Preface

The Sony a6600, the new flagship of Sony’s APS-C mirrorless product line, is the most sophisticated and versatile a6xxx-series camera the company has ever offered. Its 24 megapixels of resolution capture enough detail to satisfy the most discerning landscape, commercial, or portrait photographer’s needs, and it can fire off continuous bursts at an 11-frames-per-second rate that make it a sports photographer’s dream. Ultra-accurate real-time tracking—which can detect faces, human or animal eyes, and follow them to keep focus with impressive accuracy has multiple applications including candid portrait, pet, child, and sports photography. With advanced autofocus, five-axis anti-shake image stabilization built into the camera body, and 4K video capabilities, the a6600 comes close to being a “do-everything” model that is a jack of all trades—and master of them, as well.

In a few short years, Sony has gone from being a Nikon and Canon competitor that offered warmed-over Konica Minolta digital camera technology, to an acknowledged innovator with a lineup of cameras that are smaller, lighter, faster to focus, and loaded with cutting-edge features that many of us have been dreaming about. So, it’s no wonder you’re excited about your new Sony a6600. With all these features at your disposal, you don’t expect to take good pictures with such a camera—you demand and anticipate outstanding photos.

Unfortunately, your gateway to pixel proficiency is dragged down by the limited instructions provided by Sony. Over the years, Sony has reduced the amount of useful information included in its printed guidebooks, often to a scant 100 pages or so, and relegated more detailed instructions to online HTML-based guides and PDF versions that are difficult to navigate. And, sad to say, not everything you need to know is included.

What you really need is a guide that explains the purpose and function of the cameras’ basic controls, how you should use them, and why. That’s what I am giving you in this book. If you want a quick introduction to focus controls, flash synchronization options, how to choose lenses, or which exposure modes are best, this book is for you. If you can’t decide on what basic settings to use with your camera because you can’t figure out how changing ISO or white balance or focus defaults will affect your pictures, you need this guide.