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EA50

Sony EA50 Quick Reference Manual

GETTING STARTED WITH THE SONY EA50
(Quick Reference Guide)
Getting Started
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ALWAYS BRING YOUR OWN HEADPHONES to every shoot!
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Make sure your batteries are fully charged. Battery snaps into back of camera; to remove battery hit battery release button near the base of the handle.
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Always start by calibrating your LCD display for the current lighting conditions.
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For handheld / documentary shooting, the built-in shoulder mount provides excellent ergonomics, allowing you to balance the camera on your shoulder for even weight distribution and steady shooting. Release the shoulder mount by pulling the tab underneath the camera.
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Make sure date and time are set correctly when you power on (this is useful metadata that is written to your clips as you record.
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If you’re using the viewfinder, make sure the diopter ring is set correctly for your eyesight; if you wear glasses and prefer shooting without glasses, try calibrating the diopter for your vision (use slider on viewfinder)
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Format your memory card before starting to record – make sure footage from previous user is cleared off. A 32GB card will hold around two hours of footage. To format: MENU > OTHERS > MEDIA FORMAT > MEMORY CARD > OK
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Always shoot in manual for professional-quality recording: put IRIS, EXPOSURE (buttons on side of camera), and ZOOM (bottom of camera, under the lens) into manual mode before you start shooting.
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Always check your recording format before each shoot to make sure camera is in the right mode. Your editing system can handle a range of formats, but it is important to make sure that you are shooting consistently in whatever format you choose for your project (rather than mixing formats in FCP, which requires rendering and is hypothetically problematic if you leave FCP for color correction or layoff). A GOOD GENERAL FORMAT IS 1080 / 24P FX (1920 * 1080
resolution, 24 fps progressive, 24 Mbps). To check or change your recording format: MENU > REC / OUT SET > REC SET > REC FORMAT.
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If you anticipate a very long shoot with more hours of footage than can be stored on the cards provided by checkout, you may consider purchasing additional SDHC cards. If you use your own cards, make sure to take it out of the camera before returning it to the checkout lab.
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When shooting HD, carefully control your highlights to prevent clipping / blowing out. Use a light meter, as well as the camera exposure tools (Marker and zebra stripes) to make sure your exposure is not too hot; when in doubt, err on the side of underexposing.
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Make sure auto-manual master switch on camera side is always set to manual!
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Use LAST SCENE button to quickly check your shooting without switching into playback mode.
CAMERA FEATURES AND OPERATION
White Balance
Always do a MANUAL white balance before starting a shoot; adjust as needed during shooting if lighting conditions change:
a) Set White Balance Switch to position A or B (not Preset) b) Hold up a piece of white paper and fill the viewfinder with white c) Press and hold the one-push white balance button (next to the A/B / Preset
switch) until the white balance color temp is set.
d) For a shoot with variable lighting conditions, you may want to create an A and
B setting in advance so that you can easily toggle back and forth.
e) To quickly set white balance in a rush, you can use preset button (set to indoor
or outdoor in MENU > CAMERA SET > WB PRESET
Focusing
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Autofocus is NOT recommended for professional shooting situations. Keep in mind that AF is much less responsive at slower frame rates and doesn’t perform well in low light.
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PEAKING – creates slight edge enhancement highlight in viewfinder on objects in focus; useful for confirming focus visually
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Expanded Focus button – on top of hand grip; creates a pixel-for-pixel magnified extraction view in viewfinder; another useful visual confirmation of focus
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General Procedure to focus camera:
a)Zoom in on subject to 99%
b)Open iris up to narrow DOF
c)Put on ND filter if image is too bright with open iris
d)Press expanded focus button to dial in on subject
e)Turn focus ring
f) Use push auto focus to confirm focus in a rushed situation (works better in good
lighting)
Zooming
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Camera includes optical / power zoom (on lens) and digital zoom (switch on handgrip; not recommended).
EXPOSURE / EXPOSURE TOOLS
Iris Dial
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Always use manual exposure mode (hit iris button to switch modes - if you see an “A” next to the f-stop number, you’re in auto-iris mode).
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Aperture readout is on LCD. Use ring next to iris button to dial up or down f-stop range
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Max aperture depends on where you are in zoom range: zoomed in at 100%, max=6.3, at widest angle, max=3.5…. So stay wide for low-light shooting!
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Push auto iris can be useful to confirm or get ballpark exposure reading (like push focus).
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Iris readout numbers are sequences in 1/3 stops (i.e. 5.6 / 6.3 / 7.1/ 8 etc)
ND Filter (use for bright light or shallower DOF)
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There is no built-in ND filter in this camera! Your kit comes packed with a screw-on ND filter that you will need to attach for bright shooting conditions.
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The included filter is an adjustable, variable density filter. It cuts from 1.5 to 9 stops . Turn the outer ring on the filter from MIN to MAX to increase how much light is cut.
Gain
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Calculates amount of electronic gain that you add; brightens image electronically
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GAIN ADDS NOISE to picture; you’ve probably heard the general recommendation to use it sparingly, but because this camera doesn’t have a very fast lens, you will probably need to use some gain for indoors /low light shooting (and it doesn’t look so terrible with this camera).
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