Rear of camera controls

The controls on the rear of the camera run along the bottom of the LCD monitor (except the media select switch).

Controls

FINDER / LCD	Electronic Viewfinder / LCD Monitor switch This switch allows you to enable an image on either the LCD monitor or the Electronic Viewfinder. Sony has clearly chosen not to follow Minolta and HP in having a proximity sensor for the EVF.
	Display Pressing this button cycles through the screen display modes:  • Plain live view display (no overlay)  • Live view with overlaid information  • Live view with overlaid information and live histogram
	Self-timer / Thumbnail index In record mode pressing this button engages or disengages the self-timer. In play mode it switches to a 3x3 thumbnail index view.
	Digital Zoom / Magnify In record mode this engages digital zoom. In play mode this button is used to magnify the displayed image.
	Image Review Instantly reviews the last image / movie, in this mode you can zoom into the image but not browse images on the media card. In my opinion it would have been far better to do away with the dedicated play mode and allow this button to enter a fully shooting-priority play mode.
CF /	Compact Flash / Memory Stick This switch controls which media slot the F828 is using. As soon as you flick the switch the camera examines the media in the slot and updates the number of frames remaining (record mode) or the displayed image (play mode).

Lens barrel controls

The button / switch controls on the right side of the lens barrel fall naturally under your left thumb. Most of the buttons are operated in the same way as described on the previous pages, that is you hold a button and turn the command dial to change the setting. The ring at the front of the lens barrel is the zoom ring, it is mechanically linked to the zoom mechanism and is smooth but just stiff enough so as not to be easily knocked, this dial has a rubber coating. The second dial is the focus-by-wire

Controls

OPEN (FLASH)	Pop-up Flash Flick this spring loaded lever to pop-up the flash, this simply triggers the electronic release mechanism and the flash quickly lifts out of its housing.
	Flash mode Hold button and turn command dial.  • Auto  • Flash On  • Slow Sync  • Flash Off
	Metering mode Hold button and turn command dial.  • Multi-pattern  • Center-Weighted Average  • Spot
	Macro focus Press this button to toggle macro focus on or off.
/BRK	Drive / Bracket mode Hold button and turn command dial.  • Single  • Speed Burst (2.5 fps, max 7 frames, no LCD review during shooting)  • Framing Burst (2.3 fps, max 7 frames, LCD review after each shot)  • Multi Burst (16 images on a single 1 mp frame, custom interval)  • Bracket
FOCUS	Focus mode This switch controls whether focusing is carried out automatically or manually by the focus-by-wire ring.
NIGHTSHOT / FRAMING	Nightshot / Nightframing mode Hold button and turn command dial.  • Off  • Nightshot  • Nightframing