exposure mode and do changes yourself, no more need to press or hold any button from this. AF will still work fine all the way through.

Combine them two AE-L + AF-L will set you a pre-focused and pre-metered scene. Pressing and holding this button after focused on an area will tell the camera not to change focus point or metered settings at all. You may want to use this under tricky light and want a preset focus point. Tho I dont think this work good for sport photography.

I'm interested in what people have the (d80 #18)AE-L/AF-L button set on

On my D70 I set it on "FV-Lock" and this is the one I use exclusively. I never use AE-L for some reason (manual mode), and use AF-ON sometimes but rarely.