Olympus/OM System AEL Button and Spot Metering Tutorial feat. OM-D E-M5 Mark III ep.533

[@ravineelakantan6417]

Excellent tutorial on the AEL button coupled with spot metering...Rob has a knack of breaking up the subject matter into easily assimilable building blocks and backed by solid demonstration ...Thanks Rob, 'our friendly neighborhood Pro' .

[@RobTrek]

Appreciate it!

[@xms111]

Nearly 5 years of Olympus ownership and you're the first one I've seen to clearly explain how to do BBF on Oly's. I asked one of the Olympus staff "experts" during a tutorial a few years ago and he basically came back with the equivalent of "I dunno". Thank you Rob.

[@RobTrek]

You're most welcome, glad it helped!

[@MM-yl7wk]

Thank you Rob. I love when you do these quick Q&A’s and walk through the process explaining what each step does. Just great stuff.

[@RobTrek]

You're most welcome.

[@peternumber19]

This is the most useful Olympus video I've seen for a couple of years. I wondered how you'd fill the second half but it kept on giving.

[@RobTrek]

Thanks

[@ijc9984]

Thank you for such a concise guide to this function. Now I'm off to practice, practice and a bit more practice 👍

[@pikku-iikka]

Hello from Finland! Great video, goes with the latest OM-5 also. I'm using the back button focus by setting AEL/AFL button to mode 3, and the "Half way AF" setting to 'Inoperative'. This way I can focus anywhere, then get the spot metering from anywhere and lock it by half pressing the shutter button, and finally compose and take the image by pressing all the way down. I wish happy new year to everyone!

[@RobTrek]

Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year!

[@aborbely1]

Wow! I have owned this camera for 4 years and didn't know any of this. Thanks for the explanation and demo!

[@RobTrek]

I'm glad it was helpful for you!

[@Steve-b54]

Thank you Rob great explanation.

[@RobTrek]

Happy to help!

[@CheikoSairin]

These are handy tips. Thanks for sharing. A big LIKE from Singapore.

[@RobTrek]

Thanks!

[@Strravigor]

Thanks a lot for this nice tuto . Detailed and clear as usual !

[@RobTrek]

Glad it was helpful!

[@juliette-mansour]

Thanks Rob! I have shot Nikon for years and own a Z camera but picked up the EM-1 Mark II on a crazy deal as a teaser camera to see if I could bond with the system. I had some E-P cameras in the past and loved the colors, so this is basically still a new system to me. You really help demystify things! Happy New Year!

[@RobTrek]

Happy New Year!

[@atrbear]

Again, another helpful and detailed explanation, thanks again Rob for all you do for us photographers.

[@RobTrek]

You're most welcome.

[@robomac2011]

Oldie but goldie 👍🏻

[@RobTrek]

Thanks!

[@Impostertot]

Excellent video tutorial and explanation on this topic Rob. Thanks.

[@RobTrek]

Thank you! Good to hear from you.

[@RTFM70]

Thanks Rob, so well explained. A very Happy New Year to you 🎉🥂

[@RobTrek]

Happy New Year!

[@guusdehaan2899]

I learned a lot from your videos about using Olympus cameras, thank you very much! My main cameras are Panasonics but in my youth I shot with an OM10 which I still have on display. Must be some kind of Olympus virus but after getting a used E-PL8 there’s now a used E-M5 III on its way to me 😊. Looking forward to going through all your videos for this camera again.

[@RobTrek]

Thank you so much for your support!

[@manu5694]

Very godo and ver crear explanation. Thank you so much😊

[@RobTrek]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TCizauskas]

Spot-on (pun intended) tutorial, Rob. Happy New Year!

[@RobTrek]

Thank you and Happy New Year!

[@robertgordon6362]

Very informative. Thank you.

[@RobTrek]

You're most welcome!

[@johnpark8297]

Brilliant tutorial Rob, greatly appreciated, all the best for 2025🎉

[@RobTrek]

Happy New Year!

[@PaulBaur]

Nicely done. Thank you.

[@RobTrek]

Thank you!

[@dominiclogue5924]

Very helpfull

[@RobTrek]

Glad it helped

[@michaelpopel7186]

Thank you so much for All the Exploration Videos. They are so valuable. I am searching for a possibility tu use the "ring-switch" around the AEL-Button to switch between AF and MF. Since the OM 20mm F1.4 does not have a Focus-Clutch, I wanted to be Able to switch otherwise and not Lösung a Button. I was wondering wether the mentioned Modes 1 and 3 (Back Button Focus can be used as MF if you Donut press the AEL-Button) could be set to the "Ring-Switch" around the AEL-Button. In this case I would not Lose apotheke Fn-Button.

