AE mode (camera): this is what it means when taking pictures

With almost every camera you will find the AE mode in the settings. We'll tell you what the abbreviation stands for and how to use AE mode correctly. Because with the knowledge of the AE mode you can take significantly better pictures.

SLR: What does AE mode mean?

The abbreviation AE stands for Auto Exposure. This is the automatic exposure control, which determines the optimal settings for aperture and shutter. In contrast to fully automatic, some adjustments are still possible. SLR cameras usually offer three AE modes:

• Spot metering: Only the light values ​​from the center of the viewfinder are used to calculate the optimal settings. Spot metering is suitable for balanced lighting conditions and bright motifs on a dark background and vice versa.
• Integral measurement: The camera captures the lighting situation of the entire subject and uses it to calculate an average for exposure. The integral measurement is suitable for high-contrast subjects.
• Multi-field measurement: The camera divides the subject into different light zones and uses this information to calculate a general average. Multi-field measurement is also suitable for high-contrast subjects.

Unfortunately, you will find these settings in a different place on every camera: on some models there is a switch to activate AE, on other models you have to do this via the "Settings" menu.

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