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Quick Start Guide FUJIFILM X-A7
Congratulations on your new FUJIFILM X-A7! This quick start guide introduces your camera’s features and functions and will help you get more creative with your photography.
Contents
Personalising your camera
Many aspects of the X-A7 can be customised to suit your preferences, such as controls, displays and shooting modes.
Fn function button
The camera’s top-plate Fn button can be customised to perform different tasks, as can the digital Fn buttons on the LCD screen. The top-plate Fn button is found on the far right of the top plate, in the middle of the rear command dial, and by default it is set as the MOVIE RECORDING RELEASE button.
- Press MENU OK and navigate to the SET UP menu.
- In the options, go to BUTTON SETTING, then select FUNCTION (Fn) SETTING.
- Finally, select the Fn button to customise from the list and choose the setting you want, then press MENU OK to confirm.
Customising touchscreen information
The information you see when you compose a scene can be changed so only the data you need is shown.
- Press MENU OK, then scroll down to the SET UP menu tab. Press MENU OK.
- Choose SCREEN SET-UP, then scroll down the menu and select DISP. CUSTOM SETTING.
- Choose what you’d like to see on the camera’s screen. To switch screen items on or off, press MENU OK, then press DISP BACK to exit.
Customising Film Simulation modes
You’ve probably discovered your camera’s Film Simulation modes by now, but did you know you can customise these to your own tastes?
Focusing modes
Focus point place and size
The size of the active focusing area used by your X-A7 can be changed in size and moved around the frame. In the Q Menu’s AF MODE icon, choose from Single Point (highly selective), Zone (for erratically moving subjects), Wide/Tracking (uses the whole frame) and ALL using the rear command dial. To move the active point or zone, or change its size:
- Press the MENU OK button, then scroll to the AF/MF SETTING menu.
- Select the FOCUS AREA option. You can now push the Focus Lever up, down, left or right to move the AF point, or do it by pressing the touchscreen.
- Rotate the rear command dial to change the size of the focus point/area.
- Press MENU OK or half press the shutter release button to confirm.
Making the most of manual focus
When you’re focusing manually, the X-A7 offers a couple of focusing aids to help you nail critical focus.
- On the X-A7’s LCD screen, press the left-facing arrow, bottom right. Put the camera in M focus mode by tapping the focus mode icon at the bottom left of the Smart Menu on the camera’s touchscreen (it will say AF-S, AF-C or MF if you’re already in the mode).
- To select Focus Peaking, where the area in focus is highlighted in a colour of your choice, press MENU OK, then scroll to the AF/MF SETTING menu. Navigate to the second page of the menu and select MF ASSIST. Select FOCUS PEAK HIGHLIGHT, then press MENU OK to select a colour and HIGH/LOW intensity setting. Press DISP BACK to exit the menu.
- To switch on Focus Check (where a central portion of the scene is magnified when you begin to focus manually), press MENU OK and scroll to the AF/MF SETTING menu. Navigate to the second page of the menu and select FOCUS CHECK. Choose ON and press MENU OK once more. Press DISP BACK or touch the shutter button to exit the menu.
Switch on AF+MF from the AF/MF SETTING menu and you’ll be able to focus manually just by turning the lens focus ring – no change of focus mode necessary.
Smart menus
Activated via your X-A7’s screen, you’ll find the new touch-activated Smart Menu feature, which lets you adjust shooting settings and check the results as they happen on screen to perfect your image. You can change settings including the Touch Screen modes, White Balance, Film Simulation modes, the Focus mode, Exposure Compensation, Depth Control to set how much of the image is in focus, and the Aspect Ratio, and see the new look right there on the screen.
- Switch on the camera and on the X-A7’s LCD screen, notice the left-facing arrow at the bottom right of the display. Press this and you’ll open the Smart Menu.
- Next, press one of the options at the edge of the screen, which will open a sub-menu. There, you can control the effect, either by touching arrows to increase or decrease the adjustment, or by swiping left or right.
- When you have selected the settings you want, press the back arrow at the top left of the screen to go back to shooting. And if you need more information, press the ? symbol, bottom left.
