Sample Book Pages
from "The Complete Guide to Sony's Alpha 200 DSLR and the Alpha Mount System"
Click here to see the full Table of Contents
CHAPTER 0 - THE GOALS OF THIS EBOOK
CHAPTER 1 – THE ALPHA 200 IN A NUTSHELL
INTRODUCTION
MAJOR FEATURES
Improved Image Sensor and Extended Sensitivity
Super SteadyShot
Anti-Dust
Wireless flash
Responsiveness
Pop-up flash
Dynamic Range Optimization
Smaller and Lighter
Scene Selection Modes
Simplified Control Layout
SOME ESSENTIAL HISTORY ABOUT SONY, MINOLTA, KONICA MINOLTA, AND CARL ZEISS
LENSES
Crop Factor
Sony and Minolta Lens Nomenclature
Frequently Asked Questions about Lenses
Vertical Grip
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 IMAGES REMAINING COUNTER
AUTO REVIEW
FOCUSING BASICS
How does the camera know what to focus on?
The Focusing Sensors
Autofocus / Manual Focus Switch (it's not mechanical!)
Single-Shot AF / Continuous AF Focusing Modes
Autofocus Priority / Release Priority
BATTERIES
FLASH
SELF-TIMER
THE “RESET” FEATURE
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3 – AFTER YOU HAVE TAKEN YOUR PICTURES 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
Other Ways to View Pictures
HAVING YOUR PICTURES PRINTED AT A 1-HOUR PHOTO LAB
Generating an index print
Canceling DPOF files
DOWNLOADING PICTURES TO YOUR COMPUTER
EPILOGUE
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4 – SOME BASICS OF PHOTOGRAPHY HERE WE GO...
SHUTTER SPEEDS
SHUTTER PRIORITY MODE
SPORTS PROGRAM MODE
F/STOPS
APERTURE PRIORITY MODE
What you see is NOT always what you get
MANUAL EXPOSURE MODE
SO, IN SUMMARY
Tradeoffs
ISO– HOW SENSITIVE IS THE CAMERA TO LIGHT?
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
PROGRAM SHIFT
TIME EXPOSURES
THE SCENE SELECTION MODES
Sports Program Mode
Sunset Mode
Portrait Mode
Macro Mode
Landscape Mode
Night View / Night Portrait Mode
Summary of Scene Selection Modes
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5 – REALLY COOL ADVANCED FUNCTIONS
FOCUSING MODES
Single and Continuous 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
Spot Metering to the Rescue!
A brief recap
SUPER STEADYSHOT™
WHITE BALANCE
Auto White Balance and the Pre-Set White Balance
Tweaking the pre-set White Balance
The color temperature setting
Custom White Balance
The “K” setting
FLASH, FILL FLASH, AND WIRELESS FLASH
1) and 2) Auto Flash and Fill Flash
Flash Exposure Compensation
3) Rear Sync Flash
4) Wireless Flash
5) and 6) ADI and Pre-Flash TTL
7) Slow Sync
8) Red-Eye Reduction Mode
DRIVE MODES
Single-Frame Mode
Continuous Advance Mode
Self-timer
Bracketing
White Balance Bracketing
ADVANCED TOPICS: THE HISTOGRAM DISPLAY
Brightness range, sensors, and the human eye
Use the Histogram for a fin(d)er degree of control
DYNAMIC RANGE OPTIMIZATION
CREATIVE STYLES
Contrast Setting
Saturation Setting
Sharpness Setting
Combining Settings
B&W Mode
AdobeRGB
MY PERSONAL CAMERA SETTINGS
Menu Settings
Other Settings
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6 – THE “SECRETS” OF LIGHT AND COMPOSITION
WRITING WITH LIGHT
COMPOSITION – THE RULE OF THIRDS
Texture
Out of place shot
Classical Portrait
Environmental Portrait
"Hey! Look at Me!"
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7 – WIRELESS FLASH
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-56AM ONLY)
HIGH SPEED SYNCH (HSS) FLASH
How to Activate HSS
PARTING SHOT
TO PROBE FURTHER SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8 – DIGITAL IMAGING CONCEPTS EXPLAINED
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
IMAGE SIZE
IMAGE SIZE AND RESOLUTION
MEMORY CARDS
Memory Card Corruption Issues
DUST ON THE SENSOR
“HOT PIXELS”
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9 – AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PICTURE MOTION BROWSER SOFTWARE
INTRODUCTION
READ THIS FIRST
AFTER YOU INSTALL
AUTOMATICALLY TRANSFER YOUR IMAGES
BROWSE YOUR IMAGES
BASIC EDITING
Rotating and Cropping
Adjusting the Tone Curves and the Color Balance
Sharpness
PRINTING
OTHER EDITING SOFTWARE
RAW CONVERSION
VERSION STACK
EXTREME EXAMPLES
WHAT'S AVAILABLE SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10 - ADDITIONAL RESOURCES LENS RENTAL
INTERNET FORUMS AND DISCUSSION BOARDS THREE OUTSTANDING IMAGING MAGAZINES 25 WAYS TO “WOW!” E-BOOKLET THE FRIEDMAN ARCHIVES SEMINARS AND EXPEDITIONS BOOKS ON PREVIOUS CAMERAS THE ROAD TO CHINA
THE MAUI XAPHOON
EPILOGUE
APPENDIX A – A “COOKBOOK” FOR SPECIAL SHOOTING SITUATIONS INTRODUCTION FIREWORKS ARTISTIC WATERFALLS STAGE PERFORMANCES / ROCK CONCERTS NIGHTTIME TIME EXPOSURES SHOOTING IN SNOW OUTDOOR GROUP PORTRAITS STREET PHOTOGRAPHY I-DON’T-WANT-TO-TWEAK-MY-IMAGES-IN-MY-COMPUTER MODE SUNSETS AND SILHOUETTES THE MOON NIGHTTIME SPORTS CHRISTMAS LIGHTS PRODUCT SHOTS INTERIORS THAT SELL LIGHTNING CANDLELIGHT SHOTS
INDEX
Hey, did you ever expect to get so much information for less than 20 bucks??
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