Everyone one of us who owns an Alpha DSLR, no matter what model, knows (to a bigger or lesser amount) what the Dynamic Range Optimization or DRO Function is.
What some of you may not know is that the technology behind DRO isn't developed by Sony, but licenced from a company called Apical. Apical is a company that develops software used in cameras from major brands, including Sony, that aims to deliver photographs closer to the way we see them with our eyes.
Digital Photography Review has recently posted an article of an interview they did with Apical's managing director Michael Tusch, on which he explains what their software does and what was the reason they created it, along with visual examples of how DRO works better most of the time than using tonal curve adjustment in post-processing.
It's a very interesting read if you're curious about how DRO works, the principles behind it and when is advised to use it and when not to use it.
Feature: Apical dynamic range interview by Richard Butler
Showing posts with label Functions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Functions. Show all posts
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Exposure Compensation- Helping The Camera Out On Tricky Scenes
Normal behavior
Cameras usually measure light to render the scene in a way that everything or almost everything will be lit and properly exposed. The way they measure light is different than it is done professionally with the use of hand held light meters (This will be discussed in another article).
They take their information from the light that passes through the lens, and based on that, they calculate the proper exposure settings in any mode except Manual; and that is because in Manual you control the exposure values, therefore the light metering is up to you.
However, sometimes you will point the camera at scenes that will contain elements that will throw off the camera and will expose incorrectly.
Tricky scenes
The camera's in built light meter measures the light in a scene based on the light reflected from the subjects in it.
However, there are colors that absorb light, that bounce it off or absorb a part and reflect another.
The camera's metering system is based on the notion that almost all colors reflect roughly the same amount of light and it calculates exposure based on that.
However, it may have happened to you that you pointed your camera at a person with white clothes with plenty of light around it and the camera underexposed the image OR you pointed the camera at something mostly black or made up of a dark color and it overexposed the image. Or viceversa.
In the first case, there isnt enough light in the shot and in the second theres too much light and the colors look washed out.
At this point you either go postal on the camera, switch to Manual or fix the photo in post processing.
All of these options are valid (except go postal on the camera, maybe) but sometimes there isnt enough time to switch to Manual and retake the shot or you dont like sitting in front of a computer for hours fixing a shot that should have come up properly the first time.
Don't panic though, there is a way to fix it right away.
Exposure Compensation
That way is called Exposure Compensation.
By exposure its meant the amount of light that will reach the sensor when you press the shutter.
Compensation in this case means to increase or decrease a value or values in order to properly expose a picture.
The values that directly affect exposure are Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO.
So, if you are in any mode (except Manual) and you point your camera at a subject with bright colors (such as white) or dark colors (like black), the camera will think the following:
Bright colors: There is too much light in the picture, so I must select a fast shutter speed, a small aperture or low ISO in order to avoid overexposing the shot.
Dark colors: There isnt enough light in the picture, so I must select a slow shutter speed, big aperture or high ISO in order to avoid underexposing the shot.
The problem is, under this logic, the camera will underexpose in bright colors or overexpose in dark colors most of the time. It may actually not do this or it may happen that under bright colors you actually need to overexpose a bit and in dark underexpose a bit.
It all depends on the subject, amount of light available and the exposure values.
Exposure Compensation is a function that allows you to shift the exposure values and tell the camera to over or underexpose as you consider necessary.
+/-
In all Alpha DSLRs (and even in the cameras made by other manufacturers) the Exposure Compensation is represented by a button with these symbols: +/-. Usually the button is split in two; black on the plus side and white on the minus side.
In the Alpha DSLRs, this button is found at the back of the camera near the viewfinder (A100/200/300/350) or near the shutter button (A700/900).
Exposure compensation scale is based on a scale of exposure values (EV), the plus side illuminates the image and the minus side darkens the image.
When you press this button, either you will get a exclusive screen for you to move the cursor up or down the scale or the scale will light up if you use the Quick Navi screen.
As with any scale, there is a middle ground, in this case is 0, which is always the exposure recommended by the camera.
In the LCD screen looks like this:
+/-
-3 I I -2 I I -1 I I 0 I I 1 I I 2 I I 3+
In the viewfinder it will look like this:
-2 o o -1 o o 0 o o 1 o o 2+
The A700/900 go to -3 or +3, the A100/200/300/350 go from -2 to +2.
If you own a A700/900 don't worry if the scale in the viewfinder wont go to -3 or +3, if you compensate beyond -2 or +2, the camera will compensate to the value you select. The value will be displayed in the viewfinder as you select it, it will disappear once you press the shutter button, but the camera will compensate to the value you select.
Now, you may wonder why the LCD and viewfinder have I or o's between the numbers. Those are the EV steps.
EV Steps
"And what are those?" you may ask.
As I said before, the scale used to compensate its called EV scale, and the units to measure light in that scale are called steps.
As you compensate in either side of the scale, the shutter speed, aperture or ISO values change, it may be just one, two or the three of them.
The point is, whenever one of these values changes, the exposure changes.
The Alpha DSLRs have two ways of measuring in the EV scale: in 0.3 or 0.5 steps.
The A100/200/300/350 have their scales in 0.3 EV steps and the A700/900 can deal with 0.3 or 0.5 EV steps.
The I's in the LCD between the numbers or the o's in the viewfinder between numbers are the markers when you measure in 0.3 EV steps, but when you measure in 0.5 EV steps, the marker is placed between two I's or two o's.
0.3, 0.5, 0.7
So what's the difference between 0.3 and 0.5 EV steps?
The basic difference is the amount of steps you can compensate.
In 0.3 steps, the scale goes like this:
-3, -2.7, -2.3, -2.0, -1.7, -1.3, -1. -0.7, -0.3, 0, +0.3, +0.7, +1.0, +1.3, +1.7, +2.0. +2.3, +2.7, +3
In 0.5 EV steps, the scale goes like this:
-3, -2.5, -2.0, -1.5, -1.0, -0.5, 0, +0.5, +1.0, +1.5, +2.0, +2.5, +3.0
When you use 0.3 EV steps, the scale is larger because you can access 0.3 and 0.7 steps of compensation between numbers.
When you use 0.5 EV steps, you can only access halves between each number. The scale is smaller.
Differences between 0.3 and 0.5 EV steps
Now, if you use a A100/200/300/350, you dont have to worry about 0.5 EV steps because you can't access them, but if you want to know the difference between 0.3 and 0.5 scales, keep reading.
For those of you using a A700/900, there are differences when you use 0.3 or 0.5 EV step scales.
The use of both scales presents tradeoffs. Using a 0.3 EV step scale allows you to use a bigger scale whereas 0.5 is more limited.
The difference is that if you need precise increments, 0.5 EV works a lot better than 0.3 EV, because 0.3 EV presents you subtle changes that wont affect too much the exposure in case you screw up, but it will require you to use more steps to make a visible compensation. And thats another tradeoff, if you want subtle changes without introducing a harsh change in exposure, 0.5 EV wont work for you since that's what it will do, the changes will be more visible, so if you want just a slight touch of more light into the picture, 0.5 EV won't do the job since it will introduce more light in each step than 0.3 EV.
In 0.3 EV, the lack of a middle point between steps is compensated by the fact that you can use 0.7 EV as well, and that step may introduce enough light to make a difference or a little too much. It all depends on the scene.
In 0.5 EV the changes are more predictable, so if you require a visible change and you know how much, 0.5 EV will work better than 0.3 EV since it won't require you to decide whether to use a 0.3 or 0.7 step compensation, it will be just a half and you can learn what to expect. However, if you rather make exposures where the light is increased or decreased in a more gradual manner, chose 0.3 EV.
There is one more thing to keep in mind: the scale you chose for Exposure Compensation also affects the shutter speed and aperture range. If you chose 0.3 EV, the shutter speed and aperture will change in values of 1/3rd whereas if you chose 0.5 EV, the values will change in halves.
This is done in order to match the changes introduced in 0.3 or 0.5 EV steps.
And again, there is a tradeoff, having the speed or aperture shown in 1/3rd gives you a broader range of speed and aperture (limited by your camera's top speed or lens' aperture range) but it will take longer for you to get to the setting you want, which wont happen if you use 0.5 EV.
It's up to you which scale you use; 0.3 or 0.5 EV.
To change between those two in the A700: Menu-> Recording Menu (camera icon) Page 1-> Exposure step-> 0.3 or 0.5 EV
In the A900: Menu-> Recording Menu (camera icon) Page 2-> Exposure Step-> 0.3 or 0.5 EV
Notes of use and Closure
Cameras usually measure light to render the scene in a way that everything or almost everything will be lit and properly exposed. The way they measure light is different than it is done professionally with the use of hand held light meters (This will be discussed in another article).
They take their information from the light that passes through the lens, and based on that, they calculate the proper exposure settings in any mode except Manual; and that is because in Manual you control the exposure values, therefore the light metering is up to you.
However, sometimes you will point the camera at scenes that will contain elements that will throw off the camera and will expose incorrectly.
Tricky scenes
The camera's in built light meter measures the light in a scene based on the light reflected from the subjects in it.
However, there are colors that absorb light, that bounce it off or absorb a part and reflect another.
The camera's metering system is based on the notion that almost all colors reflect roughly the same amount of light and it calculates exposure based on that.
However, it may have happened to you that you pointed your camera at a person with white clothes with plenty of light around it and the camera underexposed the image OR you pointed the camera at something mostly black or made up of a dark color and it overexposed the image. Or viceversa.
In the first case, there isnt enough light in the shot and in the second theres too much light and the colors look washed out.
At this point you either go postal on the camera, switch to Manual or fix the photo in post processing.
All of these options are valid (except go postal on the camera, maybe) but sometimes there isnt enough time to switch to Manual and retake the shot or you dont like sitting in front of a computer for hours fixing a shot that should have come up properly the first time.
Don't panic though, there is a way to fix it right away.
Exposure Compensation
That way is called Exposure Compensation.
By exposure its meant the amount of light that will reach the sensor when you press the shutter.
Compensation in this case means to increase or decrease a value or values in order to properly expose a picture.
The values that directly affect exposure are Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO.
