Obtaining FOCUS LOCK and EXPOSURE LOCK separately

Normally when you press the shutter half way down on your camera it will meter for the scene and set the focus. Sometimes it would be nice to split these functions up and do them separately. You can choose and assign many buttons on the D7000 to do what you want but for this tip we are going to use the AE-L, AF-L button that is located just to the right of the viewfinder. This and other buttons can be programmed to do many different things in several combinations. For the purpose of this tip we will only talk about programming the AE-L, AF-L button to lock and hold the exposure leaving the shutter button to set the focus.

Here is how you do it

Go to the CUSTOM SETTING MENU which is the third one down on the left that looks like a pencil and press "OK"
Scroll down to "f" Controls and press "OK" again
Scroll down to "f5" Assign AE-L/AF-L button and press "OK" again
Scroll down to AE lock (Hold) and press "OK" and you are done.

This is the option I like to use and is only one of the many options available to you in the menu. You can get a brief explanation of each choice in the menu by highlighting the option and pressing the button to the left side of the rear LCD screen that has the "?" question mark on it. If you go with the option above you will still be able to shoot your camera like you always have and press the shutter down half way to lock in both the meter reading and the focus just as you always have.

The difference now is that you have a second option of choosing the exposure, recomposing and then locking in the focus separately, all you need to do is press and release the AF-E, AF-L button first, locking in the exposure, then recomposing and pressing and the shutter button to obtain focus. In using this option the exposure will stay locked until the picture is taken or the meter has timed out and shuts off. How to extend the time the meter stays active was covered in Tip #50.

Remember that by setting up your camera as described above that you have only added a second option of obtaining EXPOSURE AND FOCUS LOCK separately allowing for better lighting and composition. You will still be able to operate them together like you have always done by pressing the shutter button half way down just like you were able to do before adding this additional option, Jeff