Sample Book Pages 

from "The Complete Guide to Sony's Alpha 500 and 550 DSLRs and the Alpha Mount System"

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Table of Contents

CHAPTER 0 
THE GOALS OF THIS BOOK

CHAPTER 1 
INTRODUCTION

MAJOR FEATURES
        IMPROVED NOISE AT HIGH SENSITIVITIES
        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 FIVE IMAGES PER SECOND
        SMALLER AND LIGHTER
        SCENE SELECTION MODES
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A500 AND A550
        A SLIGHTLY HIGHER-RESOLUTION SENSOR
        A HIGHER-RESOLUTION LCD SCREEN
        7 PICTURES-PER-SECOND VIA THE SPEED PRIORITY CONTINUOUS ADVANCE MODE
        A LARGER MEMORY BUFFER
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 
CONTROLS
SHORTHAND NOTATION
POWER SAVE MODES
AUTO SETTING 
PROGRAM (“P”) MODE
THE LIVE VIEW / OFV 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
INTRODUCTION
VIEWING YOUR PICTURES WHILE THEY’RE STILL IN THE CAMERA
VARIATIONS ON A THEME - THE DISPLAY BUTTON
DELETING AN IMAGE (OR MULTIPLE IMAGES) 
PROTECTING AN IMAGE
VIEWING YOUR IMAGES ON AN HDTV
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
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
THE NEW HELP DISPLAY
ISO– HOW SENSITIVE IS THE CAMERA TO LIGHT?
HIGH ISO NOISE REDUCTION
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
TIME EXPOSURES
THE SCENE SELECTION MODES 
        SPORTS PROGRAM MODE
        SUNSET MODE
        PORTRAIT MODE
        MACRO MODE
        LANDSCAPE MODE 
        NIGHT PORTRAIT / NIGHT VIEW MODE
SUMMARY OF SCENE SELECTION MODES
VIEWFINDER EYEPIECE DIOPTER CORRECTION
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5
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
        SELF-TIMER
        BRACKETING
        WHITE BALANCE BRACKETING
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
WRITING WITH LIGHT
COMPOSITION – THE RULE OF THIRDS
OUT OF PLACE SHOT
CLASSICAL PORTRAIT
ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAIT
“HEY, LOOK AT ME!”
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7
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 7

CHAPTER 8
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
        SOME BACKGROUND ON 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 8

CHAPTER 9
READ THIS FIRST
INTRODUCTION 
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 USING IMAGE DATA CONVERTER
VERSION STACK
EXTREME EXAMPLES
WHAT’S AVAILABLE
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10
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
THE SMART TELECONVERTER FUNCTION
MF CHECK LV
SPEED PRIORITY CONTINUOUS ADVANCE (A550 ONLY)
HOW LIVE VIEW CAN HELP YOU GET MORE CREATIVE 
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11
LENS RENTAL
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 
NIGHTTIME TIME EXPOSURES
SHOOTING IN SNOW
OUTDOOR GROUP PORTRAITS
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
SUNSETS AND SILHOUETTES
THE MOON
NIGHTTIME SPORTS
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
PRODUCT SHOTS
INTERIORS THAT SELL
LIGHTNING
CANDLELIGHT SHOTS

INDEX

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