So, if you are in any mode (except Manual) and you point your camera at a subject with bright colors (such as white) or dark colors (like black), the camera will think the following:
Bright colors: There is too much light in the picture, so I must select a fast shutter speed, a small aperture or low ISO in order to avoid overexposing the shot.
Dark colors: There isnt enough light in the picture, so I must select a slow shutter speed, big aperture or high ISO in order to avoid underexposing the shot.
The problem is, under this logic, the camera will underexpose in bright colors or overexpose in dark colors most of the time. It may actually not do this or it may happen that under bright colors you actually need to overexpose a bit and in dark underexpose a bit.
It all depends on the subject, amount of light available and the exposure values.
Exposure Compensation is a function that allows you to shift the exposure values and tell the camera to over or underexpose as you consider necessary.
+/-
In all Alpha DSLRs (and even in the cameras made by other manufacturers) the Exposure Compensation is represented by a button with these symbols: +/-. Usually the button is split in two; black on the plus side and white on the minus side.
In the Alpha DSLRs, this button is found at the back of the camera near the viewfinder (A100/200/300/350) or near the shutter button (A700/900).
Exposure compensation scale is based on a scale of exposure values (EV), the plus side illuminates the image and the minus side darkens the image.
When you press this button, either you will get a exclusive screen for you to move the cursor up or down the scale or the scale will light up if you use the Quick Navi screen.
As with any scale, there is a middle ground, in this case is 0, which is always the exposure recommended by the camera.
In the LCD screen looks like this:
+/-
-3 I I -2 I I -1 I I 0 I I 1 I I 2 I I 3+
In the viewfinder it will look like this:
-2 o o -1 o o 0 o o 1 o o 2+
The A700/900 go to -3 or +3, the A100/200/300/350 go from -2 to +2.
If you own a A700/900 don't worry if the scale in the viewfinder wont go to -3 or +3, if you compensate beyond -2 or +2, the camera will compensate to the value you select. The value will be displayed in the viewfinder as you select it, it will disappear once you press the shutter button, but the camera will compensate to the value you select.
Now, you may wonder why the LCD and viewfinder have I or o's between the numbers. Those are the EV steps.
EV Steps
"And what are those?" you may ask.
As I said before, the scale used to compensate its called EV scale, and the units to measure light in that scale are called steps.
As you compensate in either side of the scale, the shutter speed, aperture or ISO values change, it may be just one, two or the three of them.
The point is, whenever one of these values changes, the exposure changes.
The Alpha DSLRs have two ways of measuring in the EV scale: in 0.3 or 0.5 steps.
The A100/200/300/350 have their scales in 0.3 EV steps and the A700/900 can deal with 0.3 or 0.5 EV steps.
The I's in the LCD between the numbers or the o's in the viewfinder between numbers are the markers when you measure in 0.3 EV steps, but when you measure in 0.5 EV steps, the marker is placed between two I's or two o's.
0.3, 0.5, 0.7
So what's the difference between 0.3 and 0.5 EV steps?
The basic difference is the amount of steps you can compensate.
In 0.3 steps, the scale goes like this:
-3, -2.7, -2.3, -2.0, -1.7, -1.3, -1. -0.7, -0.3, 0, +0.3, +0.7, +1.0, +1.3, +1.7, +2.0. +2.3, +2.7, +3
In 0.5 EV steps, the scale goes like this:
-3, -2.5, -2.0, -1.5, -1.0, -0.5, 0, +0.5, +1.0, +1.5, +2.0, +2.5, +3.0
When you use 0.3 EV steps, the scale is larger because you can access 0.3 and 0.7 steps of compensation between numbers.
When you use 0.5 EV steps, you can only access halves between each number. The scale is smaller.
Differences between 0.3 and 0.5 EV steps
Now, if you use a A100/200/300/350, you dont have to worry about 0.5 EV steps because you can't access them, but if you want to know the difference between 0.3 and 0.5 scales, keep reading.
For those of you using a A700/900, there are differences when you use 0.3 or 0.5 EV step scales.
The use of both scales presents tradeoffs. Using a 0.3 EV step scale allows you to use a bigger scale whereas 0.5 is more limited.
The difference is that if you need precise increments, 0.5 EV works a lot better than 0.3 EV, because 0.3 EV presents you subtle changes that wont affect too much the exposure in case you screw up, but it will require you to use more steps to make a visible compensation. And thats another tradeoff, if you want subtle changes without introducing a harsh change in exposure, 0.5 EV wont work for you since that's what it will do, the changes will be more visible, so if you want just a slight touch of more light into the picture, 0.5 EV won't do the job since it will introduce more light in each step than 0.3 EV.
In 0.3 EV, the lack of a middle point between steps is compensated by the fact that you can use 0.7 EV as well, and that step may introduce enough light to make a difference or a little too much. It all depends on the scene.
In 0.5 EV the changes are more predictable, so if you require a visible change and you know how much, 0.5 EV will work better than 0.3 EV since it won't require you to decide whether to use a 0.3 or 0.7 step compensation, it will be just a half and you can learn what to expect. However, if you rather make exposures where the light is increased or decreased in a more gradual manner, chose 0.3 EV.
There is one more thing to keep in mind: the scale you chose for Exposure Compensation also affects the shutter speed and aperture range. If you chose 0.3 EV, the shutter speed and aperture will change in values of 1/3rd whereas if you chose 0.5 EV, the values will change in halves.
This is done in order to match the changes introduced in 0.3 or 0.5 EV steps.
And again, there is a tradeoff, having the speed or aperture shown in 1/3rd gives you a broader range of speed and aperture (limited by your camera's top speed or lens' aperture range) but it will take longer for you to get to the setting you want, which wont happen if you use 0.5 EV.
It's up to you which scale you use; 0.3 or 0.5 EV.
To change between those two in the A700: Menu-> Recording Menu (camera icon) Page 1-> Exposure step-> 0.3 or 0.5 EV
In the A900: Menu-> Recording Menu (camera icon) Page 2-> Exposure Step-> 0.3 or 0.5 EV
Notes of use and Closure
- The primary function of Exposure compensation is to illuminate or darken an image when the camera doesn't expose correctly because its pointed at a subject or scene mostly made of white or black.
- Exposure Compensation is useful, especially since Auto Mode tends to underexpose sometimes.
- It must be used with caution since it can ruin a photo if not used properly. Use only as much as you need to get the shot you want, if you over do it in any part, you may do a worse mess than the camera's.
- For pictures that require a drastic and precise compensation, use 0.5 EV, for pictures that require subtle and gradual changes use 0.3 EV.
- It doesn't work in Manual Mode, but will work in the rest of the modes, even Scene Modes.
- In Manual Mode, the Exposure Compensation scale changes to M.M.; which means Metered Manually, the camera still offers its opinion about the proper exposure to chose but the final choice its up to you and you can ignore the camera's recommendation.
- There is more range in compensation in 0.3 EV than in 0.5 EV, but in 0.5 EV the changes are more visible in each step.
- For some weird reason, in the A700 happened that when using Exposure Compensation; the exposure values DIDN'T change BUT the illumination in the picture DID change a bit.
Exposure Compensation is a useful tool when you're shooting in P,A,S or any Scene Mode (except in the A900, it doesn't have Scene Modes) and the shots aren't coming properly exposed. It allows you to do a quick tuning and let the camera do the rest, you just tell it how bright or dark you want the picture to be regardless of what it thinks.
This function will save you time in front of your computer and will give you more time to take more pictures.
One final advice: I strongly recommend you conduct experiments of your own with this function so you learn the changes it introduces in a picture and how does the camera behave when you use it, this way you will learn to know what to expect from this function and will give you a solid idea of how much to use and when to use it.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
PictBridge-Print Your Photos With No Computer
Have you ever wanted or needed to print a picture quickly but you just had the printer and your Alpha DSLR but no computer?
It's frustrating when it happens, you cant do it unless you got a computer...
But guess what? Your Alpha DSLR has a way that can help you get around that problem.
That way is called PictBridge.
PictBridge?
PictBridge is an industry standard that allows you to print pictures directly from the camera with a compatible printer without the need to hook both to a computer. For the technical stuff, click here or here.
But this doesnt just work with any camera or printer, it has to be compatible. You need to look for this symbol:
You first need to set the camera to be recognized as a PictBridge device, otherwise the printer won't be able to communicate with your camera.
To do so in the:
A100: Menu->Setup (wrench icon) Page 1->Transfer Mode->Select PTP
A200/300/350: Menu->Setup (wrench icon) Page 2->USB Connection->PTP
A700/900: Menu->Setup (wrench icon) Page 2->USB Connection->PTP
PTP = Picture Transfer Protocol
The manual recommends that you turn off the camera and then insert the memory card that contains the image you want to print, if the memory card in the camera is the one you will be printing from, you can set the camera to PTP and then plug it to the computer. You dont need to turn the camera off if youre not changing cards but you do need to set the camera to PTP BEFORE plugging the camera to the printer.
Stage 2: Connecting your camera to the printer
Plug your USB cable to the proper terminals: Small end to the camera, big end to the printer.
If you had to switch the camera off, now you can turn it on.
Once the camera and printer start talking to each other, a screen will appear on your camera's LCD screen with the pictures you can print. An icon of how many pictures you have selected for printing will appear on the lower left corner, that icon is called DPOF or Digital Print Order Format (in other words, it tells the printer that these shots have been selected for printing), this icon will appear in the middle of the screen in every shot youve selected for printing, but it wont appear in the print of course.
Stage 3: Printing
Now it comes the fun part.
1.- With the controller/multi selector browse through the pictures in your memory card and press the center of the controller/multi selector to select that picture for printing. To unselect the picture, press the controller/multi selector again.
2.- If you want to print more pictures, repeat step 1.
3.- Press the Menu button and select the paramaters for each shot (Parameters discussed in the next section)
4.- Select "Print" in the Menu by pressing the center of the controller/multi selector.
The pictures you selected will now be printed. Once the process is done, a screen telling you the printing was successful will appear, to move past it, press the center of the controller/multi selector.
To cancel the process during printing, press the center of the controller/multi selector (yeah I know, too repetitive but thats how it is). If you cancel the printing, you will need to remove the USB cable or turn off the camera. To start over follow stages 1 through 3 again.
Keep in mind that you cant print RAW files with PictBridge.
