Photography Articles

The Alpha Advantage

Welcome all photographers and Sony Alpha Mount users!

The new generation

Here we will provide a basic synopsis of why considering the Alpha Mount would be important to a new buyer, say over other DSLR brands. Not only that, but a reminder to those who have invested into the Alpha Mount the key advantages they should not take for granted. Here we have outlined some of the key advantages to investing into the Alpha Mount:

Apple Aperture Video Tutorial - An Introduction

Apple Aperture Tutorial - An introduction

 

AlphaMountWorld.com
by: Andrew Woodhouse

This is AlphaMountWorld's second video tutorial, and the first in our new series on Apple's Aperture. In this video tutorial we briefly explain what Aperture is and how it can help with your photography, and how to import photos into Aperture. These new videos will be around 10 minutes Êand will deal with only one or two topics, making them easier to follow.

Sony A300/A350 PDF EBook By Gary Friedman- Review

Sony A300/A350 PDF EBook By Gary Friedman- An AlphaMountWorld Review

July 2009, Andrew Woodhouse

The Sony A300/A350 e-book is one of the latest e-books by Gary L. Friedman and aims to provide an easy to follow and understand guide to the cameras numerous features. It would be a mistake to think that this was a glorified camera manual - it's an awful lot more than that. It's designed to appeal to anyone that has the A300 or A350, but is primarily aimed at beginners to the world of digital photography, or those who don't want to be bogged down by all the techno babble we photographers are all too guilty of throwing around. How many new photographers know what bokeh is or refers to, or the relation between apertures and shutter speed etc. ? Gary Friedman A300/350 E Book

Sony FDA-ME1AM Magnifying Eyepiece- Product Report

Sony FDA-ME1AM Magnifying Eyepiece- Product Report and Review

July 2009, Carl Garrard (*Update 7-26-2009)

Sony's FDA-ME1AM magnifying eyepiece has been a long time coming. I have wanted Sony to make one of these eyepiece accessories since the A-100 was first announced in 2006. At last they have produced the one I was looking and begging them for. I got my hands on one from the first batch sent to the U.S. from Sonystyle (after pestering them for an in-stock date), and I think the wait was worth it. The price on the FDA-ME1AM is $34.99 USD. The eyepiece will magnify the view you see (does not affect the area captured obviously) through your viewfinder by 1.15X and is compatible with the A700, A380, A350, A330, A300, A230, A200, and the A100 Alpha DSLRS (all APS-C cameras). The eyepiece also extends the viewfinder relief 7mm further, and is stain resistant on the glass element and polyurethane cover. Prior to the announcement of this accessory there were other available options that weren't manufactured by Sony. The Pentax OEM-53 did some duty on my Alphas, but is now retired. Therefore, it is only fair that all my begging should yield an article on this product. FDA-ME1AM Magnifying Eyepiece Kit

The Hot Shoe Diaries, By Joe McNally- Review

The Hot Shoe Diaries, By Joe McNally- Review
May 2009, Andrew Woodhouse

The Hot Shoe Diaries is Joe McNally's latest book and follows on from the success of his internationally acclaimed book, The Moment It Clicks. As the title suggests it is a book which focuses on small flashes, strobes or Speedlights if you will. Now some of you might wonder why on earth I am reviewing a book by a self professed "Nikon guy", well Joe McNally is pretty much the man when it comes to flash photography, and small flash photography in particular.

As a result this book, whilst biased slightly towards Nikon (it is what Joe shoots with after all) is a must read for anyone who wants to learn how to use their flashes to better effect. I know there is a large amount of interest in wireless flash photography on AlphaMountWorld and as a result it seemed appropriate to review the book.

Hot Shoe Diaries-Joe McNally

A900 and Hi Sensitivity Jpeg Output

A900 Jpegs at ISO 3200- Camera Settings Count!

The A900 is an excellent hi-sensitivity machine. Capitalizing on retaining more color and dynamic range throughout the entire ISO range than most of its competition, the A900 manages this excellent performance characteristic for much less cost than its best rivals. What doesn't get talked about much when it comes to higher sensitivity settings is color output and print quality when processing is debated. Sure "some" companies work more noise reduction in the chroma category into their processing as well as make a bit nicer grain pattern, but does that translate into better prints? Color wise, no, it doesn't.
Raw software, ISO debates, who needs it? Lets have some fun using our A900 for Jpeg output and see what we can do.

Sony A900 ISO 3200 Image

Challenging Popular Photography

Challenging Popular Photography

Feburary 2009, Carl Garrard

Hello all. Lately, I have been doing a lot of thinking about the photography market in general, and with your permission I'd like to expound a bit now about the DSLR market. Call this a sort of ... expose rant of my feelings that I'd like to share with you, so here I go. While sitting comfortably on my couch tonight sipping a glass of my favorite 'Rodney Strong', reading my March issue of Popular Photography, I came across an ...interesting article. I read this article thoroughly three times. And each time that I read it, I couldn't help but to let escape a bit of a confused smirk cross my face. Afterwards I sat back with my wine and relaxed for a moment, and in my head pinpointed the source of that little smirk.

Wine and Article

Processing a RAW image using Sony's Image Data Converter (IDC)


An AlphaMountWorld.com tutorial

Welcome to the first of AlphaMountWorld's on-line video tutorials, designed to help you get more from your Alpha camera and image editing software.

In the first of the series we show you how to process a RAW image using Sony's supplied Image Data Converter (IDC) and Image Data Lightbox software. By following the tutorial you'll learn how to process RAW images for better quality photos, and because the software used is supplied with your camera, it won't cost you a penny!

Minolta Maxxum 9 - Will Sony keep its philosophy alive?

Minolta Maxxum 9 - Will there be a Sony digital equivalent?

Minolta Maxxum 9

June 2008, Carl Garrard

Arguably the king of all affordable SLR Film cameras, the Minolta Maxxum 9 SLR is Minolta's heritage at its finest. The question I have is, will its bloodline continue in a future model like the Maxxum 7 or will it be forever a lost ghost in our memories? Before you conclude that the Sony Flagship will be the successor, I think you should re-consider. Let me muse this thought aloud.