Camera Menus

The menu system itself is essentially a flat, single-tier structure in which all of the options can be seen without delving into sub-menus (only a couple of menu options have sub-screens with additional parameters). Because the A77 is a high-end camera, it requires 16 pages of menus, split into seven fairly logical groupings - it won't take you long to work out which section the option you're looking for is in.

Despite this relatively simple menu structure, the camera is able to offer a pretty high level of user customization without the complexity out-growing the relatively simple menu stucture. It does mean there isn't the room for the really precise configuration of behaviour offered by the likes of the Nikon D300S or Canon EOS 7D (The Nikon, for instance, has a 50 options in its custom menu). However, since many of the options in these camera are to do with fine-tuning the behavior of the AF system and the camera controls, we haven't felt the need to meddle with them too much - the A77's default behaviour is well worked out.

The A77's menus are grouped into seven sections; Record, Movie, Custom, Playback, Memory, Date and Time, and Setup. The left and right arrows on the multi-controller jump between menus while the up and down (or control dial) scroll through them.

Record menu

The record section ranges across three pages and covers a slightly odd mixture of output parameters (image size, file format, noise reduction level), and camera behavior (manual focus override in AF-A mode, image stabilization and focus priority settings).
Option Values / Actions Notes
Page one
Image size  • L: 24M (20M in 16:9)
 • M: 12M (10M in 16:9)
 • S: 6.0M (5.1M in 16:9)		 - 6000 x 4000 (6000 x 3376 in 16:9)
- 4240 x 2832 (4240 x 2400 in 16:9)
- 3008 x 2000 (3008 x 1688 in 16:9)
Aspect Ratio  • 3:2
 • 16:9
Quality  • RAW
 • RAW & JPEG
 • Extra Fine
 • Fine
 • Standard 		 
Panorama: Size  • Standard
 • Wide		 Only available in Panorama mode
Panorama: Detection  • Right
 • Left
 • Up
 • Down		 Only available in Panorama mode
3D Pan: Image Size  • 16:9
 • Standard
 • Wide		 Only available in 3D Panorama mode
3D Pan: Direction  • Right
 • Left		 Only available in 3D Panorama mode
Page two
Long Exposure NR  • On
 • Off		  
High ISO NR.  • High
 • Normal
 • Low		 Increases noise reduction at ISO 1600 or above.
Flash control  • ADI Flash
 • Pre-flash TTL
 • Manual flash
  
Power ratio  • 1/1
 • 1/2
 • 1/4
 • 1/8
 • 1/16		 Only available when Manual Flash is selected
AF illuminator  • Auto
 • Off		  
Color Space  • sRGB
 • AdobeRGB
SteadyShot  • On
 • Off		  
Page three
Exposure step  • 0.5 EV
 • 0.3 EV		  
AF-A setup  • AF-A
 • DMF		  
Priority setup  • AF
 • Release		  
AF w/ shutter  • On
 • Off		  
Memory  • Select  

Movie menu

The A77's movie menu is short, and comprises only a single tab. This is where you'll find options to change the A77's video recording file format, and fine-tune audio settings, as well as activate SteadyShot image stabilization.

Option Values / Actions Notes
File Format  • AVCHD 60i/60p
 • MP4
Record Setting  • 60i 24M (FX)
 • 60i 17M (FH)
 • 60p 28M (PS)
 • 24p 24M (FX)
 • 24p 17M (FH)		 50i/p in European units
Audio Recording  • On
 • Off 		 
Wind Noise Reduct.  • On
 • Off 		 
SteadyShot  • On
 • Off 		 

Custom menu

The A77's custom menu is considerably more involved than those on existing Sonys, such as the A55, reflecting the camera's great complexity. It's worth studying the options available in this section - you may find ways to customize the camera's behavior to better suit the way you want to shoot.
Option Values / Actions Notes
Page one
Eye-Start AF  • On
 • Off 		Sets the camera to AF if it detects an eye has been put to the viewfinder.
FINDER/LCD setting  • Auto
 • Manual		 Switch between rear LCD and EVF
Red Eye Reduction  • On
 • Off 		 
Release w/o Lens  • Enable
 • Disable		  
Auto+ cont advance  • Auto
 • Off 		Continuous shooting in Auto+ mode
Auto+ image extract  • Auto
 • Off 		Saving all images that were shot continuously in Auto+ mode
Page two
Grid Line  • Rule of 3rds Grid
 • Square Grid
 • Diag. +Square Grid
 • Off		  
Auto Review  • 10 Sec
 • 5 Sec
 • 2 Sec
 • Off		  
DISP Button (Monitor)  • Graphic Display
 • Display All Info.
 • No Disp. Info.
 • Level
 • Histogram
 • For viewfinder		 Sets which screens are available on the rear display when shooting.
DISP Button (Finder)  • Graphic Display
 • Display All Info.
 • No Disp. Info.
 • Level
 • Histogram		 Sets which screens are available in the viewfinder when shooting.
Peaking Level  • High
 • Mid
 • Weak
 • Off 		 
Peaking Color  • Red
 • Yellow
 • White		  
Live View Display  • Setting Effect On
 • Setting Effect Off		 Defines whether the preview represents exposure brightness
Page three
Func. of AEL button  • Exposure Comp.
 • Drive Mode
 • Flash Mode
 • AF area
 • Face Detection
 • Smile Shutter
 • ISO
 • Metering Mode
 • Flash Comp.
 • White Balance
 • DRO/Auto HDR
 • Creative Style
 • Picture Effect
 • Image Size
 • Quality
 • AEL hold
 • AEL toggle
 • Spot AEL hold
 • Spot AEL toggle
 • AF/MF Control Hold
 • AF/MF Control Toggle
 • Object Tracking
 • AF lock
 • Aperture Preview
 • Shot. Result Preview
 • Smart Telecon.
 • Focus Magnifier
 • Memory		  
ISO Button  • As above  
AF/MF button  • As above  
Preview Button  • Shot. Result Preview
 • Aperture Preview		 A digital preview shows the effect of DRO setting as well as aperture
Focus Hold Button  • Focus Hold
 • D.O.F. Preview		  
Smart Telecon. Button  • Smart Telecon.
 • Focus Magnifier		  
Page four
Ctrl dial setup  • Front Dial SS Rear Dial F/no.
 • Front Dial F/no. Rear Dial SS		  
Dial exp.comp  • Off
 • Front Dial
 • Rear Dial		  
Exp. comp. set  • Ambient&flash
 • Ambient only		  
Bracket order  • 0 – +
 • – 0 +		  
AF drive speed  • Fast
 • Slow		  
Page five
Lens Comp.: Shading  • Auto
 • Off 		 
Lens Comp.: Chro.Aber.  • Auto
 • Off 		 
Lens Comp.: Distortion  • Auto
 • Off 		 
Front Curtain Shutter  • On
 • Off 		 
Face Recognition  • New Registration
 • Order Exchanging
 • Delete
 • Delete All