Sony Alpha SLT-A35 / A55 For Dummies E-Book

Robert Correll

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Seitenzahl: 347

Beschreibung

A practical, step-by-step guide to Sony's most popular new dSLRs Sony's new a35 and a55 camera models offer a full range of dSLR features, including pre-sets and auto modes for beginners as well as full manual control over exposure and a unique translucent mirror option. This friendly For Dummies guide gets new dSLR users up to speed and helps more experienced photographers take full advantage of the many options these cameras offer. It covers all the basic camera controls and explains how to set up shooting modes, shoot video, master exposure and focus, edit images, and more. * Sony's a35 and a55 models offer a full range of dSLR features and a translucent mirror option, this guide helps new and experienced photographers take full advantage of them all * Covers setting up the camera, using all the basic and advanced controls, using auto mode, and shooting video * Explores controls that handle exposure, flash, focus, and color, and how to make these elements work to create a great photo * Explains image playback, review, and basic editing Sony a35/a55 For Dummies gets you up and running with your new Sony dSLR quickly and helps you make the most of everything it has to offer.

Leseprobe

Sony® Alpha SLT-A35/A55 For Dummies®

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/sonyalphaslta35a55 to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

How This Book Is Organized

Part I: Pictures Worth Keeping, Pronto

Part II: Playing with Pixels

Part III: Expressing Your Creativity

Part IV: The Part of Tens

Icons Used in This Book

Conventions Used in This Book

eCheat Sheet

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Pictures Worth Keeping, Pronto

1: Getting to Know Your Camera

Comparing the A35 to the A55

Know Thy Camera

Top controls

Rear controls

Front gizmos

Terminals

Underneath it all

Performing Lens Gymnastics

Attaching a lens

Removing a lens

Changing to manual focus

Zooming in and out

Working with Batteries and Memory Cards

Inserting the battery

Removing the battery

Inserting a memory card

Removing the memory card

Making a Contortionist Proud: The A55 Monitor

Adjusting the Electronic Viewfinder to Your Eyesight

Managing Menus, Buttons, and Dials

Navigating menus

Changing displays

Using the Function button

Setting Up Your Camera

Reverting to Default Settings

Taking Care of Your New Baby

Using the body cap

Storing and operating the tilt/swivel LCD (A55)

Setting it down

Strap

Tripod

Camera bag

Cleaning the camera

Cleaning the sensor

2: Setting Up for Snapshots

Giving It Your Best Shooting Mode

Basic shooting modes

Advanced exposure modes

Flooring It to Drive Mode

Single-Shot Advance

Continuous Advance

Self-timer

Exposure bracket

White balance bracket

I Spy a Face

Setting Up for Smiles

Using Smile Shutter

Getting control of yourself

Easy Bake Flash

Changing Flash mode

Understanding flash cues

Using red-eye reduction

Rustling up a Photo Size, Aspect Ratio, and Quality

Changing the image size

Picking an aspect ratio

Choosing photo quality

Choosing

3: Pointing and Shooting Your Way to Great Pictures

Hold on Tight

Faceplant

Keeping your distance

Automatically Taking Great Pictures

Modes of transportation

Using auto modes

Been There, Scene It

Scene selections

Setting up for scenes

Customizing scene settings

Smile for the birdie: Portrait

Ready, set: Sports Action

Mac daddy: Macro

Taking it in: Landscape

End of days: Sunset

Don’t need goggles: Night View

A new saga: Handheld Twilight

Work on your moves: Night Portrait

Shooting Sweeping Panoraaaaamas

Rapid Fire

4: Cannes-Do Movie Making

Making Some Movie Decisions

Choosing a movie type

Selecting a movie size

Setting up audio

Connecting and using an external stereo microphone

Yelling, “Action!” Versus Saying “Cheese”

Making the transition to movie-think

Picking a Genre

Sitting still

Using a stunt double

Pressing the Movie Button

Get everything ready

Press the Movie button to record

Adjust exposure

Keep track

Stop recording

Enjoying the Show: Movie Playback

Watching movies

Movie metadata

Movie Making Using Picture Motion Browser (Windows)

Editing AVCHD or MP4

Combining AVCHD clips

Part II: Playing with Pixels

5: Getting More from Picture Playback

Knowing What to Press

Thank You Very Much-o Mr. Auto Review

Setting a Few Playback Options

Choosing between photos or movies

Selecting photo folders

Selecting movie dates

Playing Back Photos (and Lots More)

