David Busch’s Sony Alpha a6400/ILCE-6400 Guide to Digital Photography

David Busch’s Sony Alpha a6400/ILCE-6400 Guide to Digital Photography

by David D. Busch
Released July 2019
Publisher(s): Rocky Nook
ISBN: 9781681985213

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Book description

David Busch’s Sony Alpha a6400/ILCE-6400 Guide to Digital Photography is the most comprehensive reference and guide book available for Sony’s advanced APS-C mirrorless camera.

This enthusiast digital camera has a more powerful processor and upgraded autofocus with enhanced real-time tracking and advanced Eye AF. Its new LCD swivels to face forward, making the camera excellent for self-portraits, vlogging, and other applications. The a6400 features a 24 megapixel sensor with 425 embedded phase-detect pixels for lightning-fast autofocus at up to 11 frames per second. With an electronic shutter that provides a silent shooting option, stunning 4K/UHD video capabilities, and new time-lapse photography features, the a6400/ILCE-6400 is a versatile digital camera that’s simple to use, yet boasts features demanded by the most avid photo buff.

With this book in hand, you will discover all the capabilities of the Sony Alpha a6400/ILCE-6400 as you explore the world of digital photography, develop your creativity, and capture the best photographs you’ve ever taken. Filled with detailed how-to steps and full-color illustrations, David Busch’s Sony Alpha a6400/ILCE-6400 Guide to Digital Photography describes every feature of this sophisticated camera in depth, from taking your first photos through advanced details of setup, exposure, lens selection, lighting, and more. It relates each feature to specific photographic techniques and situations.

Also included is the handy camera “roadmap,” an easy-to-use visual guide to the a6400/ILCE-6400’s features and controls. Learn when to use every option and, more importantly, when not to use them, by following the author’s recommended settings for every menu entry.

