Menu Position MENU --> 
7 --> Dial Exp.comp
What it Does Lets you assign “exposure compensation” function to either the front or rear control dials
Recommended Setting 
Dial
Menu Position MENU --> 7 --> Dial Exp.comp
What it Does Lets you assign “exposure compensation” function to either the front or rear control dials
Recommended Setting Dial
For me, the exposure compensation (also called “Exposure Value” or EV in the camera world) is the most useful control there is. I probably use it more than anything else, and when coupled with live view (as all mirrorless cameras do) it takes all of the guesswork out of exposing things properly. And so it makes sense to assign it to a control that is accessible. This feature lets you assign the function to either the Control Dial (to the right of the Exposure Mode dial) or the rear Control Wheel (surrounding the center button.) Personally, I find the Control Dial to be more convenient. (Translation: It is too easy to accidentally change the Control Wheel.)
You may well ask, “Yo! The control dial usually is used for setting exposure values, like shutter speeds and f/stops. That’s a pretty important function. How can you change those parameters when that dial has been reassigned?” The answer is “When you reassign either one of the wheels, the other wheel works like this:”
Exposure Mode |
What the Other Dial Does |
Program Mode |
Program Shift occurs (as described in Section A.6). |
Aperture Priority Mode |
Changes f/stop |
Shutter Priority mode |
Changes shutter speed |
Manual |
The concept of exposure compensation doesn’t apply (unless you have ISO set to AUTO), therefore the control dial controls f/stop, and the rear control dial controls shutter speeds (unless they were reversed using Control Dial Setup (previous section). |
TIP: When you’re in Manual Exposure mode and ISO is set to AUTO, if you’ve used Dial/Wheel Ev Comp to assign exposure compensation to a dial, it is disabled because, hey, you really need to be able to control both the f/stop and the shutter speed. You’ll have to use the down arrow button (factory default), some other pre-assigned button, or the menu to invoke exposure compensation. TIP For Sticklers: Okay, you’re right when you point out that you do lose some Program Shift flexibility when you reassign a wheel. When you reassign the front wheel, you only have P(a) mode accessible, meaning you can’t always select any shutter speed you want. When you reassign the rear wheel, you only have P(s) mode available, so you can’t always select any f/stop. Life is full of tradeoffs, and since I use program shift only once in a blue moon, I happily forgo this program shift limitation.) |
Menu Position MENU --> 7 --> Zoom Ring Rotate
What it Does When a power zoom lens is attached, this changes the direction you twist the zoom ring in order to zoom in or out
Recommended Setting: There’s a good chance you’ll find the default behavior to be the most intuitive
Constrats: It doesn’t work with the 16-50 “Kit” lens
Sony makes 4 E-mount “Power Zoom” lenses, with a built-in motor designed for smooth zooming when shooting movies. These lenses are:
Of the four, the first three are designed for APS-C cameras like the Alpha 6300. The 28-135mm “FE” lens is designed for full-frame cameras like the A7 series and therefore the focal length will be multiplied by 1.5 on the A6300, turning it into a 42 – 202mm lens. It’s also a monster of a lens, designed expressly for cinema rigs and is pretty expensive. So it may not be a good match for your camera.
Anyway, these lenses utilize a “zoom-by-wire” mechanism: When you turn the ring to zoom in or out, all it does is send an electronic signal to the camera body, which in turn sends another electronic signal to the lens instructing it to zoom in or out.
Therefore it’s pretty easy to reassign which way the camera zooms when you twist the ring a certain way. And that’s what this feature does.
Your options are:
Focusing is also a fly-by-wire function for most lenses, but for some reason Sony is not offering a function to perform a similar direction swap.
Menu Position MENU --> 8 --> Movie Button
What it Does Prevents accidental movie taking by insisting the mode dial be in “Movie” mode first.
Recommended Setting Always
Depending upon who you talk to, the red movie button on the camera was either designed to be easy to take movies on a moment’s notice, or was designed to be accidentally activated with the greatest of ease, causing frustration with the user and drained batteries to boot.
This feature was designed for those who, for whatever reason, find themselves accidentally taking movies a lot. When this feature is set to “Movie mode only”, the red button becomes inert unless you specifically move the mode dial to “Movie mode”; at which time the red button will then dutifully start and stop movies.
I’ve never had much of a problem with accidental activation, and so I keep this set to “Always” (meaning, “The red button will always start / stop movies, no matter what mode I’m shooting in”.)
TIP: The restriction applies to buttons that are assigned to “Movie” mode as well. |
Menu Position MENU --> 8 --> Dial / Wheel Lock
What it Does Enables / Disables the ability to lock some of the controls when holding down the Fn button for 2 seconds
Recommended Setting Unlock
Controls changing on you accidentally? This feature was designed to address that. When enabled, pressing and holding the Fn button for 2 seconds will lock (and then unlock) the top dial, and the rear wheel.
I don’t use lens caps when I'm shooting for the same reason I wouldn’t use this: it would slow me down. If I’m worried about accidentally changing some settings, I just turn the camera off.