PictBridge Menu and how to set your printing paramaters
When your camera is plugged to a printer and youre in PictBridge mode, pressing the Menu button will display the following options:
Page 1:
Print: Pressing on this option will print your selected pictures.
Set print q'ty (abbrev. for quantity): Here you select how many prints of a picture you want. You can select a maximum of 20 prints. The manual mentions this as well: The same number of prints is specified on all the selected images. This means you can set a specific picture to be printed 2, 4 or more times.
Paper size: Here you select what size of paper you will be loading the printer with for printing. These are your options:
Auto-Printer setup (This is the camera default option)
9x13cm/3.5"x5": 89 x 127mm
Hakagi: 100 x 147mm
10 x 15cm
4" x 6": 101.6 x 152.4mm
A6/4.1" x 5.8": 105 x 148.5mm
13 x 18cm/5" x 7": 127 x 178mm
Letter: 216 x 279.4mm
A4/8.3" x 11.7": 210 x 297mm
A3/11.7" X 16.5": 297 x 420mm
Layout:
Auto-Printer Setup (Default Option)
1-up/Borderless: Borderless, 1 image per sheet
1 up: 1 image per sheet
2 up: 2 images per sheet
3 up: 3 images per sheet
4up: 4 images per sheet
Note: The manuals of the A200 and the A700 list an option of 8up, which would print 8 pictures per sheet, however, the printing menus of the A200 and the A700 do not contain the 8up option.
Date imprint:
Day and time: Attaches the date and time on the picture (default option)
Date: Only the date is attached
Off: Doesnt attach the date
Page 2:
Unmark All: With this option you remove the DPOF icon of the shots you selected while youre not printing. A message saying: "Cancel All?" will appear, press the center of your controller/multi selector to say yes.
Print All/Folder Print: With this option you can print all the shots in the selected folder of your memory card (if you have more than one) or the whole memory card if you have just 1 folder. In the A100/200/300/350 its called Print All and in the A700/900 its called Folder Print.
Select the desired folder to print with the controller/multi selector, press the center of it and a message saying "Print images?" will appear, press the center of your controller/multi selector again and the printing will start.
Bonus option for the A700/900
If you possess a A700/900, you got a bonus option you can exploit and save time.
If youre watching your pictures on a HDTV using the HDMI cable, you can print your pictures at the same time!
How? With the wireless remote commander!
Heres how:
*Important note: If you connect your camera to a TV or HDTV with the video cable (the one with a yellow jack), the PRINT button is disabled. This function only works with a HDTV connected with a HDMI cable.
Closure
PictBridge is a function in Alpha DSLRs that allows you to print pictures for your friends or family in a fast and easy way. If you dont have a computer or dont want to start it up, you dont have to if you got a printer thats PictBridge compatible and your Alpha DSLR.
Learn to use it and get the most out of it!
It's frustrating when it happens, you cant do it unless you got a computer...
But guess what? Your Alpha DSLR has a way that can help you get around that problem.
That way is called PictBridge.
PictBridge?
PictBridge is an industry standard that allows you to print pictures directly from the camera with a compatible printer without the need to hook both to a computer. For the technical stuff, click here or here.
But this doesnt just work with any camera or printer, it has to be compatible. You need to look for this symbol:
If your camera (usually you find that symbol in the box or the manual) or printer have this symbol, it means you can use hook each other up to print.
The good thing is that it works with an USB cable, it doesnt require a special cable like HDMI.
So how does it work? (Short version)
PictBridge is pretty simple to use. You plug your USB cable provided in the camera's box (or a similar cable that fits both ends) to your camera and to the printer.
You turn it both devices on and once the printer recognizes the camera, the camera will prompt a menu on the screen where you can select what picture you want to print and in what size, once you select those two, you hit Print and voila! Youre done and now you got a photo printed with no additional hassle.
That is the nutshell version, now it comes the step by step process.
How does it work? (Step by Step)
For this procedure you will need the following items:
- A Sony Alpha DSLR (All Alphas are PictBridge compatible)
- Printer that's PictBridge compatible (Check your manual or look for a USB slot with the symbol I showed you above)
- USB Cable
- Fully charged battery or AC adaptor charger
- Paper on your printer (photographic is the recommended but if you dont have, you can test with a normal kind of paper)
You first need to set the camera to be recognized as a PictBridge device, otherwise the printer won't be able to communicate with your camera.
To do so in the:
A100: Menu->Setup (wrench icon) Page 1->Transfer Mode->Select PTP
A200/300/350: Menu->Setup (wrench icon) Page 2->USB Connection->PTP
A700/900: Menu->Setup (wrench icon) Page 2->USB Connection->PTP
PTP = Picture Transfer Protocol
The manual recommends that you turn off the camera and then insert the memory card that contains the image you want to print, if the memory card in the camera is the one you will be printing from, you can set the camera to PTP and then plug it to the computer. You dont need to turn the camera off if youre not changing cards but you do need to set the camera to PTP BEFORE plugging the camera to the printer.
Stage 2: Connecting your camera to the printer
Plug your USB cable to the proper terminals: Small end to the camera, big end to the printer.
If you had to switch the camera off, now you can turn it on.
Once the camera and printer start talking to each other, a screen will appear on your camera's LCD screen with the pictures you can print. An icon of how many pictures you have selected for printing will appear on the lower left corner, that icon is called DPOF or Digital Print Order Format (in other words, it tells the printer that these shots have been selected for printing), this icon will appear in the middle of the screen in every shot youve selected for printing, but it wont appear in the print of course.
Stage 3: Printing
Now it comes the fun part.
1.- With the controller/multi selector browse through the pictures in your memory card and press the center of the controller/multi selector to select that picture for printing. To unselect the picture, press the controller/multi selector again.
2.- If you want to print more pictures, repeat step 1.
3.- Press the Menu button and select the paramaters for each shot (Parameters discussed in the next section)
4.- Select "Print" in the Menu by pressing the center of the controller/multi selector.
The pictures you selected will now be printed. Once the process is done, a screen telling you the printing was successful will appear, to move past it, press the center of the controller/multi selector.
To cancel the process during printing, press the center of the controller/multi selector (yeah I know, too repetitive but thats how it is). If you cancel the printing, you will need to remove the USB cable or turn off the camera. To start over follow stages 1 through 3 again.
Keep in mind that you cant print RAW files with PictBridge.
PictBridge Menu and how to set your printing paramaters
When your camera is plugged to a printer and youre in PictBridge mode, pressing the Menu button will display the following options:
Page 1:
Print: Pressing on this option will print your selected pictures.
Set print q'ty (abbrev. for quantity): Here you select how many prints of a picture you want. You can select a maximum of 20 prints. The manual mentions this as well: The same number of prints is specified on all the selected images. This means you can set a specific picture to be printed 2, 4 or more times.
Paper size: Here you select what size of paper you will be loading the printer with for printing. These are your options:
Auto-Printer setup (This is the camera default option)
9x13cm/3.5"x5": 89 x 127mm
Hakagi: 100 x 147mm
10 x 15cm
4" x 6": 101.6 x 152.4mm
A6/4.1" x 5.8": 105 x 148.5mm
13 x 18cm/5" x 7": 127 x 178mm
Letter: 216 x 279.4mm
A4/8.3" x 11.7": 210 x 297mm
A3/11.7" X 16.5": 297 x 420mm
Layout:
Auto-Printer Setup (Default Option)
1-up/Borderless: Borderless, 1 image per sheet
1 up: 1 image per sheet
2 up: 2 images per sheet
3 up: 3 images per sheet
4up: 4 images per sheet
Note: The manuals of the A200 and the A700 list an option of 8up, which would print 8 pictures per sheet, however, the printing menus of the A200 and the A700 do not contain the 8up option.
Date imprint:
Day and time: Attaches the date and time on the picture (default option)
Date: Only the date is attached
Off: Doesnt attach the date
Page 2:
Unmark All: With this option you remove the DPOF icon of the shots you selected while youre not printing. A message saying: "Cancel All?" will appear, press the center of your controller/multi selector to say yes.
Print All/Folder Print: With this option you can print all the shots in the selected folder of your memory card (if you have more than one) or the whole memory card if you have just 1 folder. In the A100/200/300/350 its called Print All and in the A700/900 its called Folder Print.
Select the desired folder to print with the controller/multi selector, press the center of it and a message saying "Print images?" will appear, press the center of your controller/multi selector again and the printing will start.
Bonus option for the A700/900
If you possess a A700/900, you got a bonus option you can exploit and save time.
If youre watching your pictures on a HDTV using the HDMI cable, you can print your pictures at the same time!
How? With the wireless remote commander!
Heres how:
- Plug your camera to a HDTV using a HDMI cable
- Plug your camera to a PictBridge compatible printer
- On the TV, display the image you want to print
- On the Remote Commander press PRINT and Voila!
It's possible that the paramaters for the camera are fixed as follows:
Number of sheets: 1
Paper size/layout: Auto
Date imprint: Off*Important note: If you connect your camera to a TV or HDTV with the video cable (the one with a yellow jack), the PRINT button is disabled. This function only works with a HDTV connected with a HDMI cable.
Closure
PictBridge is a function in Alpha DSLRs that allows you to print pictures for your friends or family in a fast and easy way. If you dont have a computer or dont want to start it up, you dont have to if you got a printer thats PictBridge compatible and your Alpha DSLR.
Learn to use it and get the most out of it!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Control Dial Setup-Pick Your Own Setting
The Sony Alpha DSLR cameras offer a great deal of customization so the user can use it the way he/she wants it to. Customizing the camera to your preference can result in a faster operation.
One function that allows customization is the Control Dial Setup.
Dial Or Dials?
The purpose of the dial(s) in your Alpha DSLR is/are to change either shutter speed or aperture number.
Depending on what model you've got, you may have 1 or 2 dials:
A100/200/300/350: 1 dial
A700/900: 2 dials
For the cameras with 1 dial, you can move one setting with it, with cameras with 2 dials, you control each setting with each dial.
But the good news is, if you got 1 dial, you can pick which setting to move, and if you got 2 dials, you can chose where you want the settings.
Choosing your weapon of choice
You may wonder: "Why do I need to change the setting on the dial or the order they are arranged?"
