Sample Book Pages
from "The Complete Guide to Sony's Alpha 560 and 580 DSLRs and the Alpha Mount System"
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Hey, for someone who's unsure you sure are looking at a lot of pages! If you're liking what you see, then you'll be ultra-satisfied by the whole book (which you have to admit is a bargain - where else will someone explain this stuff to you so lovingly and caringly? :-) )
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CHAPTER 0 - INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 – THE ALPHA 560 AND 580 IN A NUTSHELL
INTRODUCTION
MAJOR FEATURES
Improved Noise at High Sensitivities
Movie Mode
Live View and Face Detection
Two Live View Modes
Smile Shutter
Handheld HDR Shooting
“Friendly” Help Guide
Insanely Long Battery Life
Vertical Grip
Steadyshot™
Anti-Dust
Wireless flash
Responsiveness
Dynamic Range Optimization
Up to Seven Images per Second
Small and Light
Scene Selection Modes
Two Panorama Modes
Live Focus Check
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A560 AND A580
A Slightly Higher-Resolution Sensor
A Larger Memory Buffer
Other Differences
SOME ESSENTIAL HISTORY ABOUT SONY, MINOLTA, KONICA MINOLTA, AND CARL ZEISS
LENSES
Crop Factor
Sony and Minolta Lens Nomenclature
Frequently Asked Questions about Lenses
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2 – THE BASIC GUIDE FOR THE IMPATIENT USER CONTROLS SHORTHAND NOTATION Power Save modes AUTO SETTING PROGRAM (“P”) MODE THE LIVE VIEW / OVF SWITCH DIFFERENT DISPLAYS THE “IMAGES REMAINING COUNTER” FOCUSING BASICS How does the camera know what to focus on? Autofocus using Live View and Face Detection The Focusing Sensors Autofocus (AF) / Manual Focus (MF) Switch Single-Shot AF / Continuous AF Focusing Modes BATTERIES AC Power THE OTHER BATTERY FLASH SELF-TIMERS THE “RESET” FEATURE SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 – AFTER YOU HAVE TAKEN YOUR PICTURES INTRODUCTION VIEWING YOUR PICTURES WHILE THEY’RE STILL IN THE CAMERA Variations on a Theme - The Display Button Magnifying the image Deleting an image (or multiple images) Protecting an image Viewing your images on an HDTV Slide Show using the Optional Wireless Remote Commander HAVING YOUR PICTURES PRINTED AT A 1-HOUR PHOTO LAB Canceling DPOF files DOWNLOADING PICTURES TO YOUR COMPUTER EPILOGUE SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 – THE BASICS OF PHOTOGRAPHY HERE WE GO… SHUTTER SPEEDS SHUTTER PRIORITY MODE SPORTS ACTION MODE F/STOPS APERTURE PRIORITY MODE What you see is NOT always what you get MANUAL EXPOSURE MODE SO, IN SUMMARY… Tradeoffs THE NEW HELP DISPLAY ISO – HOW SENSITIVE IS THE CAMERA TO LIGHT? High ISO Noise Reduction Multi Frame Noise Reduction (Multi Frame NR) EXPOSURE COMPENSATION TIME EXPOSURES THE SCENE SELECTION MODES Sports Action Mode Sunset Mode Portrait Mode Macro Mode Landscape Mode Night Portrait Mode Night View Mode Handheld Twilight Mode Summary of Scene Selection Modes THE PANORAMA MODES 3D Panorama Other ways to view 3D .mpo Files VIEWFINDER EYEPIECE DIOPTER CORRECTION SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 – REALLY COOL ADVANCED FUNCTIONS FOCUSING MODES Single and Continuous AF with Subject Tracking Why Bother with Manual Focusing? HOW YOUR EXPOSURE METER THINKS Center-weighted and Multi-Segment Metering Spot Metering How Do You Switch Between The Three Metering Modes? SPOT METERING AND EXPOSURE LOCK The AEL button Combine AEL with Spot Metering A Brief Recap STEADYSHOT™ WHITE BALANCE Auto White Balance and Pre-Set White Balance Tweaking the Pre-Set White Balance The Color Temperature setting Custom White Balance FLASH, FILL FLASH, AND WIRELESS FLASH 1) and 2) Auto Flash and Fill Flash 3) Flash Exposure Compensation 4) Rear Sync Flash 5) Wireless Flash 6) and 7) ADI and Pre-Flash TTL 8) Red-Eye Reduction Mode