[@RobTrek]

Hi Michael, I'm sorry for the late reply. Setting the lever switch (Ring-Switch) to Mode 2 is the only way to have it change the focus mode. I don't see any way to set it to Mode 1 or 2 and have it change the focus mode at the same time.

[@jpsteiner2]

Thanks! I use AEL way more than back button AF. Is the process the same setting up AEL on the OM1 and fixing the spot meter point to the center?

[@RobTrek]

Yes, exactly

[@davidmcaughtry465]

Great tutorial as usual, Rob. An observation/question, however. On my OM1, I use the AEL button to provide a switch between matrix and spot metering. However, when AEL is set to spot, with the default metering mode being matrix, the metering point does not follow the focus point but stays locked in the centre. If you have the default metering set to spot, then the metering mode does indeed follow the focus point as in your video. Also, the spot follow function only works for the single dot focus point and for no other fixed or custom focus point settings (like the small 4 dot, or even a single dot in custom for example). Do you see this on the OM1? The way I get a usable metering switch function (with spot following focus), is therefore to have the default set to single dot spot, and the AEL button set to matrix.

[@RobTrek]

Hi David, sorry I took so long to get back to you. Yes, my OM-1 works exactly as you described. However, my AEL doesn't have a matrix (ESP) option in the menu. I can select Auto, Center weighted, Spot, Spot Hi & Lo. Auto locks the exposure set by the default metering mode.

[@davidmcaughtry465]

@@RobTrek Hi Rob, many thanks for taking the time to confirm this (I heard you mention it in the most recent live Q&A). I asked the question because you have provided the only detailed analysis of the Olympus spot follow/AEL function I've ever seen on KZbin (or anywhere else for that matter), and I wondered if you'd observed the behaviour that I had. It's a testament to your amazing commitment and level of detail that you took the trouble (on something that you were not personally very interested in) to go and check. You provide a unique and priceless service to Olympus photographers, and I am very grateful for it. Zero need to read any more, but I provide an additional paragraph of explanation below as to why I have the camera set up this way. Like you, for street and wildlife photography, I use the AEL button to select the subject. But for my custom C1 landscape setup, I use it for its intended purpose. In C1, I want matrix/ESP to be on by default because it's the most general mode, but I additionally need spot metering to make sure I'm within the dynamic range of the sensor. The AEL button option allows you to activate spot metering and then deactivate it (to return to the default ESP) very simply and quickly. It's a bit baffling to me that when you do this, spot metering does not follow the focus point. That really limits the capability of spot metering, particularly on a tripod when you can't easily move the camera around. As a result, I have to set the default metering mode to spot and deactivate it back to Matrix/ESP with the AEL button. It's a bit cumbersome, but it is the only way to have switchable metering modes where the spot follows the focus point.

[@RobTrek]

As an alternative, you could try setting AEL to Center Weighted and the default metering to spot. I find Center Weighted metering gives the same exposure as Matrix/ESP most of the time. And thank for your very generous donation!

[@davidmcaughtry465]

@@RobTrek Hi Rob, I have now checked, and you are correct of course, the AEL button "auto" setting just reverts to the default, not to ESP. So if the default was spot, you cannot revert to ESP via a button. This is as baffling a limitation as not allowing the spot to move in AEL. Although Centre Weighted is an option, if the central area is light or dark, the CW meter reading is quite different from the ESP reading. I need moveable spot metering more than ESP, so my current solution is to have normal spot as default, and shadow spot on the AEL button. That's based on Thomas Eisl's observation that you should not go above +3 EV (so you don't need Spot Hi), but you can get down to -4 to -4.5 EV in HR or LND modes (where you do need Spot Sh). To get ESP, I have to use the AF button on the top left plus the front mode dial, which is pretty clumsy. This should be easy to fix via firmware, so I will write to Olympus and suggest it. Anyway, many thanks again for the excellent work and super responses.

[@ulflundh5813]

👌

[@RobTrek]

Thank you.

[@melvinch]

Hope somebody can come up with a custom firmware that enables multi-spot metering with the horizontal shutter speed scale below just like the OM-4.

[@RobTrek]

It would be nice to see more people developing custom firmware.