Section 6: Instant Feedback in Playback Mode

If you don't know it by now, shooting digitally will turn you into a better photographer. The reason why is that you can see, and have the chance to improve on, the last shot you took the instant you take it. So you can critique it and make the changes it takes to make it a better shot. In fact, for that very reason, it's a good idea to get in the habit of taking a test shot every time you encounter a new shooting situation.

Reviewing Your Shots

As soon as you take a picture, the camera gives you a short-lived review of it on the monitor. You should get in the habit of looking at that picture right after you shoot it. You're not trying for a thorough evaluation at this stage, just a good preview of whether something like a setting or the angle of the sun is ruining the picture. If it is, you can review the picture again, decide what needs changing, change it, and go on taking great pictures. If you wait until you get home, you've waited too long.

If you've shot a sequence, you won't automatically see any but the last picture. That's because the camera needs time and resources to write the images you just shot to the memory card.

Reviewing pictures is dead easy. Here's all you need do:

  • Press the Playback button. The last photo you took immediately appears on-screen, as we've seen.

  • The Sony A100 lets you magnify the image to 100% so that you can judge perfectly how sharp the picture is. All you need do is press the AEL button and watch the picture ...

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