David D. Busch - David Buschs Sony Alpha a6300/ILCE-6300 Guide to Digital Photography

GUIDE TO DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

David D. Busch

David Buschs Sony a6300/ILCE-6300
Guide to Digital Photography
David D. Busch

Project Manager: Jenny Davidson
Series Technical Editor: Michael D. Sullivan
Layout: Bill Hartman
Cover Design: Mike Tanamachi
Indexer: Valerie Haynes Perry
Proofreader: Mike Beady

ISBN: 978-1-68198-154-3
1st Edition (1st printing, June 2016)

2016 David D. Busch

All images David D. Busch unless otherwise noted

Rocky Nook, Inc.
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Distributed in the U.S. by Ingram Publisher Services
Distributed in the UK and Europe by Publishers Group UK

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016932771

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This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Printed in the U.S.A.

For Cathy

Thanks to everyone at Rocky Nook, including Scott Cowlin, managing director and publisher, for the freedom to let me explore the amazing capabilities of the Sony Alpha a6300 camera in depth. I couldnt do it without my veteran production team, including project manager, Jenny Davidson, and series technical editor, Mike Sullivan. Also thanks to Bill Hartman, layout; Valerie Hayes Perry, indexing; Mike Beady, proofreading; Mike Tanamachi, cover design; and my agent, Carole Jelen, who has the amazing ability to keep both publishers and authors happy.

With more than two million books in print, David D. Busch is the worlds #1 bestselling camera guide author, and the originator of popular series like David Buschs Compact Field Guides and David Buschs Quick Snap Guides. He has written more than 100 hugely successful guidebooks for Sony and other digital camera models, including the all-time #1 bestsellers for several different cameras, as well as many popular books devoted to photography, including Mastering Mirrorless Photography. As a roving photojournalist for more than 20 years, he illustrated his books, magazine articles, and newspaper reports with award-winning images. Hes operated his own commercial studio, suffocated in formal dress while shooting weddings, and shot sports for a daily newspaper and an upstate New York college. His photos and articles have appeared in Popular Photography, Rangefinder, Professional Photographer, and hundreds of other publications. Hes also reviewed dozens of digital cameras for CNet and other CBS publications.

When About.com named its top five books on Beginning Digital Photography, debuting at the #1 and #2 slots were Buschs Digital Photography All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies and Mastering Digital Photography. He has had as many as 18 books listed in the Top 100 of Amazon.com s Digital Photography Bestseller listsimultaneously! Buschs 200-plus other books published since 1983 include bestsellers like Digital SLR Cameras and Photography for Dummies.

Busch is a member of the Cleveland Photographic Society ( www.clevelandphoto.org ), which has operated continuously since 1887. Visit his website at http://www.sonyguides.com .

Chapter 1
Getting Started with Your Sony a6300

Chapter 2
Sony a6300 Roadmap

Chapter 3
Camera Settings Menu

Chapter 4
Custom Settings Menu

Chapter 5
Wireless and Application Menus

Chapter 6
Playback and Setup Menus

Chapter 7
Shooting Modes and Exposure Control

Chapter 8
Mastering Autofocus Options

Chapter 9
Advanced Shooting

Chapter 10
Movie Making

Chapter 11
Working with Lenses

Chapter 12
Working with Flash

In a few short years, Sony has gone from being a Nikon and Canon competitor to an acknowledged innovator with a lineup of cameras that are smaller, lighter, faster to focus, and loaded with cutting-edge features that many of us have been dreaming about. So, its no wonder youre excited about your new Sony a6300/ICLE-6300, a compact mirrorless camera with full-sized features, including an improved sensor, rugged all-magnesium alloy body, and ultra high definition 4K video. With all these features at your disposal, you dont expect to take good pictures with such a camerayou demand and anticipate outstanding photos.

However, your gateway to pixel proficiency is dragged down by the limited instructions provided by Sony. Over the years, Sony has reduced the amount of useful information included in its printed guidebooks, often to a scant few pages, and relegated more detailed instructions to online HTML-based guides and PDF versions that are difficult to navigate. And, sad to say, not everything you need to know is included.

What you really need is a guide that explains the purpose and function of the cameras basic controls, how you should use them, and why. Thats what I am giving you in this book. If you want a quick introduction to focus controls or which exposure modes are best, this book is for you. If you cant decide on what basic settings to use with your camera because you cant figure out how changing ISO or white balance or focus defaults will affect your pictures, you need this guide.

Sony doesnt play it safe. Since the company entered the digital photography arena, it hasnt been satisfied with the old paradigms and technology. At a time when the top dogs in the digital camera world are still mired in the race to produce the best single-lens reflex models, Sony has concentrated on non-dSLR cameras, including mirrorless models like the Sony Alpha a6300/ILCE-6300. (For simplicity, Ill generally refer to this camera as the a6300 throughout the book.)

Sony has packaged up the most alluring features of advanced digital SLRs and stuffed them into a compact, highly affordable body, which has some features you wont find on other cameras. The a6300/ILCE-6300 boasts a body that is, minus your choice of lens, more compact than any digital SLR. But, tucked inside is a large 24-megapixel sensor with the same size, light-gathering power, and resolution of those found in the typical digital SLR. Add in the ability to use an expanding roster of interchangeable E-mount lenses and a reasonably affordable price tag, and you have a compact camera that sacrifices nothing in terms of features and capabilities. The original products in the Alpha lineup were great, and the new camera is even better. Indeed, this shooter has many of the advanced features of the top-of-the-line Alpha a7-series models!