AE Lock<\/code> (Exposure Lock) button [at the back of the cam] for focusing, and not be forced to half press the shutter button.<\/p>\nI’ve then since added some information about the function to my previous post<\/a>.<\/p>\nThis has a number of obvious benefits – mostly during sports\/events photography where people prefer tracking using AISERVO<\/code>. But in a practical sense, RBF is great as you can take your shot regardless if you’re focused or not. Normally, if you’re on AF<\/code> (auto focus mode), you’d have to focus by half pressing – and as long as it’s not yet<\/em> focused, you can’t<\/strong> trip the shutter.<\/p>\nThis is a sensible approach, but can be frustrating at times: If you focus on a subject, and know that you’ll be taking another<\/em> shot of them (assuming you’re not on continuous drive<\/code>), you’d still<\/em> have\nto half-press and waste time as the camera re-focuses<\/em> on [probably] the same point (which is ridiculous if you think about it)<\/p>\nRBF allows you to trip your shutter regardless, so it’s a kind of pseudo AF\/MF<\/code> focusing mode, which I think is pretty cool and useful.<\/p>\n\n“Download 1.9MB RAR file”<\/p>\n
“Download 190KB ZIP file”<\/p>\n
“Download 4.5MB PDF file”<\/p>\n
“Visit RobGalbraith.com”<\/p>\n
“Visit Digital Photography Review”<\/p>\n
“Visit site”<\/p>\n
However, there’s a supposed drawback. Rob Galbraith’s<\/a> 20D review points out a caveat when assigning the AE Lock<\/code> button for RBF:<\/p>\n\nFlash Exposure Lock (FEL) junkies (which includes us with Canon models prior to the EOS-1D Mark II) should note that the 20D doesn’t have a dedicated FEL button, like 1-series digital SLR’s do. While FEL can be set using the AE Lock (*) button, this is only possible when the camera is not configured for rear-button focusing. This is the same as the 10D. With that camera, however, C. Fn 13 can be set to 13-4, thereby turning the Assist button into the FEL set button. When the Assist button disappeared from the 20D, so too did this functionality. While the new multi-controller’s function can be changed through a Custom Function, FEL is not one of the available options.<\/p>\n
While we haven’t used FEL nearly as much since the EOS-1D Mark II’s inception, it still seems short-sighted to not provide a way for the rear-button focus crowd to set an FEL from time to time, without having to resort to front-button focusing temporarily.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
As far as FEL<\/code> is connected with AE lock<\/code> (and it’s button), the manual does state this [about RBF and AE Lock<\/code>]:<\/p>\n\nConvenient when you want to focus and meter seperately. Press the <*> button to autofocus and press the shutter button halfway to attain AE Lock.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nSo normally one would think that the function of the AE lock button<\/code>, which governs FEL<\/code> on most shooting modes, is still available via RBF (and likewise FEL<\/code> should be too). As of the moment, I’m getting pretty confused about this whole FEL<\/code> business. I seem to be misunderstanding (or missing entirely) the concept of FEL<\/code>. It is said that FEL<\/code> is achieved through the AE Lock button<\/code> (this will display a * icon in the viewfinder). I noticed however, that if you half-press the shutter on RBF, it does<\/em> lock the exposure (and shows that * icon, ergo it seems<\/strong> to still<\/em> have EL\/FEL<\/code> functionality on RBF). Or so I would like to think so.<\/p>\nThe caveat mentioned pretty much is confusing me right now as I now am forced to research on the definition and concept of FEL<\/code> (which I though I already knew). Galbraith<\/a> is probably read as much as DPReview<\/a>, and for the site to claim FEL<\/code> is “crippled” in such a way, it really makes me wonder if I got the concept of FEL<\/code> right to begin with.<\/p>\nOf course there’s also that one in a million chance that it was a simple oversight on their part. I mean no one’s perfect right? So it is possible that they simply assumed<\/em> that AE Lock \/ FEL<\/code> was disabled – since you’ve already assigned the AE Lock<\/code> button for focusing, which is perfectly understandable.<\/p>\nAnyways, as of now, I still dunno what to believe, maybe I ought to join the forums and ask a question about FEL<\/code> in general (something like what is FEL<\/code> exactly?<\/strong><\/em>) – then<\/em> address my concern about the review (if applicable).<\/p>\n
\nI gathered some noise “swatches” from DPReview<\/a>. This should help people who want to compare general noise levels of the corresponding DSLR cameras.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/71\/190586422_6fd1548b53_m.jpg\")
\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n
\nAlso found some NeatImage noise profiles for the different ISO and quality setting.<\/p>\n
Download NeatImage noise profiles<\/a> (1.9MB)<\/p>\n
\nWhile I’m at it (uploading useful stuff), here’s a little app that can test your camera’s sensor for dead pixels<\/p>\n
Download DeadPixelTest<\/a> (190KB)<\/p>\n
\nAnd here’s the PDF version of the 20D manual. Funny thing is, Canon USA’s website<\/a> doesn’t<\/strong> have the manual available for download until now.<\/em> But you can get it on the other Canon sites. You could also get it here if you want to save some effort looking for it.<\/p>\n