Did you know that the number and type of options in the Smart Menu depends on the shooting mode, accessed via the mode dial on top of the X-A7? For example, if you have the X-A7 in Aperture Priority mode, you’ll be able use Depth Control, while in the Advanced Filters mode, you’ll be able to move through filters and see exactly how they affect the scene.
Shooting video
Picking the right settings
The first thing to decide is which resolution and frame rate settings to use. You’ll find these options by pressing MENU OK > MOVIE SETTING > MOVIE MODE.
- 4K 29.97P gives the best resolution and clarity on the X-A7.
- FHD (Full HD 1080) options still provide a good level of resolution, but at higher frame rates, which helps capture movement more fluidly.
HD (720) options offer less resolution, but files are smaller so you can fit more footage on your memory card. - Settings marked with SQ offer a square format in FHD and HD modes. For example, SQFHD will give you 1080×1080 output.
- When it comes to frame rate, 24p is fine for most normal applications. Footage shot at frame rates of 59.94p or 50p captures motion more smoothly.
HD high-speed video options
The X-A7 also allows you to explore the world of slow-motion moviemaking, perfect for sport and action subjects, and regular day-to-day events, at a variety of speeds to match what you’re shooting. All of the slow-motion options are recorded at HD (720) resolution.
- To find the slow-motion settings, press MENU OK and move down to the MOVIE SETTING menu. Select HD HIGH SPEED VIDEO.
- Now choose between 1.6x, 2x, 3.3x and 4x slow motion. Press MENU OK to confirm.
- If you activate any of the HD HIGH SPEED VIDEO settings, the MOVIE MODE options will be greyed out in the MOVIE SETTING menu. Select OFF to cancel the slow-motion effect.
Using time-lapse to make a movie
There’s another way to make movies outside of the MOVIE SETTING menu. You can set up the X-A7 to shoot a long sequence of shots and then have it stitch them into a movie to show the passing of time. TIME-LAPSE MOVIE MODE can be used to make 4K, Full HD and HD movies, as well as SQ square crops of those formats.
- Press MENU OK to enter the main menu, then move down to the SHOOTING SETTING menu. Select TIME-LAPSE MOVIE MODE from the list, then choose the file resolution and frame rate you want to use.
- Press DISP BACK until you return to the SHOOTING SETTING menu, then select INTERVAL TIMER SHOOTING.
- In the INTERVAL/NUMBER OF TIMES screen, use the Focus Lever to set the INTERVAL, which is the time between shots, and the NUMBER OF TIMES, which is the total number of frames. Press MENU OK to confirm.
- On the next screen, called SETTING, select STILL+TIME-LAPSE MOVIE. At the foot of the screen, you’ll see the settings confirmed, including the total length of the video. Press OK to set.
- Finally, choose START WAITING TIME. Here you can input a delay in hours and minutes, or use 0h and 0m to start the sequence immediately. Press MENU OK to begin the sequence.
Connecting to your smart device
Your X-A7 can communicate wirelessly with your smartphone or tablet computer via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, so you can transfer pictures to your device where they can be edited and shared with friends and followers online. You can also use your smart device to shoot remotely, controlling the camera and even looking at what the camera sees with remote live view.
Linking to the camera for the first time
- Install the free FUJIFILM Camera Remote app on your iOS or Android device.
- Turn on the camera, press MENU OK and navigate to the SET UP menu. Choose CONNECTION SETTING > Bluetooth SETTINGS > PAIRING REGISTRATION. The camera will begin searching for your device.
- In the FUJIFILM Camera Remote app, tap PAIRING REGISTRATION.
- Follow the instructions in the FUJIFILM Camera Remote app on your device to complete pairing.
Transferring images to your device
- Press the PLAY button, then press the Fn button on top of the camera.
- Scroll through your images, pressing MENU
- OK to tag any for transfer.
When you’ve finished, hit DISP BACK. Image transfer should begin.
If your device is already connected to a Wi-Fi network, the app may ask to switch to the camera’s own Wi-Fi before transfer can begin.