Playback basics

Displaying an image index

Zooming and panning

Rotating photos

Protecting photos and movies

DPOF a doo-wop printing

Decoding Picture Data

With Recording Data display

Histogram display

Letting Go of Bad Photos and Movies

Deleting a single file

Deleting more than one photo or movie

Deleting all the photos in a folder

Deleting movies by date

Setting Up Slide Shows

Viewing Playback on an HDTV

Being compatible

HDMI cable

Connecting camera to TV

6: Becoming Your Own Photo Lab

Getting the Party Started

Sony software

Other photo editors and organizers

Video software

Transferring Photos and Movies to Your Computer

Making a direct connection

Using a card reader

Importing files using Picture Motion Browser

Manually transferring photos and MP4 videos

Manually transferring photos and MP4 videos on a Mac

Working with Raw Files

Preparing to Print Your Photos

Getting a printer

Getting supplies

Choosing a paper size

Printing from the Sony software

Part III: Expressing Your Creativity

7: Making Exposure and Flash Decisions

Making Big Decisions

Describing the exposure controls

Making creative decisions

Shooting in different conditions

Dialing in Advanced Exposure Modes

Using Program Auto

Using Aperture priority mode

Using Shutter speed priority mode

Taking total control with Manual exposure mode

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, to ISO You Go

Selecting an ISO

Using multi-frame noise reduction

Metering Methodology

Meter types

Changing metering mode

Using the Histogram

Locking the Exposure

Using Exposure Compensation

Dynamic Range or Bust

Processing photos with the D-range optimizer

Using Auto HDR

Exposure bracketing and HDR photography

Controlling the Built-in Flash

Setting the flash control method

Setting advanced flash modes

Using the built-in flash

Adjusting the flash strength

Trying flash compensation

8: Designing with Focus and Color

Getting Autofocus to Behave

Understanding AF indicators

Changing Autofocus mode

Selecting AF areas

Locking on target

Using the focus magnifier

Putting it all together

Controlling Depth of Field

Affecting DOF

Working with DOF

Previewing the depth of field

Shedding Light on White Balance

Changing the white balance

Creating a custom white balance setting

Shooting white balance brackets

Using Creative Styles

Selecting a style

Fine-tuning style

Color Space Wars: sRGB versus Adobe RGB

9: Picture Perfect Photo Recipes

Solid Settings for all Occasions

Developing a Shooting Strategy

Prepare beforehand

Double-check battery level and memory card

Establish specific goals for the shoot

Set the mode dial and main exposure parameter

Configure the camera

Meter and autofocus

Compose the scene

Adjust exposure and shoot

Correct problems

Popping Out Portraits

Trade tips

Shooting manually

Good Bye, City Life

Give Me Park Avenue

Freeze Frame Moments

So Close You Can Touch It

Exploring HDR Photography

Part IV: The Part of Tens

10: Ten Easy Ways to Spruce Up Your Photos

Working with PMB or iPhoto

They call it Picture Motion Browser

iPhoto a go-go

Taking the Red Out

Fix red-eye in PMB

Fix red-eye in iPhoto

Lopping Off to Crop

Cropping in PMB

Cropping in iPhoto

Testing the Auto Waters

Autocorrect in PMB

Autocorrect in iPhoto

Tweaking Brightness and Contrast

Brightness in PMB

Brightness in iPhoto

Saturating Colors

Saturation in PMB

Saturation in iPhoto

Demystifying the Tone Curve in PMB

Rescuing Shadows and Highlights in iPhoto

Looking Sharp(er)

Sharpening in PMB

Sharpening in iPhoto

More Editing Tricks

Dating your photo in PMB

Other iPhoto goodies

11: Ten Camera Features Worth Investigating

Shooting with Picture Effect (A35)

Picking an effect, any effect

Changing Picture Effect mode

Making the AEL Button Your Own

Navigating the GPS (A55)

Changing the File Numbering Scheme

Changing the Folder-Naming Format

86ing the AF Illuminator

Flashing without Wires

Reconfiguring Power Save Mode

Turning It Down to 10: Noise Reduction Settings

I Spy an Eye-Fi Memory Card

Cheat Sheet

Sony® Alpha SLT-A35/A55 For Dummies®

by Robert Correll

Sony® Alpha SLT-A35/A55 For Dummies®

Published byJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

Copyright © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2012930529

ISBN: 978-1-118-17684-9 (pbk); 978-1-118-22720-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-24013-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-26485-0 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Robert Correll is the author of several books about digital photography and imaging, including Digital SLR Photography All-in-One For Dummies. His most recent titles include Photo Retouching and Restoration Using Corel PaintShop Pro X4, Third Edition; HDR Photography Photo Workshop, Second Edition (with Pete Carr); Canon EOS Rebel T3/1110D and Canon EOS 60D For Dummies (both with Julie Adair King), and High Dynamic Range Digital Photography For Dummies.

When not writing, Robert enjoys family life, photography, playing the guitar, grilling, and recording music. Robert graduated from the United States Air Force Academy and resides in Indiana.

Dedication

To my family.

Author’s Acknowledgments

I want to express my profound appreciation to everyone I had the pleasure of working with on this project. Each person devoted their skills, talents, attention to detail, vision, and time. Those are valuable commodities.

In particular, I am deeply grateful to the wonderful publishing team at Wiley. Tonya Cupp, Steve Hayes, and Katie Crocker are just some of the talented editors who helped make this book possible. I am also thankful to technical editor Scott Proctor, whose insights and expertise helped keep this book on the straight and narrow.

Many thanks to David Fugate at Launchbooks.com.

As always, my wife and children encourage, support, and sustain me.

Thank you!

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

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Cover Photo: ©iStockphoto.com / kali9; Camera used with permission from Sony

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

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Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

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Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Introduction

The story of the Sony A35/A55 begins with two other camera manufacturers, Konica and Minolta. These storied names in camera history merged in 2003, and then decided to leave the camera business in 2006 and focus on other, more business-oriented technologies. They transferred all their camera assets to Sony, which continued developing the Konica Minolta dSLR line under the Sony Alpha brand name. Since that time, Sony has established itself as a serious contender, offering both inexpensive entry-level dSLRs and full-frame professional models.

Today, Sony has upped the technological ante by introducing cameras, including the A35/A55, with translucent mirrors: dSLT (digital single-lens translucent) cameras. Traditional dSLRs, like their SLR forefathers, use a reflex mirror to bounce light coming into the lens up into the viewfinder so you can compose the scene and manually focus. Just before the shutter opens to take the photo, the mirror has to flip up out of the way. That’s the loud “clunk” you hear when you take a picture with a dSLR and why the mirrors are called reflex mirrors. They move. The translucent mirror in the A35/A55 doesn’t have to flip up out of the way when you take a picture. The light bounces off it goes right through it, whether you’re framing, focusing, or taking the picture. Having a stable, translucent mirror makes the camera quieter, faster, lighter, and more mechanically reliable.