Contents at a Glance
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi
Quick Tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Part I: Using the Sony Alpha A700 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chapter 1: Exploring the Sony Alpha A700 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 2: Setting Up the Alpha A700 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Part II: Creating Great Photos with the Sony Alpha A700 . . . . . . 81
Chapter 3: Photography Essentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Chapter 4: All About Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Chapter 5: All About Lenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Chapter 6: Photo Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Chapter 7: Viewing, Downloading, and Printing Your Photos. . . . . . . . . . . 229
Part III: Appendixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Appendix A: Camera Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Appendix B: Editing Software Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
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COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xxi
Quick Tour 1
Basic Setup of the A700 1
Setting the Image Size and Quality 2
Setting the Metering Mode 3
Setting the ISO 4
Setting the White Balance 4
Setting the Drive Mode 5
Setting the Focus Mode 5
Setting the Focus Area 6
Reviewing Your Images 7
Part I: Using the Sony
Alpha A700 9
Chapter 1: Exploring the Sony
Alpha A700 11
Camera Controls 11
On the front 12
On top 13
On the back 15
On the bottom 17
On the left side 18
On the right side 19
Remote Commander 20
Viewfinder Display 22
The main display 22
The data display 23
LCD Display 24
Recording Information display 24
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Playback screen 27
Image alone view 27
Image with shooting
data view 27
Image with thumbnail
strip view 28
Histogram view 29
Index view 30
Image Files 30
Aspect ratio 30
File quality setting 31
File size setting 32
ISO Sensitivity 33
Viewing Images on the Camera 33
White Balance Setting 36
Metering Modes 38
Scene Exposure Modes 39
Semiautomatic and Manual
Exposure Modes 40
Drive Modes 40
Creative Styles 42
D-Range Optimization 43
Chapter 2: Setting Up the
Alpha A700 45
Choosing the Exposure Mode 45
Basic Exposure modes 45
Auto mode 45
Program Auto mode 46
Aperture Priority mode 46
Shutter Speed Priority
mode 47
Manual mode 47
Memory Recall mode 47
Choosing a Scene selection 48
Portrait 49
Landscape 49
Macro 49
Sports Action 50
Sunset 50
Night View / Night Portrait 50
Using the Function Button 51
File Quality, Size, and Aspect Ratio 51
Choosing the file quality 51
JPEG 53
RAW 53
Setting the image size 53
Setting the aspect ratio 54
White Balance 55
Setting the white balance 55
Setting the ISO 57
Setting the Dynamic-Range
Optimizer 58
Setting the Drive Mode 58
Bracketing modes 59
Remote Commander 60
Focusing the A700 60
Eye-Start focusing system 61
Selecting the auto focus area 61
Auto Focus modes 62
Creative Styles 62
Using the Built-In Flash 65
Selecting the Flash mode 65
Flash compensation 66
A700 Menus 66
Recording menu 1 67
Image size 67
Aspect ratio 67
Quality 67
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D-RangeOptimizer 67
Creative Style 67
Custom button 67
Exposure step 68
Recording menu 2 68
Flash mode 68
Flash control 68
Power ratio 69
Flash compens. 69
ISO Auto max. 69
ISO Auto min. 69
Recording menu 3 69
AF A setup 69
AF area 69
Priority setup 69
AF illuminator 70
AF w/ shutter 70
Long exp.NR 70
High ISO NR 70
Recording menu 4 70
Memory 70
Rec mode reset 70
Custom menu 1 70
Eye-Start AF 71
EyeStart trigr. 71
AF/MF button 71
AF/MF control 71
AF drive speed 71
AF area disp. 71
FocusHoldButton 71
Custom menu 2 72
AEL button 72
Ctrl dial setup 72
Dial exp.comp 72
Ctrl dial lock 72
Button ops. 72
Release w/oCard 73
Release w/oLens 73
Custom menu 3 73
Red eye reduc. 74
Exp.comp.set 74
Bracket order 74
Auto review 74
Auto off w/ VF 74
Rec.info.disp. 74
Img.orientation 74
Custom menu 4 74
Playback menu 1 75
Delete 75
Format 75
Protect 76
DPOF setup 76
Date imprint 76
Index print 76
PlaybackDisplay 76
Playback menu 2 77
Slide show 77
Interval 77
Setup menu 1 77
LCD brightness 77
Info.disp.time 77
Power save 77
Video output 78
HDMI output 78
Language 78
Date/Time setup 78
Setup menu 2 78
Memory card 78
File number 78
Folder name 78
Select folder / New folder 79
USB connection 79
MassStrg.card 79
Setup menu 3 79
Menu start 79
Delete confirm. 79
Audio signals 79
Cleaning mode 79
Reset default 79
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Part II: Creating Great
Photos with the Sony
Alpha A700 81
Chapter 3:
Photography
Essentials 83
Understanding Exposure 83
Controlling Exposure 84
Light 84
Aperture 85
Shutter speed 87
ISO 89
Equivalent exposures 90
Fine-Tuning Exposure 91
Exposure compensation 91
Manual mode 91
Exposure Metering modes 92
Bracketing 92
Using the histogram 94