With best-selling photographer and mentor David Busch as your guide, you’ll quickly have full creative mastery of your camera’s capabilities, whether you’re shooting on the job, taking pictures as an advanced enthusiast pushing the limits of your imagination, or are just out for fun. Start building your knowledge and confidence, while bringing your vision to light with the Sony Alpha a6400/ILCE-6400.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. About the Author
  7. Contents
  8. Preface
  9. Introduction
  10. Chapter 1 Getting Started with Your Sony a6400
    1. Your Out-of-Box Experience
    2. Initial Setup
      1. Battery Included
      2. Final Steps
      3. Formatting a Memory Card
    3. Selecting a Shooting Mode
      1. Getting Instant Help
    4. Choosing a Metering Mode
    5. Choosing a Focus Mode
    6. Selecting a Focus Area
    7. Other Settings
      1. Adjusting White Balance and ISO
      2. Using the Self-Timer
      3. Using the a6400’s Flash
    8. An Introduction to Movie Making
    9. Reviewing the Images You’ve Taken
    10. Transferring Files to Your Computer
      1. Wireless File Transfer
  11. Chapter 2 Sony a6400 Roadmap
    1. Front View
    2. The Sony a6400’s Business End
      1. Using the Touch Screen/Pad
      2. Directional Button Functions
    3. LCD Panel Data Displays
      1. Using the Quick Navi Function Menu
    4. Going Topside
    5. Underneath Your Sony a6400
  12. Chapter 3 Camera Settings I Menu
    1. Anatomy of the Menus
      1. Improved Menu System
    2. Camera Settings I Menu
      1. File Format (Stills)
      2. JPEG Quality (Stills)
      3. JPEG Image Size (Stills)
      4. Aspect Ratio (Stills)
      5. Panorama: Size
      6. Panorama: Direction
      7. Long Exposure NR/High ISO NR (Stills)
      8. Color Space (Stills)
      9. Lens Compensation
      10. Auto Mode
      11. Scene Selection
      12. Superior Auto Image Extract
      13. Drive Mode
      14. Bracket Settings
      15. Interval Shooting Functions
      16. Memory Recall 1/2
      17. Memory
      18. Register Custom Shooting Set
      19. Focus Mode
      20. Priority Set in AF-S/Priority Set in AF-C
      21. Focus Area
      22. Focus Area Limit
      23. Switch Vertical/Horizontal AF Area (Stills)
      24. AF Illuminator (Stills)
      25. Face/Eye AF Settings
      26. AF with Shutter (Stills)
      27. Pre-AF (Stills)
      28. Eye-Start AF (Stills)
      29. AF Area Registration (Stills)
      30. Delete Registered AF Area (Stills)
      31. AF Area Auto Clear
      32. Display Continuous AF Area
      33. Circulation of Focus Point
      34. AF Micro Adjustment
      35. Exposure Compensation
      36. ISO Setting
      37. Metering Mode
      38. Face Priority in Multi Metering
      39. Spot Metering Point
      40. Exposure Step
      41. Autoexposure Lock with Shutter (Stills)
      42. Exposure Standard Adjustment
      43. Flash Mode
      44. Flash Compensation
      45. Exposure Compensation Settings
      46. Wireless Flash
      47. Red Eye Reduction
      48. White Balance
      49. Priority Setting in AWB
      50. DRO/Auto HDR
      51. Creative Style
      52. Picture Effect
      53. Picture Profile
      54. Soft Skin Effect (Stills)
      55. Shutter AWB Lock (Stills)
      56. Focus Magnifier
      57. Focus Magnification Time
      58. Initial Focus Magnification (Stills)
      59. AF in Focus Magnification (Stills)
      60. Manual Focus Assist (Stills)
      61. Peaking Setting
      62. Face Registration
      63. Registered Faces Priority
      64. Smile Shutter
      65. Auto Object Framing (Stills)
      66. Self-Portrait/-Timer
  13. Chapter 4 Camera Settings II Menu
    1. Camera Settings II Menu Entries
    2. Camera Settings II Menu
      1. Exposure Mode (Movies)
      2. Exposure Mode (S&Q)
      3. File Format (Movies)
      4. Record Setting (Movies)
      5. S&Q Settings (S&Q)
      6. Proxy Recording
      7. AF Drive Speed (Movies)
      8. AF Track Sensitivity (Movies)
      9. Auto Slow Shutter (Movies)
      10. Initial Focus Magnification (Movies)
      11. Audio Recording
      12. Audio Rec Level
      13. Audio Level Display
      14. Wind Noise Reduction
      15. Marker Display (Movies)
      16. Marker Settings (Movies)
      17. Movie with Shutter
      18. Silent Shooting (Stills)
      19. e-Front Curtain Shutter
      20. Release w/o Lens
      21. Release w/o Card
      22. SteadyShot
      23. Zoom
      24. Zoom Setting
      25. Zoom Ring Rotate
      26. DISP Button
      27. FINDER/MONITOR
      28. Finder Frame Rate (Stills)
      29. Zebra Setting
      30. Grid Line
      31. Exposure Setting Guide
      32. Live View Display
      33. Auto Review
      34. Custom Key (Stills)
      35. Custom Key (Movies)
      36. Custom Key (Playback)
      37. Function Menu Settings
      38. My Dial Settings Setup
      39. Dial/Wheel Setup
      40. Av/Tv Rotate
      41. Dial/Wheel Ev Comp
      42. Function of Touch Operations
      43. MOVIE Button
      44. Dial/Wheel Lock
      45. Audio Signals
  14. Chapter 5 Network and Playback Menus
    1. Network Menu
      1. Send to Smartphone Function
      2. Send to Computer
      3. View on TV
      4. Control with Smartphone
      5. Airplane Mode
      6. Wi-Fi Settings
      7. Bluetooth Settings
      8. Location Information Link Setting
      9. Edit Device Name
      10. Reset Network Settings
      11. Bluetooth Remote Control
    2. Making a Connection
      1. Using NFC One-Touch
      2. Connecting Using QR Code
      3. Using WPS Push
