Sample Book Pages
from "The Complete Guide to Sony's Alpha 700 DSLR and the Alpha Mount System"
Click here to see the full Table of Contents
CHAPTER 0 - INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 - THE ALPHA 700 IN A
NUTSHELL
INTRODUCTION
MAJOR FEATURES
NEW CMOS 12.2 MEGAPIXEL SENSOR
SUPER STEADYSHOT
DYNAMIC RANGE OPTIMIZATION AND ZONE MATCHING
WIRELESS FLASH
FASTER FOCUSING AND 5 FRAMES-PER-SECOND
VERTICAL GRIP
MISSED FEATURES THAT HAVE RETURNED
NICE USER INTERFACE TOUCHES
CONSTRUCTION
SCENE SELECTION MODES
FEATURES YOU DIDN’T EVEN KNOW YOU WANTED
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 “IMAGES REMAINING COUNTER”
AUTO REVIEW
FOCUSING BASICS
HOW DOES THE CAMERA KNOW WHAT TO FOCUS ON?
THE FOCUSING SENSORS AND THE AF ILLUMINATOR
THE FOCUSING MODES
AUTOFOCUS PRIORITY / RELEASE PRIORITY
ANOTHER WAY TO INVOKE MANUAL FOCUS
BATTERIES
FLASH
SELF-TIMER AND REMOTE COMMANDER
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
MAGNIFYING THE IMAGE
DELETING AN IMAGE (OR MULTIPLE IMAGES)
PROTECTING AN IMAGE
OTHER WAYS TO VIEW PICTURES
SLIDE SHOW USING THE REMOTE COMMANDER
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
DEPTH OF FIELD PREVIEW
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 AF WITH SUBJECT TRACKING
WHY BOTHER WITH MANUAL FOCUSING?
DMF – DIRECT MANUAL FOCUS
THE BASICS OF PROPER EXPOSURE
MULTI-SEGMENT AND CENTER-WEIGHTED METERING
SPOT METERING
HOW DO YOU SWITCH BETWEEN THESE THREE METERING MODES?
SPOT METERING AND EXPOSURE LOCK
BASIC EXPOSURE LOCK – THE AEL BUTTON
SPOT METERING TO THE RESCUE!
A BRIEF RECAP
SUPER STEADYSHOT
WHITE BALANCE
AUTO WHITE BALANCE AND PRE-SET WHITE BALANCE
TWEAKING THE PRE-SET WHITE BALANCE
CUSTOM WHITE BALANCE
THE COLOR TEMPERATURE 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) MANUAL FLASH MODE
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
IMAGE STYLES AND CREATIVE STYLES
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
CONTRAST SETTING
SATURATION SETTING
SHARPNESS SETTING
COMBINING SETTINGS
B&W MODE
ADOBERGB
CUSTOMIZING THE CAMERA
SWITCHING THE CONTROL WHEELS
3 MEMORY POSITIONS
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
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7 - 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-56AM ONLY)
HIGH SPEED SYNCH (HSS) FLASH
HOW TO ACTIVATE HSS
BALANCING AMBIENT LIGHT AND FLASH
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
COMPACT FLASH (CF)
MEMORY STICK FLAVORS
WHICH IS BETTER?
MEMORY CARD CORRUPTION ISSUES
DUST ON THE SENSOR
“HOT PIXELS”
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9 - AN INTRODUCTION TO PICTURE MOTION
BROWSER AND IMAGE DATA CONVERTER SR SOFTWARE
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 9
OTHER EDITING SOFTWARE
RAW CONVERSION
VERSION STACK
EXTREME EXAMPLES
WHAT’S AVAILABLE
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10 - DRO AND ZONE MATCHING
DYNAMIC RANGE OPTIMIZATION
HOW IT WORKS
MORE DRO EXAMPLES
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT DRO
SO WHEN DOES D-R AND D-R+ KICK IN?
WHEN DRO IS BAD
DRO ON YOUR COMPUTER
ZONE MATCHING
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11 - ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES
LENS RENTAL
INTERNET FORUMS AND DISCUSSION BOARDS
TWO OUTSTANDING IMAGING MAGAZINES
25 WAYS TO “WOW!” E-BOOKLET
THE FRIEDMAN ARCHIVES SEMINARS
BOOKS ON PREVIOUS CAMERAS
THE ROAD TO CHINA
THE MAUI XAPHOON
EPILOGUE
APPENDIX A – A BRIEF HISTORY OF MINOLTA
INNOVATION
APPENDIX B - “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
Hey, did you ever expect to get so much information for less than 25 bucks??
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