89-year-old novice needs instruction manual

rapidrob · Jan 30, 2016

I was recently blessed with the gift of a Sony DSC-WX350. Other than the little multi-fold tissue paper "how to use your camera" that was included in the box I cannot find a users manual that I can comprehend. The closest I come is the manual on a disk that loads on your computer… and then you chase everything down item by item if you need help in using a feature. Is there a manual that presents a simple but comprehensive guide on using this lovely little photographic marvel? For example— "If you want to take a picture of your daughter holding your new grandson set this dial to "A" and this thingy to "Z". For "flash" set this dial to the "thunderbolt".— I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something like that exists.

I'm an old World War II Navy guy sort of crippled up but having fun. I thought the Argus C3 was the end of the line for camera improvement and modernization. Tells you how smart I am.

I printed out the "manual on disk" and found 300 and some pages later that that too was of little use. Perhaps I printed the manual out incorrectly, and that when it's printed out properly it magically transforms itself into an easy-to-understand publication?

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. A little late but nevertheless a sincere "Happy New Year" to all.

Cherylynne1 · Jan 30, 2016

Unfortunately, the manual is probably about as close as you can get to model specific instructions.

However, there are a number of books that are about digital photography in general. Any bookstore or library will have a whole section. I've for the "For Dummies" series is really helpful for beginners.

The trouble with the scenario you mentioned (granddaughter holding baby) is too specific for a book to give instructions. The book wouldn't know if it's day or night or how much light is in the room. So a deeper understanding of photography is required for the photographer to get a good picture. Any basic beginning photography book can help you to understand the different modes and when to use them.

BBbuilder467 · Jan 30, 2016

rapidrob said:
I was recently blessed with the gift of a Sony DSC-WX350. Other than the little multi-fold tissue paper "how to use your camera" that was included in the box I cannot find a users manual that I can comprehend. The closest I come is the manual on a disk that loads on your computer… and then you chase everything down item by item if you need help in using a feature. Is there a manual that presents a simple but comprehensive guide on using this lovely little photographic marvel? For example— "If you want to take a picture of your daughter holding your new grandson set this dial to "A" and this thingy to "Z". For "flash" set this dial to the "thunderbolt".— I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something like that exists.

I'm an old World War II Navy guy sort of crippled up but having fun. I thought the Argus C3 was the end of the line for camera improvement and modernization. Tells you how smart I am.

I printed out the "manual on disk" and found 300 and some pages later that that too was of little use. Perhaps I printed the manual out incorrectly, and that when it's printed out properly it magically transforms itself into an easy-to-understand publication?

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. A little late but nevertheless a sincere "Happy New Year" to all.

I don't have or use Sony.

If you look through the manual, there should be some "SCN" modes listed in most P&S cameras.

Those are like presets for a specific purpose like landscape, portrait, close-up, action and more like birthday, pets, baby, party, etc. They might have some odd names and symbols to get familiar with, but that could be what you are looking for.

I think the PDF manual downloaded to my desktop was easier to use than the paper manual.

barrym1966 · Jan 30, 2016

rapidrob said:
I was recently blessed with the gift of a Sony DSC-WX350. Other than the little multi-fold tissue paper "how to use your camera" that was included in the box I cannot find a users manual that I can comprehend. The closest I come is the manual on a disk that loads on your computer… and then you chase everything down item by item if you need help in using a feature. Is there a manual that presents a simple but comprehensive guide on using this lovely little photographic marvel? For example— "If you want to take a picture of your daughter holding your new grandson set this dial to "A" and this thingy to "Z". For "flash" set this dial to the "thunderbolt".— I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something like that exists.

I'm an old World War II Navy guy sort of crippled up but having fun. I thought the Argus C3 was the end of the line for camera improvement and modernization. Tells you how smart I am.

I printed out the "manual on disk" and found 300 and some pages later that that too was of little use. Perhaps I printed the manual out incorrectly, and that when it's printed out properly it magically transforms itself into an easy-to-understand publication?

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. A little late but nevertheless a sincere "Happy New Year" to all.

