Copyright © 2015-19 Clive Dyson Version 4.5 7
3. Focus
Focus using the focus ring on the lens. Edges in focus will be highlighted in blue by focus peaking. If
necessary, press the AF MODE button to enlarge the centre of the image to assist focusing. You can
move the enlarged AF ASSIST area around with the cursor buttons (or touch screen) and change the
magnification using the front and rear dials.
4. Adjust and lock the exposure
Adjust the exposure as necessary, as described in the section ‘Exposure modes‘ on page 9. See the
box ‘Exposure: depth of field, image sharpness and noise’ on page 6.
Half-press the shutter button, which will lock the exposure.
5. Fully-press the shutter button to take the photo
Review the photo - if you don’t want to keep it, press DELETE. Half-press the shutter button to return
to shooting mode.
The built-in flash or a hot-shoe mounted flash can be used, for a subject in range. Using flash with manual
exposure is beyond the scope of this manual.
Taking panoramas
You can use one of two approaches to taking panoramas and ‘grids’ of images:
Using manual exposure and stitching in post
For the highest quality panoramas, I use MANUAL (C
2
) custom mode and set the exposure for the centre
of the area to be covered (pressing ONE PUSH AE locks the exposure automatically). I then capture a
number of overlapping images that can be stitched together in post (I use Lightroom). I find that this
approach gives very good results and produces a high-resolution output.
Using the in-camera Panorama Shot scene mode
Turn the mode dial to the panorama symbol ( ). Access the settings for the Panorama mode through
the PANORAMA SETTINGS sub menu on the REC menu or through the panorama tab that appears on
the right of the screen. You can set the direction to scan though both routes. For some reason, the
panorama sub menu (but not the tab) lets you apply an effects filter and the panorama tab (but not the
sub menu) lets you apply exposure compensation.
To take a panorama, aim the camera at one end of the scene, press and hold the shutter button, and
scan the scene slowly and steadily in the intended direction. If you are having problems, try moving to a
shorter focal length, slowing down your scan rate, and / or using a lens that focuses more quickly.
Astrophotography
Astrophotography requires you to use manual focus as you need to fix the lens focus at infinity. You will
also be using manual exposure, so this is a perfect situation in which to use a fully manual lens. Use a
lens with a wide maximum aperture, say f/2 to f/2.8. I find that the Laowa 7.5mm f/2 rectilinear lens fits
the bill for an ultra-wide prime lens, as well as being a good landscape and architectural lens.
• Mount the camera on a tripod.
• Select the MANUAL (C
2
) custom mode. If using an automatic lens then set the AF/MF switch to MF.
• Press ISO and turn the front dial to increase or remove the ISO LIMIT and switch off image
stabilisation. (I suggest that you overwrite the MANUAL custom mode with these settings for your
astrophotography session and change them back later for normal manual operation.)
• Set the widest aperture on the lens and focus on infinity.
• Take a series of photos, experimenting with the trade-off between shutter speed, ISO setting, image
brightness and noise. Start with an exposure of about 20 seconds.
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