Finally Released: Gary L. Friedman's Complete Guide To Sony's A900 Digital SLR Camera And The Alpha Mount System

Hello Alphanautics:

For those of you who are lucky enough to own a A900, you'd be interested to know that Gary Friedman has finally published it's book dedicated for the A900.

The book has a 85% of new content or refreshed information and has been organized differently from his previous books for the rest of the Alpha family. It's 525 pages long.

Mr. Friedman's books present photography and your camera in an easy-to-understand fashion, whether you're a rookie or a seasoned photographer, his books contain something worth knowing.

Interesting concepts covered in this book include:

• Dynamic Range Optimization function
• The new Sony Wireless Flash protocol (the protocol changed with the introduction of the HVL-F58AM and 42AM flashes, which replaced the F56 and 36AM flashes)
• Features exclusive to the A900 (Im guessing one of them is the fact that you can have Mirror Lock Up function and use of the Bulb speed at the same time)
• How to get great high quality ISO images out of the camera (which I think this is something a lot of people are interested in)

The book is presented in two formats: E-book or printed book (in B&W or color). The E-book costs $29.95 USD. No price yet revealed for the printed version though, all I know is that they will be presented in two volumes due to the book's length.

I own Mr. Friedman's book for the A700, which helped me a HUGE deal to understand my camera (right now I'm giving it a second read) and I can say that every cent paid for his books is worth it. You'll get the info you need to understand your camera and to take off and create a vision of your own with your Alpha.

His books make more sense than the official manual does, so you won't regret buying this book.

So if you own a A900, this book MUST be part of your library.

Click here to go to the Friedman Archives site for the A900's book

Visual Guide To Change Focusing Screens On A900

One great feature of the A900 is that you can change the focusing screen without having to send your camera to an authorized repair center.

If you own an A900, this video guides you step by step on how to change the focusing screen yourself.

The focusing screen is that piece of glass that goes over the mirror that has the lines you end up seeing in the viewfinder. It can be changed to one that has a grid and the points of composition in compliance with the rule of thirds, or a plain but bright one for manual focusing.

You can find the Focusing Screen Type L and the Focusing Screen Type M in SonyStyle.

Bear in mind that the A900 is the only Alpha DSLR that allows the owner to change the focusing screens, the rest of the Alphas can have the screen changed, but only by authorized personnel, otherwise it may void your warranty.

If you attempt this kind of procedure, I suggest you watch the video a few times before proceeding. Get a good idea of what you need to do, practicing the movements first is also recommended.

Gary L. Friedman's Complete Guides To All Sony Alpha DSLRs And The Alpha Mount

Hello Alpha Sight readers.

I've noticed lately that some of you have been looking for articles or links related to the guides for Sony Alpha DSLRs written by Gary L. Friedman. I posted a while ago an article about his guide for the A700 and my experience with it and then another one mentioning his update of that book with information about the camera's behavior with V4.

However, those two articles were mostly related to the A700. I did include links to his other books in the first article I mention, but I think that people who don't own a A700 but another Alpha DSLR didn't read it. Therefore I'm writing this entry so you have all the links handy without having to dive into a specific camera model article.

Gary L. Friedman's Complete Guides To All Sony Alpha DSLRs And The Alpha Mount.

Alpha 100

Alpha 200

Alpha 300/350

Alpha 700

A900 (Click here to sign up and be notified when the book is released in January 2009)

There you have it, whenever you're looking for a link to any of those e-books, you can look for this article.

P.D. Please vote in the current poll: Would you like Alpha Sight to have articles about basic photography topics such as shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc.?

I would like to know if there are people out there who need a hand understanding basic (and not so basic) photography topics, if you are one of them, vote yes and Alpha Sight will start having articles discussing them.

Updated Version For Gary L Friedman's Complete Guide To Sony's A700

Back in October I mentioned a book that really helped me to get a good understanding of what the A700 can do, Gary L. Friedman's Complete Guide To Sony's A700 Digital SLR Camera And The Alpha Mount System.

Sony released Version 4 of the A700's firmware in September, and the upgrades in that firmware version changed the way the camera behaves. Mr. Friedman's book back then was based on firmware's Version 3.

Well, he has now updated his book to include the changes the A700 experienced with V4 among other things.

From an email he sent:

What's new with version 3.0?

• More detail about Firmware Version 4, including some unexpected behaviors
• A few more DRO examples added
• The Manual White Balance setting to use for Compact Florescent lighting.
• More on Zone Matching and the "Agorabosta method"
• Too many small formatting and typographical corrections to document

So if you bought his book already, you should be getting an email from him with a link to get the newest version of his book.