Loading…

www.photographyblog.com

theres a full review of your camera...

I see on the top dial it has a SCN mode, just select this and choose something like portrait mode, the flash should go off automatically as needed

baloo_buc · Jan 30, 2016

That manual is for camera specific settings. To make good pictures you need to learn a little bit about photography.

You will see that there are three parameters (in your case only 2 are really usable) to get a good exposure. And there is a lot of composition stuff to get artistic photos.

But you can start using Auto mode. It is designed to get you a decent photo in most of occasions.

For exposure:

Think that you fill a bucket with water from a tap.

You put the bucket under the tap, open it (partially or fully) and wait a time before the bucket is filled.

You have to do the same with a photo. The tap opening is called aperture, the time to fill, the bucket is the exposure time (improperly named shutter speed) and the size of the bucket represents ISO speed (the higher the ISO speed the smaller the bucket).

You must fill the bucket with water in order to see the photo. If you have a specific size of bucket and a specific tap opening it will take a specific amount of time to fill it. The pressure at the tap is the light you want to capture.

In your scenario (daughter with baby sitting) you want to have a shorter exposure time to freeze the movement of the camera and the subject. If you have a quite normal focal length (let's say 50 mm equivalent) you need to overcome the camera shake that for a photographer in its prime would be about 1/50 s and to overcome the small movements of the subject that would be about 1/125 s. You choose the shorter time i.e. 1/125 s.

If your camera let's you control directly the shutter speed you set it to 1/125 s and you let the aperture to open as much as possible. You keep the ISO speed at the minimum value (let's say it is ISO 80).

If you have a dark picture because you don't have enough light you have two options:

You add light
You decrease the bucket

In the first case you use the flash (you find how to turn it on in the manual). In the second you raise the ISO speed (not a good option for such a small sensor camera).

Unfortunately I don't know if that camera allows you to do so (it is a bare P&S). So if your only way of controlling the camera is the ISO speed you should rely on flash if the light gets dimmer.

For composition read a little bit about rule of thirds.

LynniePad · Jan 30, 2016

rapidrob said:
I was recently blessed with the gift of a Sony DSC-WX350. Other than the little multi-fold tissue paper "how to use your camera" that was included in the box I cannot find a users manual that I can comprehend. The closest I come is the manual on a disk that loads on your computer… and then you chase everything down item by item if you need help in using a feature. Is there a manual that presents a simple but comprehensive guide on using this lovely little photographic marvel? For example— "If you want to take a picture of your daughter holding your new grandson set this dial to "A" and this thingy to "Z". For "flash" set this dial to the "thunderbolt".— I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something like that exists.

Sony are notorious for poorly-written manuals. For my camera (Sony a6000), there are at least four different versions of the manual (printed short-form, on-line, downloadable PDF, etc.), and none of them are much use. The PDF file is potentially the most useful, but the PDF links etc. don't work particularly well (it's meant to be used on the computer).

It's clear from many posts here that some of the features of this popular camera are simply missed by new and old users alike. Since I was already familiar with other cameras, I was able to ferret out the features of the Sony for myself; by the time I had finished, I had practically written my own "instruction booklet".

You best option would be to use your camera on "Auto". There are several versions of auto on Sony cameras. My son, who is not a technical expert with cameras, uses his Sony a5100 on something called "Superior Auto" (heaven forbid using "Inferior Auto"), and the results are quite good. Flash is usually automatic in this sort of scenario.

There's no shame in using automatic modes, in fact I often use a new camera in auto mode for a time just to get used to it. There's a school of thought that if you aren't constantly twiddling dials and adjusting settings, you aren't doing photography "as it is meant to be done".

Do you have an instruction book that will show us how to get to 89?

chuxter · Jan 30, 2016

rapidrob said:
I was recently blessed with the gift of a Sony DSC-WX350. Other than the little multi-fold tissue paper "how to use your camera" that was included in the box I cannot find a users manual that I can comprehend. The closest I come is the manual on a disk that loads on your computer… and then you chase everything down item by item if you need help in using a feature. Is there a manual that presents a simple but comprehensive guide on using this lovely little photographic marvel? For example— "If you want to take a picture of your daughter holding your new grandson set this dial to "A" and this thingy to "Z". For "flash" set this dial to the "thunderbolt".— I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something like that exists.

