Figure 11-5: This feature enables the IR receiver built into the camera’s grip. There are many remotes available: The wired RM-VPR1 (top right), and infrared units (bottom row).
Menu Position MENU --> 3 --> Remote Ctrl
What it Does Enables the infrared receiver so you can use the IR Remote
Recommended Setting n/a
The A6300 has an infrared receiver built-into the camera’s grip, but to conserve power this receiver is OFF by default. To turn it ON you have to enable this option.
If you’re looking for a remote control, you can use either the wired variety (like Sony’s RM-VPR1, Figure 11-5b) or the wireless infrared kind. Such remotes can improve the sharpness of time exposures when you use shaky tripods on windy nights.
Sony sells such a remote -- the RMT-DSLR2 – however I strongly recommend a 3rd party unit called the Snapshot Tech AUS model RC-05 which is more reasonably priced, does the same thing, AND the buttons won’t get accidentally activated while in your camera bag (thus draining the battery unnecessarily). There is also a one-button IRMT-DSLR1.
Once enabled, only two buttons on the Sony IR remote control will function: The one labeled “Shutter” (which works like a remote shutter release), and the one marked “2 sec” (which will fire the shutter after a 2-second delay – this is handy when you want to be in the group shot but don’t want the shot to show you pointing the remote at the camera :-) ). The red button on the RMT-DSLR2 allows you to start / stop the video.
The rest of the buttons are useful for when your camera is attached to an HDTV and you’re playing back your images through an HDMI cable (which I discuss in Section 10.5).
There’s also an insanely cheap one-button remote, which isn’t all that limiting now that you can couple the IR remote with the self-timer function in the Drive menu. It’s called the IRMT-DSLR1 and it’s available for about USD $3 from http://amzn.to/1mr0WdC.
Figure 11-5: This feature enables the IR receiver built into the camera’s grip. There are many remotes available: The wired RM-VPR1 (top right), and infrared units (bottom row). |
Yet ANOTHER infrared remote control option is for smartphone users whose phones have an infrared transmitter (my Galaxy S5 and S6 does). For you there's a FREE app that lets you control Sony cameras remotely. It's called ShutterBOT (http://bit.ly/1PeoH62 ). If you have a Samsung phone then the capability is already there in a pre-loaded app called Samsung IR Universal Remote.
The infrared remote commander has a limited range – maybe 20 feet or so indoors, and as little as 5 feet outdoors on a bright day. So if it doesn’t work for you, at least you have the 10 second self-timer to fall back on.
TIP 1: When your camera is in Remote Ctrl mode, the camera remains in a high state of alert – it never goes to “sleep”, and the rear display stays on full-blast. This will drain your battery in a hurry, so be sure to take your camera OUT of Remote Commander mode as soon as you are finished! TIP 2: When you use the infrared remote commander (either the “shutter” or the “2 sec” button), the camera will autofocus first before it takes the picture (assuming it's not in Manual Focus mode, of course). If it can’t find focus, it won’t take a picture. |
Menu Position MENU --> 4 --> HDMI Settings
What it Does Controls several settings related to the HD output
Recommended Setting n/a
This lets you select one of many HDMI-related functions:
What it Does Forces the camera’s output to be one of several resolutions
Recommended Setting AUTO
This feature really shouldn’t be necessary. One of the great things about the HDMI specification is that the first thing two devices will do when you hook them together is inquire about their resolutions and other capabilities. So when you hook up your camera to a 1080p video display the camera will know it and adjust its output accordingly – all automatically.
So why did Sony include this little function? I don’t know, but I can guess – not all video sources and video displays implement the specification properly, and there probably have been cases where automatic parameter setting didn’t occur correctly. Anyway, there’s a very good chance you’ll never even need this function, but at least now you know what it does.
The choices you have for this feature are: