Olympus E 510 exposure- do you need to focus first?

Question

Hey there, I'm a intern at PC Magazine and I was testing out the Canon XSi. I have an Olympus E510 and I liked that with the Canon I didn't have to focus on my subject first for it to tell me what my exposure should be. However with the Olympus, I need to press the shutter button halfway down, release it and then it tells me what I should set my exposure at (this is in manual mode btw). Anyone out there know if it's possible for me to set the exposure correctly without autofocusing first? It could save me a lot of seconds in shooting/adjusting. Thanks.

-Chris

Answer 1

Not familiar with the Olympus, but Nikon DSLRs will show an indication in the viewfinder whether the image is overexposed/underexposed, and by how much in manual mode. On my D40, I can keep the shutter halfway pressed and turn the wheel to change the settings until I get the exposure right. Check the manual -- you can probably do the same with the Olympus.

Answer 2

LOL, and why are you asking us?

You have a staff of experts right there.

Most of us who shoot with DSLR's have them set to turn off after a few seconds to save our battery power ... touching the shutter release re-activates the light meter ... and the light meter should turn on instantly.