1. Getting Started with Your Sony Alpha DSLR-A850

I once read a camera guide that began with the author advising the Gentle Reader to resist the temptation to go out and take pictures until the proper amount of time had been spent Setting Up The Camera, apparently to avoid wasting electrons on shots that were doomed to failure if the arcane operational knowledge that was forthcoming wasn’t first absorbed. What universe was he from?

Relax! I fully expect that you took several hundred or a thousand (or two) photos before you ever cracked the cover of this book—for several reasons. First, and foremost, the Sony Alpha DSLR-A850 happens to be remarkably easy to use for such a sophisticated camera, even for a newcomer to digital photography. Anyone, including the newest camera owner, can rotate the mode dial to the aqua Auto position and go out and begin taking great pictures. Getting to that point by charging the battery, mounting a lens, and inserting a Compact Flash or Memory Stick PRO Duo memory card isn’t exactly rocket science, either. Sony has cleverly marked the power switch (located just to the left of the viewfinder window) with large On and Off labels, and the shutter button lies in a spot that is carefully calculated to encounter the right index finger of the camera’s new owner as he or she lifts this nicely balanced apparatus to eye-level for some experimental shots.