The answer is: Customization
Customizing something means that its designed or set in a particular way thats not usually the normal way.
If you change the steering wheel of your car for a sports steering wheel, that would be one example of customization. You're making the item more comfortable for YOUR use, and the more comfortable you're with an item while using it, your control and performance increases.
And this is what you're aiming at with a camera.
There are photographers who like to use the shutter speed more than aperture (like sports photographers) and viceversa(like portrait photographers). Or they use both but they give preference to aperture and they need it more handy than shutter speed.
If you got 1 dial in your Alpha DSLR, you will have to pick which setting you use or will use the most: shutter speed or aperture. The default setting is shutter speed.
If you got 2 dials, you can select to have shutter speed in the front and aperture in the back dial or viceversa.
To have these two important settings the way you want them to will give you a faster access to them when you're shooting.
Invoking the Control Dial Setup.
To set which value to change or in what order the values are arranged, you need to do the following:
A100: Menu->Custom (clockwork icon) Menu Page 2->Ctrl Dial Set->Shutter Speed or Aperture
A200/300/350: Menu->Custom (clockwork icon) Menu Page 1->Ctrl Dial Set->Shutter Speed or Aperture (These cameras have just one page for the Custom Menu, so you can't miss it)
A700/900: Menu->Custom (clockwork icon) Menu Page 2->Ctrl Dial Set->Front SS/Rear F/no or Front F/no/Rear SS
SS= Shutter Speed
F/no= F number
Notes Of Use.
In the Alpha 100/200/300/350 to use the other setting the dial doesn't immediately control, you need to press the Exposure Compensation button (the one with the square with the plus and minus icons).
Example:
You chose Shutter speed to be controlled by the dial, which means you will need to press the Exposure Compensation button and move the dial to control the aperture. If you set aperture to be controlled by the dial, you will need to press the Exposure Compensation button and move the dial to control shutter speed. You need to keep the button pressed while moving the dial.
In Alpha 700/900 its best to control the rear dial with your thumb, since is the finger closest to that dial, moving another finger may require you to pay attention to what youre doing, and what you want is seamless control while shooting. Although if you feel more comfortable using another finger, go ahead :)
Closure.
Learning to use your camera is utterly important, but just as important is that you set it the way you feel most comfortable with it in order to improve your response time and performance while using it.
The Sony Alpha DSLRs give you plenty of customization, that means you got options to chose from, USE THEM!
One function that allows customization is the Control Dial Setup.
Dial Or Dials?
The purpose of the dial(s) in your Alpha DSLR is/are to change either shutter speed or aperture number.
Depending on what model you've got, you may have 1 or 2 dials:
A100/200/300/350: 1 dial
A700/900: 2 dials
For the cameras with 1 dial, you can move one setting with it, with cameras with 2 dials, you control each setting with each dial.
But the good news is, if you got 1 dial, you can pick which setting to move, and if you got 2 dials, you can chose where you want the settings.
Choosing your weapon of choice
You may wonder: "Why do I need to change the setting on the dial or the order they are arranged?"
The answer is: Customization
Customizing something means that its designed or set in a particular way thats not usually the normal way.
If you change the steering wheel of your car for a sports steering wheel, that would be one example of customization. You're making the item more comfortable for YOUR use, and the more comfortable you're with an item while using it, your control and performance increases.
And this is what you're aiming at with a camera.
There are photographers who like to use the shutter speed more than aperture (like sports photographers) and viceversa(like portrait photographers). Or they use both but they give preference to aperture and they need it more handy than shutter speed.
If you got 1 dial in your Alpha DSLR, you will have to pick which setting you use or will use the most: shutter speed or aperture. The default setting is shutter speed.
If you got 2 dials, you can select to have shutter speed in the front and aperture in the back dial or viceversa.
To have these two important settings the way you want them to will give you a faster access to them when you're shooting.
Invoking the Control Dial Setup.
To set which value to change or in what order the values are arranged, you need to do the following:
A100: Menu->Custom (clockwork icon) Menu Page 2->Ctrl Dial Set->Shutter Speed or Aperture
A200/300/350: Menu->Custom (clockwork icon) Menu Page 1->Ctrl Dial Set->Shutter Speed or Aperture (These cameras have just one page for the Custom Menu, so you can't miss it)
A700/900: Menu->Custom (clockwork icon) Menu Page 2->Ctrl Dial Set->Front SS/Rear F/no or Front F/no/Rear SS
SS= Shutter Speed
F/no= F number
Notes Of Use.
In the Alpha 100/200/300/350 to use the other setting the dial doesn't immediately control, you need to press the Exposure Compensation button (the one with the square with the plus and minus icons).
Example:
You chose Shutter speed to be controlled by the dial, which means you will need to press the Exposure Compensation button and move the dial to control the aperture. If you set aperture to be controlled by the dial, you will need to press the Exposure Compensation button and move the dial to control shutter speed. You need to keep the button pressed while moving the dial.
In Alpha 700/900 its best to control the rear dial with your thumb, since is the finger closest to that dial, moving another finger may require you to pay attention to what youre doing, and what you want is seamless control while shooting. Although if you feel more comfortable using another finger, go ahead :)
Closure.
Learning to use your camera is utterly important, but just as important is that you set it the way you feel most comfortable with it in order to improve your response time and performance while using it.
The Sony Alpha DSLRs give you plenty of customization, that means you got options to chose from, USE THEM!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Flash Off Mode-Or How To Get Away With It In Low Light
The following article discusses a function that applies only to the A200/300/350. (Hey, they also deserve their own exclusivity from time to time ;). If you don't own one of those cameras but a A100/700/900, you can still read to learn some tricks you may not know.
The usual solution.
Here is a scenario for you:
You're on vacation out of your country, you take a guided tour that takes you to a famous museum or church in the place you're visiting. You're well equipped with your Sony Alpha DSLR and set to take pictures of the place.
When you arrive to the museum/church, you start taking pictures right away, but you notice the pictures are coming out dark or poorly lit, so you resort to pop up your flash and shoot away.
But as soon as the tour guide or the museum/church guard notice the strobe light, they tell you its forbidden to take pictures with flash or at all. The worst case scenario is that your camera is taken away from you while you're going through the place and returned to you at your departure.
The usual problem.
Usually museums and churches (or similar places) are lit with soft lights or even candles in some churches. Almost every museum/church in the world prohibit visitors to take pictures with flash or at all. The no-pictures-at-all approach is to prevent visitors to fire the flash accidentally or in purpose.
The human eye has no problem dealing with soft light, you can see well in it, but the camera can not. The reason for this will be explained in an article soon.
Back to the tour, so you've been told you cant use flash inside the building, lets assume that the guard who told you this wont take away your camera.
Since you cant add that extra light the camera needs to take the picture properly, you wont get any visible shots unless you stay behind the group to take shots with a slow shutter speed to allow the camera to gather enough light or you raise the ISO to get some speed back.
Ah-ah, the tour guide tells you that you cant stay behind, you need to remain with the group or else you'll make the guards nervous and possibly risk they ask you to leave for good.
So you cant stay behind and take your time, and the tour guide is going rather fast through the place so you cant switch to Manual Mode and take the pictures with your own settings or you aren't used yet to use manual modes; you rather let the camera handle the situation since you're not that experienced yet shooting under low light conditions.
To do so, you'd have to leave the camera in Auto mode. But guess what? In Auto mode, the camera will ALWAYS fire the flash in a low light situation!
So, this comes down to two scenarios:
1.- Miss the chance to take pictures of the place you're visiting.
Or
2.- Use Flash Off Mode.
What is Flash Off Mode and it's purpose. .
Flash Off Mode is a mode found only in the Alpha 200/300/350.
The reason for this is because those cameras have an in-built pop-up flash that can be either controlled by you or the camera. In Auto mode, it will fire when the camera thinks its necessary and it will pop it up automatically if the flash is in its down position. In other modes you can use it if you think its necessary by pressing the little button below the flash on the left side.
The A100/700 have also an in-built flash, but those are manually raised. Its completely up to the user whether the flash is used or not. The advantage of this is that the flash wont raise and fire on its own even in Auto mode. This is why these cameras don't have the Flash Off Mode.
The A900 doesn't have an in-built flash at all and uses only dedicated flashguns, so the lack of this mode is self-explained.
The Flash Off Mode is Auto's brother. It is an automatic mode, but it will NOT fire the flash.
The purpose of this mode is to get you out of hard situations like the visit to the museum/church.
The main difference and the reason for it.
As previously mentioned, the main difference between Auto and Flash Off modes is the fact that the flash wont be fired in Flash Off. Besides that, it acts just the same as Auto mode.
So why its an extra mode needed to prevent the flash going off?
The Auto mode does everything for you, you just need to point and shoot.
Since you're leaving the decision of what settings to use to the camera, the camera will determine what is the best way to get a properly (according to itself) lit shot.
If the camera determines that the aperture and shutter speed it has selected wont work with the light available, it will pop up the flash in order to increase the light available and use a shutter speed/aperture combination that wont require keeping the shutter open for 1 or more seconds.
The camera will always determine if the flash is needed or not in Auto, and will always raise it when it thinks its necessary.
The slight problem is that you may want to have the camera in Auto but don't want it to fire the flash at all. This poses a problem, since the flash is electronically and manually controlled.
In Auto mode, the camera will raise almost all the time the pop-up flash, unless its REALLY bright. I still haven't seen a museum or church that is so bright on the inside that the Auto mode will think "Flash is not needed here, plenty of light to work with". And probably that will never happen.
The good news is that in your Alpha 200/300/350, you can still use Auto mode without flash and getting away with it, and that's the reason for Flash Off Mode. To provide the benefits of Auto mode but without the flash.
Flash Off Mode will override the camera's impulse to raise the pop-up flash and let you take pictures in low light while just pointing and shooting.
How to invoke it and notes of use.
To use this mode, just switch your Mode dial from Auto to Flash Off, that's the icon with the flash icon crossed inside a circle and voila, you're ready to go.
This mode is useful even in situations of plenty of light, because sometimes you may want the shots a bit underexposed in order to preserve detail or certain bright subjects. If the flash is fired, it may just blow out the picture completely. This mode is also useful if you're at a party or event and want to take pictures of people without the flash burning their retinas.
