Camera Operation
Initial Camera Set-Up
Format SD Card
This will delete everything on the SD card. Make sure you have already transferred all files to your computer.
Click the “MENU” button
Tap the 4th icon (tool icon, yellow, "Function Settings")
Tap “OK”
Tap “Format card” > “OK”
Disable Beep
Click the MENU button
Go to “Function Settings” (4th icon: tool)
Tap “OK”
“2” > “Beep” > “Disable”
Set to Manual Movie Mode
On the top dial, switch to video mode (video camera icon)
Click the MENU button
Go to the first icon (camera icon, red, “Shooting Settings") and tap “OK”
Tap “Shooting Mode"
Tap “Movie manual exp.” > “OK”
Set the Movie rec quality
Click the MENU button
Go to “Shooting Settings” (1st icon: camera) and tap “OK”
Tap “1” > “Movie rec quality”
Tap “FHD 29.97P” (1920 x 1080 29.97 fps) > “OK”
Set the Shutter Speed
Shutter speed impacts the motion blur. Your eyes naturally see a certain amount of blur. The rule is to set your shutter speed to double your frame rate. (ex: 30 fps x 2 = 60)
Tap the bottom-left number on your screen
Drag to “60” (1/60)
Set to AWB: Auto White Balance
White balance sets the color temperature so objects on film actually look white (and other colors look correct).
Tap "Q"
Tap the icon in the top right below the back arrow.
Tap "AWB"
Set up Auto Focus
Click the "AF MF" button to switch between manual focus (MF) and auto focus (AF). Click to set to "Autofocus" on the screen
Keep "SERVO AF" on
Set the AF Method
Click the MENU button
Go to “Shooting Settings” (1st icon: camera) and tap “OK”
Tap “5" > "AF method"
Tap the "(face icon) + Tracking"
Enable "Eye detection"
Click the MENU button
Go to “Shooting Settings” (1st icon: camera) and tap “OK”
Tap “5" > "Eye detection"
Tap "Enable"
Quick Operation
Set Aperture & ISO
We will learn about aperture and ISO later. For now:
Tap on the second number (ISO) and adjust to 1.4
Tap on ISO in the bottom right and select "AUTO"
How to Record & FOcus
There are two ways to start/stop the recording:
Record Button
To start recording a video, click the red dot button on top
Click the same button to stop the recording.
Touch Screen
Tap the red dot on the screen.
Tap the red square to stop the recording.
How to Focus
Simply tap on the screen where you want the camera to focus.
Aperture
About Aperture
Changes:
Depth of field (how much is in focus vs. blurry)
How much light the frame is exposed to
Wide Aperture (low f/ number, shallow depth, more light): Only a little in focus and a lot blurred
Narrow Aperture (high f/ number, deep depth, less light): Everything in focus
When/Why
Wide Aperture (Low f-number, shallow depth, more light):
Cinematic shots where you want the subject in focus while blurring the background.
Creates a visually appealing separation between the subject and the surroundings.
Narrow Aperture (High f-number, deep depth, less light):
Everything in the frame sharp and in focus
Ex: landscape shots or documentary interviews.
Choose Aperture
Tap the bottom-second-left number on your screen
Tap and drag to choose your aperture based on what you want your depth of field to be (see above)
Exposure
The amount of light reaching your sensor
You want your viewer to see all the details (highlights and shadows).
Whenever your lighting changes, you need to check the exposure.
Check Light/Exposure Meter
Hold down the shutter button halfway
Look at the -3 > +3 light/exposure meter to see how your lighting is.
Positive number: overexposed (reduce ISO or add an ND filter)
Negative number: underexposed (increase ISO or add more lights)
Adjust Exposure
To adjust exposure you can use:
ISO (light/noise)
ND Filters (camera sunglasses)
Lights
ISO
Sensitivity to light (like increasing the volume of a radio that has static)
Higher ISOs enable you to shoot in darker conditions but will show more of the grain or noise.
In general, you want to shoot with the lowest ISO you can.
Adjust ISO
Adjust your ISO until your exposure meter is on center (at 0):
Tap the bottom-right "ISO" number on your screen
Tap and drag to change the ISO based on your exposure needs.
If your light/exposure meter was showing a positive number: reduce ISO
If your light/exposure meter was showing a negative number: increase ISO
Other Exposure Adjustment Options
Neutral Density (ND) filters: sunglasses for your camera (use when it is too bright - overexposed)
Lights: (use when it is too dark - underexposed)
