Recommendations For a Pentax K Mount Camera w/ AE Lock

stevebrot · 09-30-2010, 09:20 PM

Originally posted by pickles

No worries....for a bit of a "newbie" could you please explain what an "AE LOCK" is. I know that the Super A operates in either aperature priority or shutter priority & auto, so I thought it fitted the bill.
Cheers, Pickles.

AE lock allows you to lock in a meter setting when using an auto-exposure camera. A common situation would be a person's head with strong back lighting and the subject is not centered in the frame. You move in close until the face fills the screen, push the AE lock button and then back up to compose the shot. Current multi-segment metering makes its best guess at doing the same thing, but I have always found that I like the lock button better.

Steve

vparseval · 10-01-2010, 03:25 AM

Try to find a Pentax K2 DMD. Unlike the plain K2, it has exposure lock. It wont be straight-forward to turn on up though. The K2 is already quite rare, the K2 DMD even more so.

Cheers,
Tassilo

Nesster · 10-01-2010, 03:40 AM

Originally posted by pickles

No worries....for a bit of a "newbie" could you please explain what an "AE LOCK" is. I know that the Super A operates in either aperature priority or shutter priority & auto, so I thought it fitted the bill.
Cheers, Pickles.

AE lock is used to hold the exposure while you recompose and shoot.

For example, you're taking a backlit portrait. The face of your subject requires 2 stops more exposure than the overall scene. So you lock the auto exposure pointing to a backlit person - avoiding the back light - and once locked, you recompose so the bright background is in frame, and shoot - the AE lock gives you the exposure it remembers from reading the face rather than what's in the scene the moment you shoot.

Without AE lock, you either have to use exposure compensation - eg +2 EV for the back-lit scene above, or go to manual exposure.

As you can see, there are situations where this is very handy and easier to do than to fiddle with the EV compensation.

unixrevolution · 10-01-2010, 04:55 AM

If you don't mind something newer and more electronic, the *ist has AE-lock (on both the body and the optional battery grip) and does the full range of manual modes.

**ChrisPlatt** · 10-01-2010, 10:37 AM

AE lock used with "substitute metering" as described by Nesster is a powerful tool indeed.
With practice it can be done very quickly; much faster than manual.

Chris

builttospill · 10-04-2010, 09:21 AM

Yes the K2 DMD has it as mentioned above. It works well too. The K2 DMD is a big, heavy camera compared to your ME Super though. I can shoot all day with my K10D with attached grip and a big lens, but my hand tires when using the K2 DMD for a while.

momus2 · 10-17-2010, 07:15 PM

Thanks everyone. I ended up w/ a P3n and a Me Super SE. They're 2 totally different cameras. The P3n was ridiculously cheap. Bought one from KEH for $19 in Bgn and it looks close to mint. Nice little camera w/ great features, but you have to get used to that shutter. Ka Klank. No like!

The ME Super SE, if it had AE lock, would be the perfect camera, as it's smaller, lighter, and built very well w/ one of the nicest shutter sounds you'd ever want to hear. More of a Snick. But fiddling w/ the exposure compensation dial to achieve a change in exposure, or worse, playing w/ those tiny buttons on top in Manual mode to change exposure, is for the birds. I'd be quicker to just use a hand held meter, manually set the camera, and take the shot.

I'm beginning to agree. just buy an MX and be done w/ it.

stevebrot · 10-17-2010, 08:14 PM

Should'a bought a Ricoh XR7...

Steve

(Hint...there is a XR7 package on eBay right now that includes a Pentax-A 50/1.7 and what appears to be a set of A-contact extension tubes. The price is too high, but add it to your watch list and wait for it to be relisted...sell the A 50 and extension tubes and you get a free camera.) Edit: I looked again and did not notice that the package includes the auto-winder, a Kiron zoom, and a Tokina 28mm.)

Vranx · 10-19-2010, 12:00 PM

Hi Momus,

you can create the AE lock effect with any camera in manual mode: just come close enough to fill the viewfinder with the object that needs correct metering, read the meter and set shutter speed and lens aperture combination as you need/want it to have.

Then step back and re-compose, but don't adjust the aperture/shutter speed parameters to the new metering information, leave those as they were. From observing the change of metering result you can learn how to correctly expose in the future even without doing the close-up metering!

The only drawback is that you don't get stepless automatic shutter speed, in other words, you might need to adjust both parameters, lens aperture and shutter speed.

But it is really an instructive method and works with a Super A or a MX or a ME Super in manual mode.

**ChrisPlatt** · 10-19-2010, 04:56 PM

Good choice. Soon you won't even notice the shutter sound.

A half case helps, too.
The P3N/P30T soft case Is Pentax model PN(S), part number 32330.