However, this mode was considered mostly for those situations in which you CANT use the flash, such as the museum or church.
When shooting in low light, the camera will select a slow shutter speed (will take longer to take the picture in order to allow more light reach the sensor) a big aperture or raise the ISO, but it will tend to select slow shutter speed most of the time.
The trade-off is that, with slow shutter speed, camera shake is more prone to be recorded, making the final shot look blurry. The trade off of a big aperture is that less of your subject is in focus. The trade-off with high ISO is that noise is increased.
In photography its a guarantee you will be always trading a setting to get another one. Either you bite the bullet and choose a setting or you don't get pictures at all. Think of the following when shooting under low light circumstances.
Benefits of slow shutter speed: It will allow you to take a properly lit picture of your subject without the use of flash or raising the ISO, keeping the noise levels controlled.
Downsides of slow shutter speed: Longer time required to take a picture. Camera movement is recorded while the shutter is open, requires that you hold the camera very still or you use a tripod/monopod. If camera movement occurs, picture will be blurry.
Benefits of a big aperture: It allows more light to pass through the lens, it will help to increase the shutter speed if required, picture wont need a long time to be recorded.
Downsides of a big aperture: Less of your subject is in focus, the risk of overexposing the shot is increased if the user doesn't know aperture value changes well enough.
Benefits of high ISO: Sensor becomes more sensible to light, requiring less of it to take a picture. Shutter speed can be increased and/or aperture can be closed down to have more of the subject in focus. A high ISO and a fast shutter speed wont take a long time to take a picture.
Downsides of high ISO: Noise levels are increased, this translates in color blotches all over the picture, even in places where no color is seen. Loss of detail and focus sharpness can also be lost as a result of using high ISOs.
Work-arounds for these issues:
Slow shutter speed:
Use a tripod/monopod: There are light and cheap available, as long as it keeps the camera steady, it will help.
Lean against a wall or in your knee: By doing this, you make your body more stable and you can hold the camera better to reduce shake. If you're standing, grab the camera's grip with one hand and support the lens from below with the other one, lightly tuck your elbows against your body. If you're kneeling down, hold the camera as mentioned and place the elbow of the arm holding the lens over your knee.
Use the SuperSteadyShot function: By using SSS, the camera will compensate for camera movement by moving the sensor the other way in order to keep it still. This will allow you to reduce the speed a few more seconds. Keep in mind that how good it works depends on light conditions and lens used (and how much you move, if you rattle like a dry leaf, it wont do much).
Use the self-timer: You can set the camera on a steady place and set the self-timer to 2 or 10 seconds. Press the Drive button (the one with a clock and several squares in line) and look for self-timer option. This will give you time to set the camera and avoid hand shake of being recorded.
Use a remote control: You can use this or this one to release the shutter without touching the camera.
Use a cord: (You need a long piece for this to work) Wrap a piece of cord or string around the lens and then stretch the string or cord down until you can step on it to make it tight. The tension this will create should help reduce the shake. BE CAREFUL NOT TO STRETCH THE STRING TOO MUCH OR MAKE IT TOO TIGHT OR YOU WILL DAMAGE YOUR LENS.
Use editing software: You can take a picture with fast shutter speed and try to fix it using photographic editing software, but be careful, if the picture is too dark, there may not be any information recorded to bring back.
Bite the bullet: Increase the ISO or/and open the aperture of your lens as much as possible to gain shutter speed.
Big aperture:
Use editing software: You can use photographic editing software to artificially focus the areas of your subject not in focus or to fix the light levels if your picture came out overexposed or underexposed.
Bite the bullet: Increase the ISO or/and reduce shutter speed in order to close down the lens.
High ISO:
Use editing software: The most common technique used to remove noise from pictures, is to use photographic editing programs and/or dedicated noise removal programs. They will remove almost or all of the color blotches and bring back the lost detail.
Bite the bullet: Increase shutter speed or/and open the aperture of your lens.
Closure and a truth revealed.
Now you know whats Flash Off Mode is and the use for it.
I'm sure that you aren't too pleased to have to trade something in order to get something else when shooting in low light, but that's how it is. Trade-offs are inherent in photography as problems are to life. The advantage you have is that now you know what options you got and the advantages/disadvantages of them.
And if you think that tradeoffs stop with enough light, you're wrong. Tradeoffs never stop occurring.
If you still wonder why museums or churches (or similar) are so poorly lit and wont allow you to take pictures with flash, the answer is simple:
Flash light burns paintings, metals and stone. Obviously they will not catch fire with a flash, but think of this:
A flash strobe is a sudden burst of light, intense light. If you place a sheet of paper, a piece of metal or a stone (especially if its porous) in the sun for a long time, they will turn dark, dry and their colors will be lost. The paper will become easier to crack or rip as well.
The same happens with flash, except that its a sudden burst, not over a long time. Sure, if you fire your flash once, nothing will happen with the picture or statue, but think of all the people who think the same, its a big number. Imagine a painting that its seen by a lot of people in one day, if all of them take 1 picture with flash of that painting, that will accelerate its decay. Think of how much people have a camera and visit that museum of church, if 300 people shot daily a painting with flash, the picture would be rendered useless and beyond repair within a year or less.
Light is a form of radiation, its intensity its a ratio of how fast it accelerates decay in matter.
Thats why museums and churches use low output light bulbs or candles to lit the area, it protects the contents inside them. If they used 100 watts lightbulbs and allowed flash pictures, the damage to the objects in display would be accelerated and maybe repairs wont fix the damage suffered.
There will be museums/churches where you wont be able to even turn your camera on, and in those cases there is not much you can do but to enjoy the place with your own senses.
But for those that will allow pictures with no flash, you can get away with it by using Flash Off Mode in your A200/300/350.
See you next time.
The usual solution.
Here is a scenario for you:
You're on vacation out of your country, you take a guided tour that takes you to a famous museum or church in the place you're visiting. You're well equipped with your Sony Alpha DSLR and set to take pictures of the place.
When you arrive to the museum/church, you start taking pictures right away, but you notice the pictures are coming out dark or poorly lit, so you resort to pop up your flash and shoot away.
But as soon as the tour guide or the museum/church guard notice the strobe light, they tell you its forbidden to take pictures with flash or at all. The worst case scenario is that your camera is taken away from you while you're going through the place and returned to you at your departure.
The usual problem.
Usually museums and churches (or similar places) are lit with soft lights or even candles in some churches. Almost every museum/church in the world prohibit visitors to take pictures with flash or at all. The no-pictures-at-all approach is to prevent visitors to fire the flash accidentally or in purpose.
The human eye has no problem dealing with soft light, you can see well in it, but the camera can not. The reason for this will be explained in an article soon.
Back to the tour, so you've been told you cant use flash inside the building, lets assume that the guard who told you this wont take away your camera.
Since you cant add that extra light the camera needs to take the picture properly, you wont get any visible shots unless you stay behind the group to take shots with a slow shutter speed to allow the camera to gather enough light or you raise the ISO to get some speed back.
Ah-ah, the tour guide tells you that you cant stay behind, you need to remain with the group or else you'll make the guards nervous and possibly risk they ask you to leave for good.
So you cant stay behind and take your time, and the tour guide is going rather fast through the place so you cant switch to Manual Mode and take the pictures with your own settings or you aren't used yet to use manual modes; you rather let the camera handle the situation since you're not that experienced yet shooting under low light conditions.
To do so, you'd have to leave the camera in Auto mode. But guess what? In Auto mode, the camera will ALWAYS fire the flash in a low light situation!
So, this comes down to two scenarios:
1.- Miss the chance to take pictures of the place you're visiting.
Or
2.- Use Flash Off Mode.
What is Flash Off Mode and it's purpose. .
Flash Off Mode is a mode found only in the Alpha 200/300/350.
The reason for this is because those cameras have an in-built pop-up flash that can be either controlled by you or the camera. In Auto mode, it will fire when the camera thinks its necessary and it will pop it up automatically if the flash is in its down position. In other modes you can use it if you think its necessary by pressing the little button below the flash on the left side.
The A100/700 have also an in-built flash, but those are manually raised. Its completely up to the user whether the flash is used or not. The advantage of this is that the flash wont raise and fire on its own even in Auto mode. This is why these cameras don't have the Flash Off Mode.
The A900 doesn't have an in-built flash at all and uses only dedicated flashguns, so the lack of this mode is self-explained.
The Flash Off Mode is Auto's brother. It is an automatic mode, but it will NOT fire the flash.
The purpose of this mode is to get you out of hard situations like the visit to the museum/church.
The main difference and the reason for it.
As previously mentioned, the main difference between Auto and Flash Off modes is the fact that the flash wont be fired in Flash Off. Besides that, it acts just the same as Auto mode.
So why its an extra mode needed to prevent the flash going off?
The Auto mode does everything for you, you just need to point and shoot.
Since you're leaving the decision of what settings to use to the camera, the camera will determine what is the best way to get a properly (according to itself) lit shot.
If the camera determines that the aperture and shutter speed it has selected wont work with the light available, it will pop up the flash in order to increase the light available and use a shutter speed/aperture combination that wont require keeping the shutter open for 1 or more seconds.
The camera will always determine if the flash is needed or not in Auto, and will always raise it when it thinks its necessary.
The slight problem is that you may want to have the camera in Auto but don't want it to fire the flash at all. This poses a problem, since the flash is electronically and manually controlled.
In Auto mode, the camera will raise almost all the time the pop-up flash, unless its REALLY bright. I still haven't seen a museum or church that is so bright on the inside that the Auto mode will think "Flash is not needed here, plenty of light to work with". And probably that will never happen.
The good news is that in your Alpha 200/300/350, you can still use Auto mode without flash and getting away with it, and that's the reason for Flash Off Mode. To provide the benefits of Auto mode but without the flash.
Flash Off Mode will override the camera's impulse to raise the pop-up flash and let you take pictures in low light while just pointing and shooting.
How to invoke it and notes of use.
To use this mode, just switch your Mode dial from Auto to Flash Off, that's the icon with the flash icon crossed inside a circle and voila, you're ready to go.
This mode is useful even in situations of plenty of light, because sometimes you may want the shots a bit underexposed in order to preserve detail or certain bright subjects. If the flash is fired, it may just blow out the picture completely. This mode is also useful if you're at a party or event and want to take pictures of people without the flash burning their retinas.
