I purchased the above Sony camera yesterday and would like some advice regarding getting the best out of the camera and have some questions regarding the camera. Firstly, is there a good setting or things I should change to get the best out of the camera. I am new to bridge cameras, so it seems a bit of a minefield at the moment. I would like to take pictures of landscapes, streets, portraits etc. I have noticed that when I put the zoom out I get a shaky hand signal all the time, even if it is not out that far - is this normal? Also, when I go to take a photo, the display screen seems to be very grainy and doesn't look very sharp at all. Am I doing something wrong, or is the resolution of the screen? I am starting to wonder if I should have bought a different camera or an I being impatient before really getting to grips with this one? Thanks in advance for any tips, guidance etc.
The shaky hand either means the stabiliser is on or needs to be turned on. It might say in that pile of garbage Sony amusingly call a help guide but it may take some time to find... Do you mean the rear screen or the view finder? The viewfinder probably is quite low resolution. The rear screen is better resolution but when taking pictures may look slightly less good than it is due to refresh rates. Are the pictures themselves OK?
I think I may need to work out how to turn the stabilizer on or off - Do you know by any chance? The pictures are OK, some good, some not so good, I think this may be a matter of messing around with the settings for the right picture. I will try the various scene modes to see what happens when out and about. Thanks mate.
Something rings a bell that the stabiliser may either be permanently on or the camera automatically turns it on. I did have root in the online help but couldn't find it. The scene modes should set the most appropriate modes for the various subjects and are a good place to start. The sport mode for instance prioritises shutter speed over aperture for sharp action shots while landscape mode will prioritise small apertures over shutter speed to maximise depth of field.
You will have to get into the menu to find the settings and if the camera is brand new then it's probably set to default. I don't have the camera myself but most cameras are usually changed via the menu. It's probably best once you find the steadyhand setting to keep it ON. For landscape photography I would personally use the AV mode. I set the aperture and that then chooses the shutter speed. Experience will come into hand so why not start using the program mode. This chooses the settings for you, frowned upon by us in this forum. You'll probably have a dial on the camera that'll have settings for various types of photography and one of them will be a landscape mode. You could use that but to learn you should eventually use the settings based on your choices. It'll make you feel good and for some we can get a bit smug especially the ones that are the only use manual settings. It'll give you a sense of being in control of your beast. Just get into the menu and shoot shoot shoot and remember setting your ISO will give you faster shutter speeds giving you sharper shots but don't go so high as to introduce unwanted noise.
Thanks so much. That was very helpful and great advice and is really appreciated. Stuff like messing with the ISO scares me a bit. Any tips on that or shall I just google it? Thanks again.
When I open this it asks me for a username and password and won't open without it... Am I the only one it won't work for?
I googled the manual and found a link to the Sony site which asked me to logon. Although it is a bit of a surprise that the manual is not immediately available you probably get access when you register your camera. I know Canon now ask for a serial number if downloading software although their manuals are freely available.
