Nikon COOLPIX 5000 Instruction Manual - Page 120

Taking Photographs-Advanced Photography Locking Exposure: Spot and Center-Weighted Metering When spot or center-weighted metering is selected, pressing the shutter-release button halfway sets exposure for the subject at the center of the frame. If your subject is not in the center of the frame when the shutter-release button is pressed halfway, exposure will be set for an object in the background, with the result that your intended subject will be over- or under-exposed. In this situation, autoexposure lock can be used to lock exposure after metering your main subject, allowing you to adjust the composition before taking the photograph. 1 Set focus and exposure After positioning your subject in the center of the frame, press the shutterrelease button halfway and check that the green lamp next to the viewfinder lights, indicating that the subject is in focus. 2 Lock exposure With the shutter-release button pressed halfway, press and hold the AE-L/AF-L button. Focus and exposure will remain locked as long as the AE-L/AF-L button is pressed, even if you remove your finger from the shutter-release button. Options for the AE-L/AF-L Button By default, pressing the AE-L/AF-L button when the camera is in focus locks both focus and exposure. In User Sets 1, 2, and 3, the Controls > AE-L, AF-L option in the setup menu ( 150) can be used to set the AE-L/AF-L button to lock only one of focus or exposure. 106