Rob, if you have made it to 89, you should not need an instruction manual!

BUT, as others have said, there is no camera company that provides decent manuals.

HOWEVER, when you buy a car, you get an "Owners Manual" in the glove box. Nobody ever learned how to drive a car by reading one of those! So, perhaps your expectations are wrong?

What you need is instruction on how to "drive" your new camera. Depending on where you live, there may be people just waiting for your call. If you have a decent camera store [not Best Buy or Fry's] go ask them. My local store conducts classes of all types. Try your local community college; they often have "continuing education" classes. Look in craigslist.com; I see people advertising there all the time.

rapidrob said:
I'm an old World War II Navy guy sort of crippled up but having fun. I thought the Argus C3 was the end of the line for camera improvement and modernization. Tells you how smart I am.

I had an Argus C3.

rapidrob said:
I printed out the "manual on disk" and found 300 and some pages later that that too was of little use. Perhaps I printed the manual out incorrectly, and that when it's printed out properly it magically transforms itself into an easy-to-understand publication?

The .pdf manual is not intended to be printed out. Put it on your computer and use Acrobat to read it. The big advantage is that you can SEARCH for things. However, that requires that you know the secret name for what you need to know about! W/O the proper words, searching is futile. :-(

Start off then by expanding your vocabulary. Read my Glossary of Photographic Terms and Abbreviations:

Loading…

1derful.info

photosen · Jan 30, 2016

BBbuilder467 said:
rapidrob said:

I was recently blessed with the gift of a Sony DSC-WX350. Other than the little multi-fold tissue paper "how to use your camera" that was included in the box I cannot find a users manual that I can comprehend. The closest I come is the manual on a disk that loads on your computer… and then you chase everything down item by item if you need help in using a feature. Is there a manual that presents a simple but comprehensive guide on using this lovely little photographic marvel? For example— "If you want to take a picture of your daughter holding your new grandson set this dial to "A" and this thingy to "Z". For "flash" set this dial to the "thunderbolt".— I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something like that exists.

I'm an old World War II Navy guy sort of crippled up but having fun. I thought the Argus C3 was the end of the line for camera improvement and modernization. Tells you how smart I am.

I printed out the "manual on disk" and found 300 and some pages later that that too was of little use. Perhaps I printed the manual out incorrectly, and that when it's printed out properly it magically transforms itself into an easy-to-understand publication?

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. A little late but nevertheless a sincere "Happy New Year" to all.

Click to expand...

I don't have or use Sony.

If you look through the manual, there should be some "SCN" modes listed in most P&S cameras.

Those are like presets for a specific purpose like landscape, portrait, close-up, action and more like birthday, pets, baby, party, etc. They might have some odd names and symbols to get familiar with, but that could be what you are looking for.

I would choose one of these scene modes and just shoot away at everything and everyone around, the first thing to get used to is that there's no film so there's nothing to ruin if things go wrong: if the shot came out blurry or too dark or whatever, just erase it and try again, this way you'll lose your natural fear of "doing it wrong".

The second step is to always think of the light: it should be behind you, as you face your subject.

I got into photography with a more advanced setup but honestly my method was just that, and I'm very comfortable with technique now - whether my shots are worth anything is for others to say!

BBbuilder467 said:
I think the PDF manual downloaded to my desktop was easier to use than the paper manual.

Leonard Migliore · Jan 30, 2016

rapidrob said:
I'm an old World War II Navy guy sort of crippled up but having fun. I thought the Argus C3 was the end of the line for camera improvement and modernization. Tells you how smart I am.

Thank you for saving civilization. I'm sorry about what we've done with it.