If you havent bought his guide because you were waiting for him to include information about V4 or because you just havent, now is the time to buy it. Read my post on his book clicking on the link above.

Keep in mind that buying a book from Mr. Friedman gives you access to free updates for life, so the investment you do when purchasing it pays for itself once you grasp all your A700 can do.

Go now to his online store to purchase his updated A700's guide .

*For those of you who purchased his book already and plan to get the update, please wait a few days if possible to download it so his main servers wont be overloaded with simultaneous downloads.

Gary L. Friedman's Complete Guide To Sony's A700 Digital SLR Camera And The Alpha Mount System

Whenever you buy a new thing, you should ALWAYS read the instructions manual to fully understand how the item works and what you can and can not do with it.

Unfortunately some manuals not always cover the issues you want to know about in the way you want it to.

Sony's manuals are this kind of manuals, while they do provide the things a manual should provide, they have a dry tone and lack explanation in some issues. Not to mention they dont use pictures taken by the camera you have in your hands. They excel at providing technical data about the camera, but they give you a small overview of the functions available for the camera or software bundled with it.

For some people this will not be a problem at all, for some it will be a huge problem. Some people won't even bother to read it.

The Alpha 700 is a camera with infinite options and lots of customization possible. If you dont learn how to use those functions, if you dont understand what they do to the pictures you'll take, if you dont know what does each button do, you wont get the full benefits this camera can offer (or any camera for that matter).

The task of learning may be a bit scary, but fortunately, there is a way to make the task an easy one.

Months before I got my A700, I read and read and read threads in DPR Sony SLR Forum about the Alpha system. One thread that caught my attention mentioned a book which explained the A700 in huge detail and was highly recommended by a vast group of people.

The book was The Complete Guide To Sony's Alpha 700 Digital SLR Camera And The Alpha Mount System by Gary L. Friedman.

Gary L. Friedman is a professional photographer who has used Minolta cameras for a long time, and now uses Sony as well. The man knows the system pretty well in other words.

His book its a long book (476 pages), but it will cover everything you need to know about the A700, and when I say everything, it's E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. From button functions (With EXAMPLES!) to Creative Styles, from Wireless Flash to Scene and Program Modes, from the advantages the A700 offers over competitors (such as SuperSteadyShot) to all the possibly configurations hidden in the menu pages.

It also covers photographic techniques to improve your composition, the difference between RAW and JPEG, how to use the Sony Image Data Converter. DRO function explained and many many things more.

That's why the book is long, it covers a lot, but trust me, once you're done with it, you will be amazed at how much you can do with your A700 and how simple it has been laid out for you.

The best achievement of this book is the friendly writing style and the vast range of EXAMPLES it includes, I know I already wrote that, but when you want to see how the DOF button REALLY works, you need to see PICTURES, not text. And this book provides them. The book will never bore you, and it will drag you deeply into it that you will be done before you know it.

You should read the manual, thats a fact, but this book will fill all the gaps or holes the manual may leave once youre done with it.

The book is offered in 3 versions: Digital PDF file, Printed Black & White version and Printed Color version.

I HIGHLY recommend this book, if you really want to squeeze all you can from your A700, you should read this book. Several times if possible.

In a thread on the DPR Sony SLR forum I read that Sony should pay Mr. Friedman for writing this book and bundle it with the A700, that statement its as accurate as it gets.

Buy this book, you won't regret it, if youre just starting your journey into the Alpha DSLR system or youre lost in it and not getting the results you want, THIS IS THE POINT TO START GETTING THE ANSWERS YOU NEED!

If you want to convert the learning curve into straight airport strip, get this book.

Link to purchase this book

Keep in mind that there are also books for the Alpha 100/200
300/350, in case you dont own a A700 but own one of those cameras.

Grip Belt Manual

Some of us that bought the Grip Belt (STP-GB1AM) didnt receive a manual or instructions with it. Why? I dont know.

However, I found a link while reading a DPR Sony SLR Forum thread. It directs you to a PDF file of the instructions of how to install properly the Grip Belt and some things to consider when using it.

This is great news for me since Ive had mine for 1 week already and I havent been able to install it yet.

If you use it with just the camera, you need to keep the tripod mount the grip belt has and attach it to the bottom of the camera. However, if you use a Vertical Grip, you can remove the tripod mount and use just the grip belt.

Also worth mentioning, the metal plate the grip belt has, allows you to install it along with the neck strap. The grip belt works with all Alpha cameras.

Grip Belt Manual

Source and pictures of how to use with the Vertical Grip

P.D. If for whatever reason the link to the manual stops working, I saved a copy of that file. You can mail me if you need it.