DRIVE MODES Single-Shot Advance Continuous Advance Speed Prority Continuous Self-Timer Bracketing White Balance Bracketing Remote Commander ADVANCED TOPICS: THE HISTOGRAM DISPLAY Brightness range, sensors, and the human eye Using the Histogram for a Finer Degree of Control DYNAMIC RANGE OPTIMIZATION HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR) FUNCTION DRO VS. HDR CREATIVE STYLES Contrast Setting Saturation Setting Sharpness Setting Combining Settings B&W Mode AdobeRGB MY PERSONAL CAMERA SETTINGS Menu Settings Function Parameters SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 – MOVIE MODE INTRODUCTION TELL A STORY FOCUSING AND EXPOSURE Focus Tips EXTERNAL MICROPHONE THE FILE FORMATS Video Formats EDITING YOUR FOOTAGE Saving a Freeze Frame CREATING DISCS Burning AVCHD videos MP4 Videos Creating a Data Disc PLAYING MOVIES ON YOUR PS3 SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 – WIRELESS FLASH AND ADVANCED FLASH TOPICS WRITING WITH LIGHT COMPOSITION – THE RULE OF THIRDS Texture Out of place shot Classical Portrait Environmental Portrait “Hey, Look at Me!” SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 - WIRELESS FLASH AND ADVANCED FLASH TOPICS INTRODUCTION HOW TO USE WIRELESS FLASH HOW DOES IT WORK? Will the Pre-Flash Bursts Affect the Exposure? HOW TO DO “RATIO FLASH” FOR PROFESSIONAL LIGHTING RESULTS BOUNCE FLASH LIGHT MODIFIERS FLASH AND CONTINUOUS SHOOTING MANUAL FLASH MODE (HVL-F58AM, HVL-F56AM AND HVL-F42AM ONLY) HIGH SPEED SYNCH (HSS) FLASH How to Activate HSS WHICH FLASH SHALL I GET? PARTING SHOT TO PROBE FURTHER SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9 – DIGITAL IMAGING CONCEPTS FILE FORMAT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR THE IMPATIENT READER THE CHAPTER BEGINS… “WHAT’S A PIXEL? WHAT’S A MEGAPIXEL?” “HOW MANY MEGAPIXELS ARE ENOUGH?” FILE TYPES JPG COMPRESSION ARTIFACTS ASPECT RATIO IMAGE SIZE AND RESOLUTION MEMORY CARDS Some Background on Sony’s MemoryStick Pro Duo Memory Card Corruption Issues DUST ON THE SENSOR “HOT PIXELS” ON THE IMAGE SENSOR “HOT PIXELS” ON THE LIVE VIEW SENSOR SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 9 CHAPTER 10 – AN INTRODUCTION TO SONY’S PMB AND IDC SOFTWARE READ THIS FIRST INTRODUCTION AFTER YOU INSTALL AUTOMATICALLY TRANSFER YOUR IMAGES BROWSE YOUR IMAGES BASIC EDITING Rotating and Cropping Saving Your Image Adjusting the Tone Curve and the Color Balance Sharpness PRINTING OTHER EDITING SOFTWARE RAW CONVERSION USING IMAGE DATA CONVERTER Version Stack Extreme examples What’s Available TAKING THINGS FURTHER…
CHAPTER 11 – LIVE VIEW INTRODUCTION A Little History The Solution – the Single Lens Reflex Frequently Asked Questions Advantages of Live View Advantages of the Optical Viewfinder So Show Me How To Use Live View, Already! Live Histogram Face Detection Smile Shutter Focus Check LV Focus Check LV DISPlay views Standard DISPlay Views: Additional DISPlay Views. Speed Priority Continuous How Live View Can Help You Get More Creative SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 11 CHAPTER 12 – ADDITIONAL RESOURCES INTERNET FORUMS AND DISCUSSION BOARDS CAMERA AND LENS REVIEW SITES TWO OUTSTANDING IMAGING MAGAZINES 25 WAYS TO “WOW!” E-BOOKLET ADVANCED TOPICS 1 AND 2 THE FRIEDMAN ARCHIVES SEMINARS THE ROAD TO CHINA THE MAUI XAPHOON EPILOGUE APPENDIX A - A “COOKBOOK” FOR SPECIAL SHOOTING SITUATIONS INTRODUCTION FIREWORKS ARTISTIC WATERFALLS STAGE PERFORMANCES / ROCK CONCERTS SHOOTING IN SNOW NIGHTTIME TIME EXPOSURES OUTDOOR GROUP PORTRAITS STREET PHOTOGRAPHY SUNSETS AND SILHOUETTES THE MOON NIGHTTIME SPORTS Christmas Lights PRODUCT SHOTS INTERIORS THAT SELL LIGHTNING CANDLELIGHT SHOTS
APPENDIX B – MEMORY JOG CARDS INDEX
Hey, did you ever expect to get so much information for less than 23 bucks??
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