Skipper494 · Jan 30, 2016

We're the same age (90 on March 15). Try Sony support http://esupport.sony.com/US/p/model-home.pl?mdl=DSCWX350 Or http://manualsink.com/camera-user-manuals.aspx Your multi language instruction sheet says this:

“Help Guide” is an on-line manual. Refer to it for in-depth
instructions on the many functions of the camera.
1 Access the Sony support page.

Loading…

www.sony.net

2 Select your country or region.
3 Search for the model name of your camera within the
support page.
• Check the model name on the bottom of your camera.

Not that that is of great help, but you can go to here: http://esupport.sony.com/CA/p/model-home.pl?mdl=DSCWX350&LOC=3#/manualsTab which has various guides, manual, etc. Here's the help guide which shows everything: https://docs.sony.com/release//DSC-WX350_Help_Guide_EN.pdf

Personally, I'd leave it on 'P', go into the menu and choose centre spot for AF and exposure, 3:2 aspect ratio.

SoCalWill · Jan 30, 2016

photosen said:
The second step is to always think of the light: it should be behind you, as you face your subject.

So long as the light source is not the sun, sunlight on faces is what you wanted for good exposure with a Kodak Brownie, not with an 18 megapixel digital camera.

Skipper494 said:
Personally, I'd leave it on 'P', go into the menu and choose centre spot for AF and exposure, 3:2 aspect ratio.

Center AF, Multi exposure. But yeah, that's where any camera I use is 90% of the time.

casperskitty · Jan 30, 2016

I would just add that there is a Sony Cybershot specific forum here at DPReview.

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www.dpreview.com

And that if any other such manual is in existence, someone there might know, and at the least, they will be a lot of help with your camera in the future. Also, most forums like to share their images so it would be a great place to post and ask for advice on what to do better next time.

Most importantly, have fun with your new camera!

Krusty79 · Feb 1, 2016

This YouTube review gives some guidance on using the camera -

skyglider · Feb 2, 2016

rapidrob said:
I was recently blessed with the gift of a Sony DSC-WX350. Other than the little multi-fold tissue paper "how to use your camera" that was included in the box I cannot find a users manual that I can comprehend. The closest I come is the manual on a disk that loads on your computer… and then you chase everything down item by item if you need help in using a feature. Is there a manual that presents a simple but comprehensive guide on using this lovely little photographic marvel? For example— "If you want to take a picture of your daughter holding your new grandson set this dial to "A" and this thingy to "Z". For "flash" set this dial to the "thunderbolt".— I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something like that exists.

I'm an old World War II Navy guy sort of crippled up but having fun. I thought the Argus C3 was the end of the line for camera improvement and modernization. Tells you how smart I am.

I printed out the "manual on disk" and found 300 and some pages later that that too was of little use. Perhaps I printed the manual out incorrectly, and that when it's printed out properly it magically transforms itself into an easy-to-understand publication?

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. A little late but nevertheless a sincere "Happy New Year" to all.

Here's a link to the "Help Guide" for your camera . I suspect that it's the same thing that came on the CD that came with your camera.

In case this is your first digital camera, may I suggest some parameters for your initial setup: (If you're already familiar with digital cameras, stop reading now.)

1. Turn the top dial to the "P" (Program Mode).

2. Set the aspect ratio for your pictures to the 3:2 aspect ratio. That would be perfect for making 6x4 inch prints. It also allows a wider view on wide screen computer monitors and HDTV sets. Do this by going:

.... MENU → (Camera Settings) → [Aspect Ratio] → 3:2

3. Next set the largest image size for the 3:2 aspect ratio by going:

.... MENU → (Camera Settings) → [Image Size] → L: 16M 4896×3264 pixels

4. Next set the jpg compression for best quality by going:

.... MENU → (Camera Settings) → [Quality] → Fine (default setting)

5. Select the focusing area as Center by going:

.... MENU → (Camera Settings) → [Focus Area] → Center

SHOOTING IN P-MODE:

Using the settings above, you will have center area focus instead of wide area focus. Wide area focus lets the camera decide what to focus on. Center area focus lets you decide what to focus on. To use Center area focus, place the focus rectangle on the object you want in best focus. (Usually a face) Press the shutter button half way down and wait until the focus lock indicator comes on. Then you may recompose the scene while still holding the shutter button half pressed. (Like you want the person to be on the side of the scene instead of the center.) Focus will remain on what you previously focused on. Then slowly press the shutter the rest of the way down to take the picture. This is called the focus and recompose method.

