DL2 Custom Settings

Hi All

I,ve had my DL2 since last August and i am enjoying it very much but some of the custom settings confuse me as i don,t really understand what a few of them mean. And i was wondering what settings the majority of users are set up to. I mainly use aperture priority and shoot in raw.

Here is a list of those interesed in.

Exposure steps (1/2 or 1/3)
Link AF Point and AE (on or off)
Meter operating time (3,10,30 secs)
AE-L with AF locked (on or Off)
AE-L button on M exposure

Plus any other info would be greatly appreciated

Thanks Richard

Hi there,

I have had a DL2 for about the same time as you. I now have a K10 as well but the DL2 is still a fine piece of kit.

Exposure steps: does exactly what it says on the tin, selects weather you adjust aperture and shutter speed in 1/2 or 1/3 stop intervals

link AF point and AE: biases the multi point metering towards the selected AF point. I have this turned on reasoning that the AF point is where my subject is so I want that bit metered correctly

Meter operating time: governs how long the meter stays on for after you release a half press on the shutter button

AE-L with AF locked: Locks exposure when AF is locked on. I have this on as I usually use the centre AF point, focus and then re-compose, again I like to have the AE biased towards my main subject.

AE-L button in M exposure: Controls the "hyper manual" function. If you hit the AE-L button in M mode, the camera adjusts the exposure to the metered light level either by adjusting both Aperture and Shutter speed to the program line, or leaving one unchanged and setting the other. I have mine set to change the shutter speed so that it acts the same whether I'm using a modern lens or an M series.

hope this helps

Hopefully this helps

Exposure steps (1/2 or 1/3) changes the steps used when changing ev compensation

Link AF Point and AE (on or off) Links the exposure value to the focus point. By default exposure is allowed to be measured from a different point than the focus point. I find it gives more accurate exposure of the focus point especially if you focus on a subject centrally then move the camera to one side whilst maintaining a focus lock. The exposure will remain set for the subject and not the new centre of image. If light changes on the subject whilts AF is locked the exposure will compensate accordingly.

Meter operating time (3,10,30 secs) I don't know what this is about either but I'm sure somebody will let us know as I'm interested in this as well.

AE-L with AF locked (on or Off) Locks the exposure value when AF has been locked. By default the exposure can change after focus has been achieved. Very similar in use to Link AF Point and AE but, in the example given, the AE will not compensate for changes in light once AF is locked.

AE-L button on M exposure allows the auto exposure lock button to work when using manual exposure settings.

Meter Operating Time:- How long the meter remains active after you half-depress the Shutter Release button.

If linking the metering to the focus point, does anyone know what bias this gives (i.e. does it give the same bias to the focus point as centre-weighted metering would, or is it somewhere nearer spot metering)?

Jonathan

I get different results if I change to spot from centre weighted so assume it leaves the bias as set but not 100% on this.

Hi Rodger,

Thanks for the reply - I guess this question is just clarifying what I asked previously, but if you link the metering to the focus point & then select the central focus point, does the camera meter differently to normal centre-weighted metering, or is it in effect doing the same thing?

Jonathan

Hi Jonathan
It seems that it moves the centre of centre weighting to the focus point. If I do spot metering linked to the focus point I seem to get different results.

Hence it seems to meter differently to me but I'm sure somebody outhere looking in from Pentax would be able to help?!

Regarding exposure - I don't think there's any exact equivalent when tracking the focus point. The Pentax metering is a segmented meter device and it can't move the segments around! (Unlike some other makes that use a small CCD-like device for metering with small square pixels.)

I suspect they "approximate" or slightly reweight the metering when tracking the AF point.

To be honest, there aren't many subjects that really require this level of automation - it's often easier to use the required metering, use centre focus point to focus, meter and reframe - at least you know what's happening!

Still, if you shoot RAW and don't blow out the highlights then you'll get some extra latitude when developing on the PC to cope with most of exposure issues.

...And then there's HDRI... more on that later
Matt

Thanks for the info but i must say that the first three replies to my question were very informative but after that it,s all gobily gook, sorry.
So come on what do the majority of you have as your custom settings.

Richard

i think one of the most useful custom settings for me is 'ok button when shooting' - I've set it so that it turns on spot AF - very useful if you know the af might get confused or not know where to focus

Lock AF to AE.
Front e-dial set to exposure compensation when in Aperture priority.
Centre spot focusing.
Matrix metering.
JPEG highest quality setting at 10.2MP
ISO 200
AWB

DNG RAW
Centre AF
AF-AE Lock
Tv and Av have ISO on the other dial
Exposure steps in thirds
Images in dated folders
Matrix metering (sometimes spot)
ISO 100
AWB (often over-ridden)

That's it.

G

PEF RAW
Centre AF
AF-AE Lock
Tv and Av have ISO on the other dial
Exposure steps in thirds
Spot metering (sometimes center weighted)
ISO 100
AWB
OK button cancels AF
Allow manual aperture ring on older lenses

I guess it shows that the K10D can be any sort of camera you want it to be.
So it should suit all sorts of different photographers.