Composition Basics 95
The Rule of Thirds 97
Other compositional tips 99
Break the rules 101
Chapter 4:
All About Light 103
The Intensity of Light 103
The Direction of Light 105
The Color of Light 107
The Diffusion of Light 107
Available Light 108
Daylight 108
Sunrise and sunset 108
Midday 109
Electrical light 110
Fluorescent lights 110
Incandescent lights 110
Vapor discharge lights 110
Mixed light 110
Supplemental Light 111
The built-in flash 111
Red eye and Red-eye
reduction 111
Dedicated flash units 112
Flash sync modes 117
Flash compensation 118
Studio lights 119
Strobe lights 119
Continuous lights 120
Accessories to Control Light 120
Reflectors 120
Diffusers 122
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Chapter 5:
All About
Lenses 125
Sony Lens Basics 125
Compatibility 126
Maximum aperture and
focal length 126
Expanding your lens options 128
Understanding the Lens
Crop Factor 128
Sony Lenses 129
Choosing Between Prime
and Zoom Lenses 130
Prime lenses 130
Zoom lenses 131
Wide-Angle Lenses 132
Normal Lenses 133
Telephoto Lenses 134
Macro Lenses 137
Tele-Converters 138
Reducing Vibration 139
Chapter 6:
Photo Subjects 141
Abstract Photography 141
Inspiration 141
Abstract photography
practice 144
Abstract photography tips 144
Architectural Photography 145
Inspiration 145
Architectural photography
practice 146
Architectural photography
tips 148
Candid Photography 148
Inspiration 149
Candid photography practice 150
Candid photography tips 152
Child Photography 152
Inspiration 153
Child photography practice 154
Child photography tips 156
Concert Photography 156
Inspiration 158
Concert photography practice 159
Concert photography tips 160
Event Photography 161
Inspiration 162
Event photography practice 162
Event photography tips 164
Flower and Plant Photography 164
Inspiration 165
Flower and plant
photography practice 166
Flower and plant
photography tips 168
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Group Portrait Photography 168
Considering lighting
and location 169
Working with people 169
Inspiration 170
Group portrait photography
practice 171
Group portrait photography
tips 172
Indoor Portraits 173
Inspiration 175
Indoor portrait practice 176
Indoor portrait tips 177
Landscape and Nature
Photography 178
Inspiration 178
Landscape and nature
photography practice 179
Landscape and nature
photography tips 181
Light Trail Photography 181
Inspiration 182
Light trail photography
practice 183
Light trail photography tips 184
Macro Photography 186
Inspiration 186
Macro photography practice 188
Macro photography tips 188
Night and Low Light Photography 189
Inspiration 190
Night and low light
photography practice 190
Night and low light
photography tips 191
Online Auction Photography 192
Inspiration 192
Online auction photography
practice 193
Online auction photography
tips 195
Outdoor portrait photography 195
Inspiration 196
Outdoor portrait
photography 197
Outdoor portrait
photography tips 198
Sports Photography 200
Inspiration 201
Sports photography practice 202
Sports photography tips 203
Still Life Photography 204
Inspiration 205
Still life photography
practice 206
Still life photography tips 207
Street Life Photography 208
Inspiration 208
Street life photography
practice 209
Street life photography tips 211
Sunrise and Sunset Photography 211
Inspiration 211
Sunset and sunrise
photography practice 212
Sunset and sunrise
photography tips 214
Travel Photography 214
Inspiration 215
Travel photography practice 216
Travel photography tips 218
Wedding Photography 219
Inspiration 219
Wedding photography
practice 220
Wedding photography tips 222
Wildlife Photography 223
Inspiration 224
Wildlife photography
practice 225
Wildlife photography tips 227
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Chapter 7:
Viewing,
Downloading, and
Printing Your Photos 229
Viewing Your Images on
a Television 229
Connecting to a regular
television 230
Connecting to an HDTV 231
Viewing the images on a
television 231
Using the camera to
display images 231
Using the Remote
Commander to
display images 233
Connecting to a Computer 234
Using the USB cable 234
Using a card reader 235
Connecting to a Printer 236
Print menu 1 236
Print menu 2 237
Part III: Appendixes 239
Appendix A: Camera Care 241
Preventing Dust from Entering
the Camera Body 242
Cleaning Your Gear after Shooting 243
Cleaning the Lenses 243
Cleaning the Mirror 244
Cleaning the Sensor 245
Appendix B: Editing
Software Options 247
Sony Software 247
Image Data Lightbox SR 247
Image Data Converter SR 248
Adjustment 1 248
Adjustment 2 250
Adjustment 3 250
Other features 250
Remote Camera Control 251
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Other Software Options 252
Adobe Photoshop 252
Bridge 252
Adobe Camera Raw 253
Photoshop 254
Adobe Photoshop Elements 254
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 255
Apple Aperture 257
iPhoto 259
Photo Mechanic 260
Glossary 261
Index 269
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