However, this mode was considered mostly for those situations in which you CANT use the flash, such as the museum or church.
When shooting in low light, the camera will select a slow shutter speed (will take longer to take the picture in order to allow more light reach the sensor) a big aperture or raise the ISO, but it will tend to select slow shutter speed most of the time.
The trade-off is that, with slow shutter speed, camera shake is more prone to be recorded, making the final shot look blurry. The trade off of a big aperture is that less of your subject is in focus. The trade-off with high ISO is that noise is increased.
In photography its a guarantee you will be always trading a setting to get another one. Either you bite the bullet and choose a setting or you don't get pictures at all. Think of the following when shooting under low light circumstances.
Benefits of slow shutter speed: It will allow you to take a properly lit picture of your subject without the use of flash or raising the ISO, keeping the noise levels controlled.
Downsides of slow shutter speed: Longer time required to take a picture. Camera movement is recorded while the shutter is open, requires that you hold the camera very still or you use a tripod/monopod. If camera movement occurs, picture will be blurry.
Benefits of a big aperture: It allows more light to pass through the lens, it will help to increase the shutter speed if required, picture wont need a long time to be recorded.
Downsides of a big aperture: Less of your subject is in focus, the risk of overexposing the shot is increased if the user doesn't know aperture value changes well enough.
Benefits of high ISO: Sensor becomes more sensible to light, requiring less of it to take a picture. Shutter speed can be increased and/or aperture can be closed down to have more of the subject in focus. A high ISO and a fast shutter speed wont take a long time to take a picture.
Downsides of high ISO: Noise levels are increased, this translates in color blotches all over the picture, even in places where no color is seen. Loss of detail and focus sharpness can also be lost as a result of using high ISOs.
Work-arounds for these issues:
Slow shutter speed:
Use a tripod/monopod: There are light and cheap available, as long as it keeps the camera steady, it will help.
Lean against a wall or in your knee: By doing this, you make your body more stable and you can hold the camera better to reduce shake. If you're standing, grab the camera's grip with one hand and support the lens from below with the other one, lightly tuck your elbows against your body. If you're kneeling down, hold the camera as mentioned and place the elbow of the arm holding the lens over your knee.
Use the SuperSteadyShot function: By using SSS, the camera will compensate for camera movement by moving the sensor the other way in order to keep it still. This will allow you to reduce the speed a few more seconds. Keep in mind that how good it works depends on light conditions and lens used (and how much you move, if you rattle like a dry leaf, it wont do much).
Use the self-timer: You can set the camera on a steady place and set the self-timer to 2 or 10 seconds. Press the Drive button (the one with a clock and several squares in line) and look for self-timer option. This will give you time to set the camera and avoid hand shake of being recorded.
Use a remote control: You can use this or this one to release the shutter without touching the camera.
Use a cord: (You need a long piece for this to work) Wrap a piece of cord or string around the lens and then stretch the string or cord down until you can step on it to make it tight. The tension this will create should help reduce the shake. BE CAREFUL NOT TO STRETCH THE STRING TOO MUCH OR MAKE IT TOO TIGHT OR YOU WILL DAMAGE YOUR LENS.
Use editing software: You can take a picture with fast shutter speed and try to fix it using photographic editing software, but be careful, if the picture is too dark, there may not be any information recorded to bring back.
Bite the bullet: Increase the ISO or/and open the aperture of your lens as much as possible to gain shutter speed.
Big aperture:
Use editing software: You can use photographic editing software to artificially focus the areas of your subject not in focus or to fix the light levels if your picture came out overexposed or underexposed.
Bite the bullet: Increase the ISO or/and reduce shutter speed in order to close down the lens.
High ISO:
Use editing software: The most common technique used to remove noise from pictures, is to use photographic editing programs and/or dedicated noise removal programs. They will remove almost or all of the color blotches and bring back the lost detail.
Bite the bullet: Increase shutter speed or/and open the aperture of your lens.
Closure and a truth revealed.
Now you know whats Flash Off Mode is and the use for it.
I'm sure that you aren't too pleased to have to trade something in order to get something else when shooting in low light, but that's how it is. Trade-offs are inherent in photography as problems are to life. The advantage you have is that now you know what options you got and the advantages/disadvantages of them.
And if you think that tradeoffs stop with enough light, you're wrong. Tradeoffs never stop occurring.
If you still wonder why museums or churches (or similar) are so poorly lit and wont allow you to take pictures with flash, the answer is simple:
Flash light burns paintings, metals and stone. Obviously they will not catch fire with a flash, but think of this:
A flash strobe is a sudden burst of light, intense light. If you place a sheet of paper, a piece of metal or a stone (especially if its porous) in the sun for a long time, they will turn dark, dry and their colors will be lost. The paper will become easier to crack or rip as well.
The same happens with flash, except that its a sudden burst, not over a long time. Sure, if you fire your flash once, nothing will happen with the picture or statue, but think of all the people who think the same, its a big number. Imagine a painting that its seen by a lot of people in one day, if all of them take 1 picture with flash of that painting, that will accelerate its decay. Think of how much people have a camera and visit that museum of church, if 300 people shot daily a painting with flash, the picture would be rendered useless and beyond repair within a year or less.
Light is a form of radiation, its intensity its a ratio of how fast it accelerates decay in matter.
Thats why museums and churches use low output light bulbs or candles to lit the area, it protects the contents inside them. If they used 100 watts lightbulbs and allowed flash pictures, the damage to the objects in display would be accelerated and maybe repairs wont fix the damage suffered.
There will be museums/churches where you wont be able to even turn your camera on, and in those cases there is not much you can do but to enjoy the place with your own senses.
But for those that will allow pictures with no flash, you can get away with it by using Flash Off Mode in your A200/300/350.
See you next time.
Friday, October 17, 2008
AF Area-Or How To Place Focus Where You Want It
A familiar scenario.
It may have happened to you that you came across a sight worth taking a picture of, you framed your subject, half pressed the shutter, made sure everything was set, and fired away. And you got a nice picture to show around.
However, that scenario not always plays itself that way.
You may have come across a sight you wanted to take a picture of, you framed the subject, half pressed the shutter and...the camera focused on something else. This happens especially if youre shooting in low light or low contrast conditions.
But why does it happen?
Meet the focusing sensors.
Your Sony Alpha DSLR (and every other camera brand DSLR) has focusing sensors.
The focusing sensors are those little stripes in the viewfinder that light up red when you focus with them. NOT to be confused with the thin black stripes on the very corners of the frame, those are to compose when shooting in widescreen mode (16:9 format)
Those focusing sensors are the camera's aid to correctly focus automatically on your subject. They work by detecting contrast, or how strong is the difference of the light values in your picture. Try shooting the blue sky with nothing else in frame and then with a subject in frame, like a leaf. Since the blue sky wont offer another light value for the sensors to compare, they will get confused and wont focus, but if you got another subject, they got something to compare against and one of them will focus.
When a sensor detects more contrast above all others, thats the one that turns red and you got focus lock, and thats the one the camera uses.
The camera's hard choice.
The problem is that sometimes the sensor the camera picked isnt the place where YOU want the focus to be at. The camera may have focused on the farthest sensor to the right and you actually wanted to use the upper left corner sensor.
This can ruin your shot and potentially make that you lose the moment.
The camera has to guess which sensor to use depending on which sensor is covering the subject. Most of the time it will guess correctly, but there will be times when you need to intervene directly.
AutoFocus technology has improved a lot since it was introduced in 1985, but there are still times where it wont do what you want it to.
This is why the Sony Alphas have a function called AF Area.
Know your AF Sensor count.
Before moving on to what AF Area is and how to use it, lets first list the AF sensors available to the Sony Alphas so you can know how many you have at your disposal.
Alpha 100: 9 focusing sensors, 8 lines and 1 center cross sensor.
Alpha 200: 9 focusing sensors, 8 lines and 1 center cross sensor.
Alpha 300: 9 focusing sensors, 8 lines and 1 center cross sensor.
Alpha 350: 9 focusing sensors, 8 lines and 1 center cross sensor.
Alpha 700: 11 focusing sensors, 10 lines and 1 center cross sensor.
Alpha 900: 9 focusing sensors, 8 lines and 1 center cross sensor plus 10 assist sensors.
By lines I mean the single line sensors around the viewfinder, the center cross sensor is the middle one, the square shaped sensor, its called center cross because its made of two sensors that run parallel to each other, this sensor is designed for apertures of 2.8 and larger. This sensor has more advantage over the others to acquire focus due to its double capacity to detect contrast.
From what Ive read about the A900, the 10 assit sensors are available when you use Wide AF (this setting will be covered in the next section). Its featured also in one of the videos about the A900 I posted in this thread.
AF Area explained.
The AF Area is a function that allows you to tell the camera to pick which sensor to use or you tell it which sensor YOU want to use.
There are three options you can chose with this function:
Wide: The camera has all the sensors available to pick from. In this mode you can compose a group shot and the camera will pick a sensor to focus with.
Spot: In this mode the camera will ONLY use the center cross sensor, nothing else.
Local: In this mode you can select any of the sensors in your viewfinder by moving the Controller (A100/200/300/350) or the Multi selector joystick (A700/900).
If you press the center button of the Controller or press the center of the Multi selector, it will force the camera to use the center cross sensor. This is a handy feature if you need a focus sensor picked NOW or to override a wrong sensor choice made by the camera.
Have it in mind that by doing this, you skip the part of half pressing the shutter, since the camera will achieve focus lock. In this case, press the shutter completely after achieving focus lock.
How to change AF Area selection.
A100: Turn your Function (Fn) Dial to Focus, half press the button in the dial and use the controller or the control dial to browse and select AF Area. There you will have the 3 options displayed.
A200/300/350: Press the Function (Fn) Button, select the AF Area window and select your desired option.
A700/900: There are two ways to access AF- Area with these cameras.
Menu: To select which AF-Area setting to use by going through the Menu:
Menu->Recording (camera icon) menu 3->AF Area->Wide, Spot or Local
Using the Fn button: Press the Fn button and using the Multi selector move to the third box of the second row from the top. That will be the AF Area window. You can either change it while using Quick Navi and the control dials or by pressing the center of the Multi selector to go to Exclusive screen.