      4. Registering Manually
      5. Connecting with Bluetooth
      6. Viewing Images on a TV
      7. Remote Control
    3. Playback Menu
      1. Protect
      2. Rotate
      3. Delete
      4. Rating
      5. Rating Set (Custom Key)
      6. Specify Printing
      7. Photo Capture
      8. Enlarge Image
      9. Enlarge Initial Magnification
      10. Enlarge Initial Position
      11. Continuous Playback for Interval
      12. Playback Speed for Interval
      13. Slide Show
      14. View Mode
      15. Image Index
      16. Display as Group
      17. Display Rotation
      18. Image Jump Setting
  15. Chapter 6 Setup Menu and My Menu
    1. Setup Menu
      1. Monitor Brightness
      2. Viewfinder Brightness
      3. Finder Color Temperature
      4. Gamma Display Assist
      5. Volume Settings
      6. Tile Menu
      7. Mode Dial Guide
      8. Delete Confirm
      9. Display Quality
      10. Power Save Start Time
      11. Auto Power Off Temperature
      12. NTSC/PAL Selector
      13. Cleaning Mode
      14. Touch Operation
      15. Touch Panel/Pad
      16. Touch Pad Settings
      17. Demo Mode
      18. TC/UB Settings
      19. IR Remote Control
      20. HDMI Settings
      21. 4K Output Selection (Movies)
      22. USB Connection
      23. USB LUN Setting
      24. USB Power Supply
      25. PC Remote Settings
      26. Language
      27. Date/Time Setup
      28. Area Setting
      29. Copyright Info
      30. Format
      31. File Number
      32. Set File Name
      33. Select REC Folder
      34. New Folder
      35. Folder Name
      36. Recover Image Database
      37. Display Media Information
      38. Version
      39. Setting Reset
    2. My Menu
  16. Chapter 7 Nailing the Optimum Exposure
    1. Getting a Handle on Exposure
      1. Equivalent Exposure
    2. How the a6400 Calculates Exposure
      1. Correctly Exposed
      2. Overexposed
      3. Underexposed
    3. The Importance of ISO
    4. Choosing a Metering Mode
      1. Multi Metering
      2. Center-weighted Metering
      3. Spot Metering
      4. Entire Screen Averaging
      5. Highlight-weighted Metering
    5. Choosing an Exposure Mode
      1. Aperture Priority (A) Mode
      2. Shutter Priority (S) Mode
      3. Program Auto (P) Mode
      4. Making Exposure Value Changes
      5. Manual Exposure (M) Mode
      6. Using ISO Auto
    6. Exposure Bracketing
      1. Continuous Bracketing
      2. Single Bracketing
      3. White Balance Bracketing
      4. DRO Bracketing
    7. Dealing with Digital Noise
      1. High ISO Noise
    8. Using Dynamic Range Optimizer and HDR
      1. Auto HDR
      2. Bracketing and Merge to HDR
    9. Exposure Evaluation with Histograms
      1. The Live Histogram
      2. The Playback Histograms
      3. Tonal Range
      4. Histogram Basics
      5. Understanding Histograms
    10. Automatic and Specialized Shooting Modes
      1. Auto and Scene Modes
      2. Sweep Panorama Mode
  17. Chapter 8 Mastering Autofocus Options
    1. Getting into Focus
      1. Contrast Detection
      2. Phase Detection
    2. Comparing the Two Hybrid Components
      1. Focus Modes and Options
    3. Focus Pocus
      1. Adding Circles of Confusion
      2. Your Focus Mode Options
      3. Autofocus Magnified
      4. Setting the AF Area
      5. Tracking Subjects, Faces, and Eyes
      6. Using Manual Focus
    4. Back-Button Focus
      1. Activating Back-Button Focus
    5. Useful Menu Items for AF
      1. Feature Finder
  18. Chapter 9 Advanced Shooting
    1. Exploring Ultra-Fast Exposures
    2. Long Exposures
    3. Continuous Shooting
      1. Customizing White Balance
      2. Fine-Tuning Preset White Balance
      3. Setting White Balance by Color Temperature
      4. Setting a Custom White Balance
    4. Interval Shooting
      1. Interval Shooting Checklist
      2. Settings Recap
      3. Viewing Your Interval Sequences
      4. Time-Lapse Movies
      5. Star Trails
  19. Chapter 10 Movie Making
    1. Some Fundamentals
      1. Choosing a File Format
      2. Choosing a Record Setting
      3. Choosing Metering/Exposure Modes
      4. Choosing an Autofocus Mode
      5. Using Frame Guides
    2. Time Codes and User Bits
    3. Picture Profiles
      1. Gamma, Gamma Ding Dong
      2. Shooting in 4K
    4. Tips for Movie Making
      1. Composition
      2. Lighting for Video
      3. Audio
      4. Lens Craft
  20. Chapter 11 Working with Lenses
    1. Don’t Forget the Crop Factor
    2. Choosing a Lens
      1. The Sony “Trinity”
    3. Other E-Mount Lenses
      1. Sony FE Lenses
      2. Zeiss Touit Lenses
      3. Zeiss Loxia Lenses
      4. Zeiss Batis Lenses
      5. Other Third-Party Lenses
      6. Using the LA-EA Series Adapters
    4. AF Micro Adjustment
  21. Chapter 12 Working with Flash
    1. Why Flash?
    2. Electronic Flash Basics
      1. How Electronic Flash Works
      2. Flash Modes
      3. Flash Exposure Compensation
      4. Red Eye Reduction
    3. Using an External Electronic Flash
      1. Guide Numbers, Hot Shoes, and More
      2. HVL-F60M/RM Flash Units
      3. HVL-F45RM Flash Unit
      4. HVL-F43M Flash Unit
      5. HVL-F36AM Flash Unit
      6. HVL-F32M Flash Unit
      7. HVL-F20M Flash Unit
    4. Wireless Flash
      1. Key Wireless Concepts
      2. Setting Channels and Remote Groups
      3. Setting Ratios
      4. Radio Control

Product information

  • Title: David Busch’s Sony Alpha a6400/ILCE-6400 Guide to Digital Photography
  • Author(s): David D. Busch
  • Release date: July 2019
  • Publisher(s): Rocky Nook
  • ISBN: 9781681985213