Chris

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09-30-2010, 09:20 PM	#16
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by pickles No worries....for a bit of a "newbie" could you please explain what an "AE LOCK" is. I know that the Super A operates in either aperature priority or shutter priority & auto, so I thought it fitted the bill. Cheers, Pickles. AE lock allows you to lock in a meter setting when using an auto-exposure camera. A common situation would be a person's head with strong back lighting and the subject is not centered in the frame. You move in close until the face fills the screen, push the AE lock button and then back up to compose the shot. Current multi-segment metering makes its best guess at doing the same thing, but I have always found that I like the lock button better. Steve

10-01-2010, 03:25 AM	#17
vparseval Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: New York Photos: Gallery Posts: 66	Try to find a Pentax K2 DMD. Unlike the plain K2, it has exposure lock. It wont be straight-forward to turn on up though. The K2 is already quite rare, the K2 DMD even more so. Cheers, Tassilo

10-01-2010, 03:40 AM	#18
Nesster Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NJ USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 13,072	Originally posted by pickles No worries....for a bit of a "newbie" could you please explain what an "AE LOCK" is. I know that the Super A operates in either aperature priority or shutter priority & auto, so I thought it fitted the bill. Cheers, Pickles. AE lock is used to hold the exposure while you recompose and shoot. For example, you're taking a backlit portrait. The face of your subject requires 2 stops more exposure than the overall scene. So you lock the auto exposure pointing to a backlit person - avoiding the back light - and once locked, you recompose so the bright background is in frame, and shoot - the AE lock gives you the exposure it remembers from reading the face rather than what's in the scene the moment you shoot. Without AE lock, you either have to use exposure compensation - eg +2 EV for the back-lit scene above, or go to manual exposure. As you can see, there are situations where this is very handy and easier to do than to fiddle with the EV compensation.

10-01-2010, 04:55 AM	#19
unixrevolution Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Waldorf, MD Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,861	If you don't mind something newer and more electronic, the *ist has AE-lock (on both the body and the optional battery grip) and does the full range of manual modes.

10-01-2010, 10:37 AM	#20
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,696	AE lock used with "substitute metering" as described by Nesster is a powerful tool indeed. With practice it can be done very quickly; much faster than manual. Chris

10-04-2010, 09:21 AM	#21
builttospill Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Utah, Idaho Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,398	Yes the K2 DMD has it as mentioned above. It works well too. The K2 DMD is a big, heavy camera compared to your ME Super though. I can shoot all day with my K10D with attached grip and a big lens, but my hand tires when using the K2 DMD for a while.

10-17-2010, 07:15 PM	#22
momus2 New Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Las Cruces, NM Posts: 2 Original Poster	Thanks everyone. I ended up w/ a P3n and a Me Super SE. They're 2 totally different cameras. The P3n was ridiculously cheap. Bought one from KEH for $19 in Bgn and it looks close to mint. Nice little camera w/ great features, but you have to get used to that shutter. Ka Klank. No like! The ME Super SE, if it had AE lock, would be the perfect camera, as it's smaller, lighter, and built very well w/ one of the nicest shutter sounds you'd ever want to hear. More of a Snick. But fiddling w/ the exposure compensation dial to achieve a change in exposure, or worse, playing w/ those tiny buttons on top in Manual mode to change exposure, is for the birds. I'd be quicker to just use a hand held meter, manually set the camera, and take the shot. I'm beginning to agree. just buy an MX and be done w/ it.

10-17-2010, 08:14 PM	#23
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Should'a bought a Ricoh XR7... Steve (Hint...there is a XR7 package on eBay right now that includes a Pentax-A 50/1.7 and what appears to be a set of A-contact extension tubes. The price is too high, but add it to your watch list and wait for it to be relisted...sell the A 50 and extension tubes and you get a free camera.) Edit: I looked again and did not notice that the package includes the auto-winder, a Kiron zoom, and a Tokina 28mm.)

10-19-2010, 12:00 PM	#24
Vranx Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Beautiful Bavaria :-) Posts: 123	Hi Momus, you can create the AE lock effect with any camera in manual mode: just come close enough to fill the viewfinder with the object that needs correct metering, read the meter and set shutter speed and lens aperture combination as you need/want it to have. Then step back and re-compose, but don't adjust the aperture/shutter speed parameters to the new metering information, leave those as they were. From observing the change of metering result you can learn how to correctly expose in the future even without doing the close-up metering! The only drawback is that you don't get stepless automatic shutter speed, in other words, you might need to adjust both parameters, lens aperture and shutter speed. But it is really an instructive method and works with a Super A or a MX or a ME Super in manual mode.

10-19-2010, 04:56 PM	#25
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,696	Good choice. Soon you won't even notice the shutter sound. A half case helps, too. The P3N/P30T soft case Is Pentax model PN(S), part number 32330. Chris