Uses for the AF-Area settings.
This is a quick guide of scenarios in which you can use the 3 settings of AF-Area.
Wide: When taking group shots or shooting a moving object. The Wide setting will give you plenty of space to move and there will be a sensor that can be used if your subject goes to the frame's edges or the center.
Spot: Portraits, if youre shooting centered portraits, or product shots, this one will spare you the time the camera will take to chose a sensor to use. If youre shooting something in the center, this is the sensor to pick.
Local: When your shooting pictures where the focus has to be precisely at one point in particular, you use Local. It will allow you to set the focus anywhere you want within the sensor range. If youre shooting a portrait and you want the focus to be in the person's eyes and one of your sensors is over them, you chose this one.
The only drawback from this setting is that it takes longer to set (although Im talking of seconds or faster than that) than Wide or Spot. I suggest you use this on subjects you can take your time to shoot or when doing pictures with focus placed in a specific place.
The good news is that the Controller or Multi selector are pretty quick to use and set which sensor to use.
Closure.
The Sony Alpha DSLRs do a good job of guessing the focus point of your pictures most of the time, the problem is that sometimes the system will not be able to resolve the situation and youll have to intervene.
Now that you know what AF-Area is and what are its possibilites, you can overcome those times where AF wont find a focusing spot or when you want to place the focus on a particular point in the frame, due to artistic or practical intentions. You may want to blur a part of your subject and place the focus someplace else, or you may want to avoid the hassle of changing the sensor each time or waiting for the camera to do it, or you just want the camera to do it itself.
Whatever your intentions when taking a picture, now you have another piece of know-how that will improve your control of the camera and maybe make the difference between a shot that looks good but its not what you want and a shot that is what you wanted in the first place.
Practice with this setting if you havent, it may help you on those situations where the human input is more accurate than the camera's.
Until next time.
It may have happened to you that you came across a sight worth taking a picture of, you framed your subject, half pressed the shutter, made sure everything was set, and fired away. And you got a nice picture to show around.
However, that scenario not always plays itself that way.
You may have come across a sight you wanted to take a picture of, you framed the subject, half pressed the shutter and...the camera focused on something else. This happens especially if youre shooting in low light or low contrast conditions.
But why does it happen?
Meet the focusing sensors.
Your Sony Alpha DSLR (and every other camera brand DSLR) has focusing sensors.
The focusing sensors are those little stripes in the viewfinder that light up red when you focus with them. NOT to be confused with the thin black stripes on the very corners of the frame, those are to compose when shooting in widescreen mode (16:9 format)
Those focusing sensors are the camera's aid to correctly focus automatically on your subject. They work by detecting contrast, or how strong is the difference of the light values in your picture. Try shooting the blue sky with nothing else in frame and then with a subject in frame, like a leaf. Since the blue sky wont offer another light value for the sensors to compare, they will get confused and wont focus, but if you got another subject, they got something to compare against and one of them will focus.
When a sensor detects more contrast above all others, thats the one that turns red and you got focus lock, and thats the one the camera uses.
The camera's hard choice.
The problem is that sometimes the sensor the camera picked isnt the place where YOU want the focus to be at. The camera may have focused on the farthest sensor to the right and you actually wanted to use the upper left corner sensor.
This can ruin your shot and potentially make that you lose the moment.
The camera has to guess which sensor to use depending on which sensor is covering the subject. Most of the time it will guess correctly, but there will be times when you need to intervene directly.
AutoFocus technology has improved a lot since it was introduced in 1985, but there are still times where it wont do what you want it to.
This is why the Sony Alphas have a function called AF Area.
Know your AF Sensor count.
Before moving on to what AF Area is and how to use it, lets first list the AF sensors available to the Sony Alphas so you can know how many you have at your disposal.
Alpha 100: 9 focusing sensors, 8 lines and 1 center cross sensor.
Alpha 200: 9 focusing sensors, 8 lines and 1 center cross sensor.
Alpha 300: 9 focusing sensors, 8 lines and 1 center cross sensor.
Alpha 350: 9 focusing sensors, 8 lines and 1 center cross sensor.
Alpha 700: 11 focusing sensors, 10 lines and 1 center cross sensor.
Alpha 900: 9 focusing sensors, 8 lines and 1 center cross sensor plus 10 assist sensors.
By lines I mean the single line sensors around the viewfinder, the center cross sensor is the middle one, the square shaped sensor, its called center cross because its made of two sensors that run parallel to each other, this sensor is designed for apertures of 2.8 and larger. This sensor has more advantage over the others to acquire focus due to its double capacity to detect contrast.
From what Ive read about the A900, the 10 assit sensors are available when you use Wide AF (this setting will be covered in the next section). Its featured also in one of the videos about the A900 I posted in this thread.
AF Area explained.
The AF Area is a function that allows you to tell the camera to pick which sensor to use or you tell it which sensor YOU want to use.
There are three options you can chose with this function:
Wide: The camera has all the sensors available to pick from. In this mode you can compose a group shot and the camera will pick a sensor to focus with.
Spot: In this mode the camera will ONLY use the center cross sensor, nothing else.
Local: In this mode you can select any of the sensors in your viewfinder by moving the Controller (A100/200/300/350) or the Multi selector joystick (A700/900).
If you press the center button of the Controller or press the center of the Multi selector, it will force the camera to use the center cross sensor. This is a handy feature if you need a focus sensor picked NOW or to override a wrong sensor choice made by the camera.
Have it in mind that by doing this, you skip the part of half pressing the shutter, since the camera will achieve focus lock. In this case, press the shutter completely after achieving focus lock.
How to change AF Area selection.
A100: Turn your Function (Fn) Dial to Focus, half press the button in the dial and use the controller or the control dial to browse and select AF Area. There you will have the 3 options displayed.
A200/300/350: Press the Function (Fn) Button, select the AF Area window and select your desired option.
A700/900: There are two ways to access AF- Area with these cameras.
Menu: To select which AF-Area setting to use by going through the Menu:
Menu->Recording (camera icon) menu 3->AF Area->Wide, Spot or Local
Using the Fn button: Press the Fn button and using the Multi selector move to the third box of the second row from the top. That will be the AF Area window. You can either change it while using Quick Navi and the control dials or by pressing the center of the Multi selector to go to Exclusive screen.
Uses for the AF-Area settings.
This is a quick guide of scenarios in which you can use the 3 settings of AF-Area.
Wide: When taking group shots or shooting a moving object. The Wide setting will give you plenty of space to move and there will be a sensor that can be used if your subject goes to the frame's edges or the center.
Spot: Portraits, if youre shooting centered portraits, or product shots, this one will spare you the time the camera will take to chose a sensor to use. If youre shooting something in the center, this is the sensor to pick.
Local: When your shooting pictures where the focus has to be precisely at one point in particular, you use Local. It will allow you to set the focus anywhere you want within the sensor range. If youre shooting a portrait and you want the focus to be in the person's eyes and one of your sensors is over them, you chose this one.
The only drawback from this setting is that it takes longer to set (although Im talking of seconds or faster than that) than Wide or Spot. I suggest you use this on subjects you can take your time to shoot or when doing pictures with focus placed in a specific place.
The good news is that the Controller or Multi selector are pretty quick to use and set which sensor to use.
Closure.
The Sony Alpha DSLRs do a good job of guessing the focus point of your pictures most of the time, the problem is that sometimes the system will not be able to resolve the situation and youll have to intervene.
Now that you know what AF-Area is and what are its possibilites, you can overcome those times where AF wont find a focusing spot or when you want to place the focus on a particular point in the frame, due to artistic or practical intentions. You may want to blur a part of your subject and place the focus someplace else, or you may want to avoid the hassle of changing the sensor each time or waiting for the camera to do it, or you just want the camera to do it itself.
Whatever your intentions when taking a picture, now you have another piece of know-how that will improve your control of the camera and maybe make the difference between a shot that looks good but its not what you want and a shot that is what you wanted in the first place.
Practice with this setting if you havent, it may help you on those situations where the human input is more accurate than the camera's.
Until next time.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
P(rogram) Mode- Is There Any Use For It At ALL?
The answer is: YES, there are plenty of uses for it.
If you're new to the DSLR world (or the photography world for that matter) and you own a camera that has the letters: P A S M on its mode dial, means you have access to a camera with manual modes (or modes that allow you to chose the settings you want the camera to use).
This article will cover the P letter of your mode dial, one of the most overlooked modes of all. The Program Mode.
If you dont have much experience handling a DSLR and making changes on your own like you would in M(anual) Mode or you want to have the camera do most of the thinking for you but still be in control, you should use P Mode.
But there is a thin line that makes a huge difference between Auto and Program. The ability to program the camera and make it remember your changes. Ergo, P Mode, and P for Program.
In Auto Mode, the camera selects every single setting according to its calculations (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, White Balance, whether to fire the flash or no, DRO use, what metering mode to use, etc.). You can change or adjust the settings, BUT (and this is important) it will NOT remember your changes if you change the mode dial to something else or turn the camera off.
And here is where P mode makes its heroic entrance through the glass roof.
Program mode could be called the Auto mode of the manual Modes. This is because it will select shutter speed and aperture for you, but it has a lot more room to move around than Auto.
The reason why this mode is called Program is because you insert into the camera your selection of settings for the camera to use, you're PROGRAMMING it in other words, just like you would program a microwave to heat something for 20 seconds by pressing 2, 0, Start.
The advantage of this mode over Auto is that it REMEMBERS your changes, no matter if you go to Auto, Portrait, Sports or Landscape Mode or even turn the camera off. This is something Auto doesnt do. Auto resets everything when you turn the mode dial to something else or turn the camera off.
So why should I use P Mode?
Strictly sticking to use Auto mode wont give you the experience and know-how of what the camera will do in the conditions youre shooting at. Auto mode is like the Point & Shoot mode: you point and you shoot the picture, camera does the rest. Using Auto all the time is, in my own personal opinion, a complete waste of DSLR capabilities. DSLR gives you immense control and options to craft your photographs like YOU want them to look, sticking to Auto will just make them look like snapshots taken by a point & shoot camera, and it may not pick the settings YOU want.
