40D AE LOCK for Panoramic Or better ? my TOP 5 Questions:

latourette

Hello,

I have a 40D and trying to figure out how to use the AE LOCK feature. Basically I want to play around with panoramic shots, so I need to have a series of shots with the same exposure and temperature so that it blends well.

I tried to use the AELock but it doesn't seem to do much... This button works well in Live Preview mode (for automatic focuss), but other than that, i don't see anything happening when I press it....

Questions are:

1) Does it have to be activated in user options or something?

2) Many clips or pages say what it does, but they don't say in which Camera Mode it is better to use it

3) Is this really the way to go or is there a better technique to obtain a constant exposure and temperature let's say for a series of 3 or 4 shots in panoramic ? For example, the Av mode or the P mode ? I mean, in those modes, once I set the exposure compensation right in the middle, isn't the exposure constant anyways ? ... I think i'd need a complete class on that but I hope this thread will help me and hopefully others to come...

4)Also, would you recommend taking less shots with a wider angle, versus more shots with a narrower angle ? (in order to avoid distortion) I am thinking using the 17-85 is which I initially bought with the 40D.

5) Should I use photoshop for stitching ?...

Sorry for the many questions... they're all in my mind at the moment

Nikolai

Forget AE lock. Panoramas should be ALWAYS shot in full manual mode, both exposure and focus.
There is ton of extra info here at dgrin, just seach for "panorama"...

HiSPL

You're over thinking the problem here. For Pano's you should use the manual mode (M). This will keep your exposure constant throughout the series of shots. Also take the camera off of AWB and put it in an appropriate mode for what you're shooting. Such as daylight, shade, flourescent, etc... This step will keep your white balance consistent too. Actually the best way is to shoot a gray card and manually WB the camera.

Good Luck!

pathfinder

Nikolai wrote:

Forget AE lock. Panoramas should be ALWAYS shot in full manual mode, both exposure and focus.
There is ton of extra info here at dgrin, just seach for "panorama"...

Like Nik said - Manual Mode for exposure, manual focus, and manual white balance, and you're good to go!

I stitch in Photoshop CS3 - the pano stitcher there works great.

Generally, you shoot with the camera in portrait mode, and overlap frames 25-40% ( depends on who you read - I find 1/3 works just fine )