This book provides enthusiastic photographers with a wealth of information about the unique features of the Sony SLT-A77, an interchangeable-lens camera with an electronic viewfinder and a fixed, translucent mirror.

The A77 differs from the current crop of DSLRs in its ability to use a phase detection focusing system throughout the entire picture-taking process, for both still photographs and videos. This provides an immediacy and responsiveness when using burst shots and creating HD videos that is unavailable in any other camera.

In this guide, authors Carol Roullard and Brian Matsumoto teach you how to obtain exceptional photographs and videos as they cover everything from the basics of using the camera's automatic modes, to the more advanced aperture-priority, shutter-priority, program, and manual exposure modes. You'll also learn how best to take advantage of features such as the built-in dynamic range adjustment, sweep panoramic, GPS, colorization modes, facial detection and recognition, multiple shot exposures, and HD video.

The authors provide you with an opportunity to improve your skills even further by discussing how third-party software and accessories can improve Sony's standard commands. You'll also learn about how the electronic viewfinder, fixed mirror, and Sony's novel shutter design improve the camera's utility for scientific photography through the microscope and telescope.

Additional topics include:

• Advantages of the electronic viewfinder for previewing your photographs
• Using the accessory Sony shoe-mount flash
• Advantages of using the JPEG file format
• Advantage of having a fixed mirror and electronic first curtain shutter
• Settings for using the camera on a microscope and telescope
• Using the older Minolta Maxxum lenses

Carol F. Roullard has been an avid photographer since her high school years, where she first experimented with black-and-white artistic composition. Since then, she has continued photographing, mainly nature and architecture. Carol has used a variety of cameras covering a wide range of makes and models, from simple point-and-shoot cameras to complex professional level cameras. Carol produces fine art photography and is utilizing her previous art business experience for her new online gallery.

As a former Project Management Quality and Compliance engineer, Carol spent a number of years developing procedural and quality control methodology for IT projects. In addition, she has developed and conducted training sessions covering best practices for procedural and quality control, breaking down complex subjects into easy-to-use approaches to learning.

Dr. Brian Matsumoto is a retired research scientist who has worked for 30 years recording experiments with a wide range of film and digital cameras. He now spends his time photographing with a variety of cameras and lenses. He enjoys exploring how a camera's potential can be expanded by pairing it with specialized optics such as microscopes and telescopes. He carries a camera on all of his hikes and enjoys photographing nature. In addition to the four books he has written for Rocky Nook, Dr. Matsumoto has published several articles and has had his photographs published in a number of periodicals. He is experienced in the technical aspects of photography and has taught courses on recording scientific experiments with digital cameras.