Program mode is the perfect place to start learning the capabilities of your Alpha DSLR by manually changing them YOURSELF while still having the camera decide what other settings to use that you havent mastered yet. Or if youre a skilled photographer and you want the camera to move within the paramaters YOU want, you should use this mode as well.
Sure, the Program mode selects both shutter speed and aperture for you, but you can OVERRIDE that.
Program Shift
You can either change the shutter speed or the aperture when using P mode. This is called Program shift and it has two modes:
Ps Shift: You can change the shutter speed and the camera selects the aperture.
Pa Shift: You can change the aperture and the camera selects the shutter speed.
This is how you invoke it:
1.- Set camera to P Mode (duh! what are we talking about? ;) ).
2.- While looking through the viewfinder, half press the shutter and the aperture and shutter speed will be displayed.
3.- When those values are displayed, you can change one of them by moving the Front and Rear dials of your camera (in A700/A900), the value changed will depend on how you've set the dials (Front: shutter speed, back: aperture or viceversa).
In a A100/A200/A300/350 you can do Program shift,but it has a twist. The default setting for the shift is set to Shutter Speed, so whenever you move the dial, it will control the shutter speed. You can go to Pa Shift by changing your dial setup.
Menu->Custom (clockwork icon) 1->Ctrl Dial set->Aperture
Keep in mind that you should pick the one you use the most, since you cant change both at the same time.
Once youve set the Program shift, you will be able to control one or both of the values and the camera will chose the proper setting for the one youre not controlling.
Keep in mind that you cant use the flash and Program Shift together. If you pull the flash up, program shift will be cancelled. You cant use it either if the flash is up already.
ISO behavior in P Mode.
You can either set ISO to Auto and let the camera pick the one that works best according to it, or you can select a fixed value for ISO.
In the A700/A900, you can determine how high or how low in the ISO scale the camera can go when using P, A or S mode.
The A700 allows you to set the minimum ISO at 200 or 400. The maximum ISO can be 400, 800 and 1600.
The A900 has a more intelligent approach, giving you ranges. You can select ranges going from:
200-400
200-800
200-1600
400-800
400-1600
To configure the ISO you allow the camera to use:
Menu->Recording (camera icon) 2-> ISO Auto Max/Min (A700)
Menu->Recording (camera icon)2-> ISO Auto Range (A900)
For A100/A200/A300/A350 users, you cant select this. You got to either set the ISO value yourself or let the camera do it. On the bright side, the cameras have a very good Noise Reduction on high ISOs, so dont be afraid to use them.
Using the flash in P Mode.
You can also use your in built flash in P mode, but keep something in mind.
Whereas in Auto mode, the flash fires when the camera thinks its necessary, in P mode the flash will fire ALWAYS. So dont expect the flash to fire like in Auto mode, and dont forget to change your White Balance to flash as well!
Closure
If youve read this far, now you know whats the P mode for. Take advantage of it and dont discard it as just some repeated mode in your mode dial.
Program Mode gives you more playing space when taking pictures, and its a good point to start controlling the camera and becoming the photographer in control of the situation. Whereas Auto is pretty simple to use, it may not yield the results youre looking for. In my personal experience in a A700/A200, the Auto mode tends to underexpose the shots by selecting fast shutter speeds and wide apertures. It does it in an effort to have the shots properly focused and not blurry, but the trade off is that you got to spend time infront of a computer fixing the shots.
P Mode will spare you this hassle if you use it properly.
I suggest you try it out and learn to use it, it may be the perfect solution for those days where you dont want to adjust every single setting but still be in control of the result the camera will yield.
Until next time.
If you're new to the DSLR world (or the photography world for that matter) and you own a camera that has the letters: P A S M on its mode dial, means you have access to a camera with manual modes (or modes that allow you to chose the settings you want the camera to use).
This article will cover the P letter of your mode dial, one of the most overlooked modes of all. The Program Mode.
The weakness of Auto Mode..
Your Alpha DSLR has an Auto mode, and this is a mode you use if you dont want to worry about anything else but to pick your subject and pressing the shutter. Just like a pilot would use autopilot when flying his 747 over the Atlantic.
However, the thin line between human intelligence and artificial intelligence is the fact that humans can make decisions without following a parameter or protocol, and machines can't, no matter how advanced they get, they will still be following a set of rules programmed into them.
Therefore, you may be in the zoo, and there is the tiger yawning while waking up and you take a shot of it. Your camera is set to Auto and when you review the subject, you realize that the shot didnt quite showed up the way you wanted it to and youll have to spend time fixing it on the computer or the shot is just useless. Or maybe you want the camera to use different settings than the ones it used.If you dont have much experience handling a DSLR and making changes on your own like you would in M(anual) Mode or you want to have the camera do most of the thinking for you but still be in control, you should use P Mode.
P for Program.
Program mode is one of the most overlooked modes of all (being guilty of this charge myself...). Why does this happen? Because both Auto and P mode behave the same, they select the settings for you, which makes a lot of people think: If Auto does this, why should I bother with P Mode at all? and they discard it.But there is a thin line that makes a huge difference between Auto and Program. The ability to program the camera and make it remember your changes. Ergo, P Mode, and P for Program.
Auto vs. Program.
Auto and Program modes select aperture and shutter speed for you, among other settings. Thats the reason why many people think these modes are the same, and in theory they are the same, but at the same time theyre not.In Auto Mode, the camera selects every single setting according to its calculations (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, White Balance, whether to fire the flash or no, DRO use, what metering mode to use, etc.). You can change or adjust the settings, BUT (and this is important) it will NOT remember your changes if you change the mode dial to something else or turn the camera off.
And here is where P mode makes its heroic entrance through the glass roof.
Program mode could be called the Auto mode of the manual Modes. This is because it will select shutter speed and aperture for you, but it has a lot more room to move around than Auto.
The reason why this mode is called Program is because you insert into the camera your selection of settings for the camera to use, you're PROGRAMMING it in other words, just like you would program a microwave to heat something for 20 seconds by pressing 2, 0, Start.
The advantage of this mode over Auto is that it REMEMBERS your changes, no matter if you go to Auto, Portrait, Sports or Landscape Mode or even turn the camera off. This is something Auto doesnt do. Auto resets everything when you turn the mode dial to something else or turn the camera off.
So why should I use P Mode?
Strictly sticking to use Auto mode wont give you the experience and know-how of what the camera will do in the conditions youre shooting at. Auto mode is like the Point & Shoot mode: you point and you shoot the picture, camera does the rest. Using Auto all the time is, in my own personal opinion, a complete waste of DSLR capabilities. DSLR gives you immense control and options to craft your photographs like YOU want them to look, sticking to Auto will just make them look like snapshots taken by a point & shoot camera, and it may not pick the settings YOU want.
Program mode is the perfect place to start learning the capabilities of your Alpha DSLR by manually changing them YOURSELF while still having the camera decide what other settings to use that you havent mastered yet. Or if youre a skilled photographer and you want the camera to move within the paramaters YOU want, you should use this mode as well.
Sure, the Program mode selects both shutter speed and aperture for you, but you can OVERRIDE that.
Program Shift
You can either change the shutter speed or the aperture when using P mode. This is called Program shift and it has two modes:
Ps Shift: You can change the shutter speed and the camera selects the aperture.
Pa Shift: You can change the aperture and the camera selects the shutter speed.
This is how you invoke it:
1.- Set camera to P Mode (duh! what are we talking about? ;) ).
2.- While looking through the viewfinder, half press the shutter and the aperture and shutter speed will be displayed.
3.- When those values are displayed, you can change one of them by moving the Front and Rear dials of your camera (in A700/A900), the value changed will depend on how you've set the dials (Front: shutter speed, back: aperture or viceversa).
In a A100/A200/A300/350 you can do Program shift,but it has a twist. The default setting for the shift is set to Shutter Speed, so whenever you move the dial, it will control the shutter speed. You can go to Pa Shift by changing your dial setup.
Menu->Custom (clockwork icon) 1->Ctrl Dial set->Aperture
Keep in mind that you should pick the one you use the most, since you cant change both at the same time.
Once youve set the Program shift, you will be able to control one or both of the values and the camera will chose the proper setting for the one youre not controlling.
Keep in mind that you cant use the flash and Program Shift together. If you pull the flash up, program shift will be cancelled. You cant use it either if the flash is up already.
ISO behavior in P Mode.
You can either set ISO to Auto and let the camera pick the one that works best according to it, or you can select a fixed value for ISO.
In the A700/A900, you can determine how high or how low in the ISO scale the camera can go when using P, A or S mode.
The A700 allows you to set the minimum ISO at 200 or 400. The maximum ISO can be 400, 800 and 1600.
The A900 has a more intelligent approach, giving you ranges. You can select ranges going from:
200-400
200-800
200-1600
400-800
400-1600
To configure the ISO you allow the camera to use:
Menu->Recording (camera icon) 2-> ISO Auto Max/Min (A700)
Menu->Recording (camera icon)2-> ISO Auto Range (A900)
For A100/A200/A300/A350 users, you cant select this. You got to either set the ISO value yourself or let the camera do it. On the bright side, the cameras have a very good Noise Reduction on high ISOs, so dont be afraid to use them.
Using the flash in P Mode.
You can also use your in built flash in P mode, but keep something in mind.
Whereas in Auto mode, the flash fires when the camera thinks its necessary, in P mode the flash will fire ALWAYS. So dont expect the flash to fire like in Auto mode, and dont forget to change your White Balance to flash as well!
Closure
If youve read this far, now you know whats the P mode for. Take advantage of it and dont discard it as just some repeated mode in your mode dial.
Program Mode gives you more playing space when taking pictures, and its a good point to start controlling the camera and becoming the photographer in control of the situation. Whereas Auto is pretty simple to use, it may not yield the results youre looking for. In my personal experience in a A700/A200, the Auto mode tends to underexpose the shots by selecting fast shutter speeds and wide apertures. It does it in an effort to have the shots properly focused and not blurry, but the trade off is that you got to spend time infront of a computer fixing the shots.
P Mode will spare you this hassle if you use it properly.
I suggest you try it out and learn to use it, it may be the perfect solution for those days where you dont want to adjust every single setting but still be in control of the result the camera will yield.
Until next time.
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