SHOOTING IN AUTO MODE:

If you hand the camera to a waiter to take a picture of two or more people, turn the top dial to the "Auto" mode. This will allow the camera to use face detection (I assume the WX350 has face detection) to select the focus point.

Taking a picture of two people using P-Mode and Center area focusing without using the focus and recompose method will put the focus rectangle "between" the two people and focus on something in the background. This is why it is best to turn the top dial to Auto mode when letting a waiter take your group picture.

A NOTE ABOUT SETTING THE CAMERA TO P-MODE:

If you don't make any settings to the camera, if you turn the top dial from Auto mode to P-Mode, the camera will still take pictures exactly as if you were still in Auto mode. In this case, Auto mode and P-Mode are identical. Using P-Mode just allows you to make some custom settings and then only those specific custom settings are different from Auto mode. Everything else remains identical to Auto mode.

ADVANCED SHOOTING:

I see in the manual that the WX350 allows a histogram overlay on the screen. It also allows changing exposure compensation. Later on if you wish to experiment with getting optimum exposures most of the time, you can use both of these functions. Google ETTR (Expose To The Right) for how this works.

Disclaimer: I don't own a WX350 so the suggested settings above are just by reading the online Help Guide.

Happy shooting,
Sky

lonestarjohn · Feb 2, 2016

I'm within a couple of years of you and appreciate your confusion. The WX350 is built for the beginner and does most of the job for you (or so I've just read). I bought a Sony A6000 and had the same problem. I bought Gary L. Friedman's 'SONY ALPHA A6000 DIGITAL CAMERA'. It has 598 pages of everything regarding that camera. I have learnt so much. I am sure if you read the relevant pages it would be extremely helpful BUT I guess on 50 pages are relevant to you. I don't think he done a book on the WX350. They cost £26 so this advice may be irrelevant

lonestarjohn

lonestarjohn · Feb 2, 2016

oops I made a blunder - I would estimate that at least half of the book ALPHA 6000 DIGITAL CAMERA explains the basic reasons and correction control selection for that camera, which would be applicable to your camera as well. It also covers in depth the use of lighting (particularly flash) this would all be relevant to you

lonestarjohn

Isola Verde · Feb 3, 2016

Back in the early 2000s, I found this book ("How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera") very useful for my own transition to digital - but it's likely to be rather outdated now?

cutterpup · Feb 3, 2016

rapidrob said:
I'm an old World War II Navy guy sort of crippled up but having fun. I thought the Argus C3 was the end of the line for camera improvement and modernization. Tells you how smart I am.

I have 3 C3's in my collection. Still searching for the mythical one made prior to 1945. I know they're out there somewhere.

casperskitty · Feb 3, 2016

cutterpup said:
rapidrob said:

I'm an old World War II Navy guy sort of crippled up but having fun. I thought the Argus C3 was the end of the line for camera improvement and modernization. Tells you how smart I am.

Click to expand...

I have 3 C3's in my collection. Still searching for the mythical one made prior to 1945. I know they're out there somewhere.

cutterpup · Feb 3, 2016

casperskitty said:
cutterpup said:

rapidrob said:

I'm an old World War II Navy guy sort of crippled up but having fun. I thought the Argus C3 was the end of the line for camera improvement and modernization. Tells you how smart I am.

Click to expand...

I have 3 C3's in my collection. Still searching for the mythical one made prior to 1945. I know they're out there somewhere.

--
Yes Cathy, "There really is a Pink-footed goose, and I have the pictures to prove it." As told to my boss after she had seen "The Big Year"

Click to expand...

How can you tell the difference? I have a C3 but have no idea when it was made.

--
Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting, it may not be logical but it is often true. ~Mr. Spock, Star Trek

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