Locking Exposure on my Canon T3(1100D)

[Optikal iLLusion]

Started digging a bit deeper into the more technical side of my camera (and DSLRs in general) before church this morning so i could have a better understanding of how things work inside and such. I have been trying to figure out how to lock the exposure setting on my camera primarily for the purpose of taking a series of pictures and stitching them together as a panoramic shot.

I looked up the user manual and found where it says how and its not working..jump to page 105 at this link and it gives a step by step....

http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/0/030000...100d-im-en.pdf

im not sure if its a setting i have wrong or what but im always shooting in manual mode. I tried changing the metering and selecting different AF points and still cant get it to work.

[RichardTaylor]

In manual exposure mode you are controlling all the exposure settings.
There is really nothing to "lock" as you have set the exposure.

Try it in other exposure modes, like aperture priority, and see what happens.

[Optikal iLLusion]

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

In manual exposure mode you are controlling all the exposure settings.
There is really nothing to "lock" as you have set the exposure.

Try it in other exposure modes, like aperture priority, and see what happens.

It works in Av mode. I guess the fact that the exposure comp gauge fluctuates when i move the camera around while in Manual mode is what is confusing me. All that is really there to tell me is if my shot is going to be under, right on, or over exposed yes? So, therefore, if i was to put the camera on a tripod in manual mode with aperture, shutter speed, and iso set and i panned to take multiple shots, the results would stitch together fine?

[RichardTaylor]

Yes, the meter needle is an indication only, in manual mode.

If you set the correct exposure manually the sequence should be fine for stitching.
The only problem I could see, and i have only shot one test panoroma, an exposure range that had a lot of variation over the total subject.

[UlpilotSC]

The t1 let's you hit the * button (top right) and lock the exposure. I don't think it holds the lock over multiple shots, I haven't tried that. Of course, you could always use av, tv, or P and let the camera pick what it thinks is the right exposure, look at the numbers, switch over to manual and dial those in, if you don't want to play with manual "from scratch".

[rachb]

I have the T3I, and that * button up top locks FOCUS, not exposure- I am pretty sure on the T3 it's the same. To lock in exposure (how bright/dark your photo is) for stitching photos, you just need to shoot in a manual mode where you can set your exposure. Then as you pan across, your camera won't automatically change the exposure based on the subjects lighting. But that * star button up top has nothing to do with exposure. That is if you want to lock in focus on a subject (such as putting one of the autofocus buttons over subject) and then recomposing the shot to meet the composition you are looking for.

When you are in manual mode, look through the viewfinder and you should see the camera's light meter at the bottom. Set the shutter speed based on your subject's movement, and then play with the exposure until the line is directly in the middle of that light meter. That should help you get a good exposure to start with. Make sure you are shooting in RAW so you can fix exposure easier in pp.

[ceremus]

Originally Posted by rachb

I have the T3I, and that * button up top locks FOCUS, not exposure- I am pretty sure on the T3 it's the same. To lock in exposure (how bright/dark your photo is) for stitching photos, you just need to shoot in a manual mode where you can set your exposure. Then as you pan across, your camera won't automatically change the exposure based on the subjects lighting. But that * star button up top has nothing to do with exposure. That is if you want to lock in focus on a subject (such as putting one of the autofocus buttons over subject) and then recomposing the shot to meet the composition you are looking for.

When you are in manual mode, look through the viewfinder and you should see the camera's light meter at the bottom. Set the shutter speed based on your subject's movement, and then play with the exposure until the line is directly in the middle of that light meter. That should help you get a good exposure to start with. Make sure you are shooting in RAW so you can fix exposure easier in pp.

On its default settings for Rebel series cameras, and most Canon cameras in general, if a * button is present it is an exposure lock button. It is possible to go into the Custom Functions of the T3i and change the button's function from exposure lock to focus lock (AKA "back button focusing") but that isn't how it is set from factory default. Specifically on the T3i this is Custom Function 9, Shutter/AE Lock button, located in the T3i manual on pg. 256. The * button locks the exposure for the automatic modes, unless it is changed from its default on one of those custom functions.

[Optikal iLLusion]

Thanks for all the feedback. As Ceremus said, on my T3, it is a default Exposure lock button. But it apparently, and rightly so, only works in all other modes except for Manual. The fact that the needle on the meter was moving is why i was confused about the "exposure" changing. Ive got it figured out now though.