John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

Depending on which focusing method I choose, I see a bunch of little green brackets in the EVF or LCD. The pronos for the Sony a6300 touts there being 425 phase difference focus squares and 189 contrast difference focus squares and the promo picture has the arranged in rows and columns all across the view. So what does the camera do with them. The glass lens is rigid and can't be squished and the lens barrel doesn't move, when the shutter button is half-pushed. So does the camera weasel the F-stop on the sly to get lots of depth of field wirhout you knowing it. What if for expressiveness purposes you want shallow DOF. What if the background is a building wall with lots of stone decoratives. What if the subject is a sly fox at 25 feet in front of a mountain range miles away. So what does the camera do with all those green brackets? I suppose all the other cameras have them, not just Sony so this isn't a brand question.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Now you know you're not supposed to ask questions like that. Just set the camera to Auto and press the button. :D

It must be difficult engineering a new camera. Not only do they have to decide what they want the camera to do, they also have to figure out how to make it do it. And, they have to make it somewhat user friendly. I know that most autofocus cameras use their various focusing points to find the object that's closest to the lens and focus on that. That's why I use one single focusing point in the center. In at least one way, I'm smarter than the camera. I know what I want to shoot.

Shadetree Loc: Chattanooga, TN

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

In most of my focusing situations I just use the one central point to focus. I have yet to see my camera use all those points and get the correct subject. I believe Canon had a couple of models that could focus on what you looked at but they were film models.
So I just use the center focus only.

Jer Loc: Mesa, Arizona

Every press photographer I know uses the center Focus only. I wonder if some of this is just for marketing. I always found using multiple focusing points to be unreliable because I could never guarantee what it actually was going to focus on.

peterg Loc: Santa Rosa, CA

The bunch of green brackets tells you where the camera has already focused. Depending on the focus mode that you've selected, the brackets may move or not. If the camera is set to track a subject, the green brackets will move with the subject. How well it works depends on the subject, the camera settings and your technique. I have had very good success with the A6300 tracking birds-in-flight and bicycle races. The camera did exactly what I told it to do.

Sony's A6300 manual is terrible. For now, the best documentation that I've found for the A6300 is Gary Friedman's e-book at: http://friedmanarchives.com/a6300/index.htm . Other books will be released soon. Example: http://www.amazon.com/David-Buschs-ILCE-6300-Digital-Photography/dp/1681981548/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464272590&sr=1-1&keywords=sony+a6300 )

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

You read the instruction manual or a guide book about the camera... and learn how to control the camera yourself, circumventing most or all of the built-in automation. Then you practice a lot, learn when to use different modes... and when not to use them.

Cameras today are being built based on the theory that "more is better". How in the world did we ever manage to take a photo with only 5 or 9 AF sensors? Or, for that matter, without auto focus at all?

scsdesphotography Loc: Southeastern Michigan

To answer your other question, all the focus movement takes place inside the lens, the front element does not move in or out on modern lenses. In another era the front of the lens would rotate in or out as the lens autofocused. Watch a movie from the 60's - 70's which features a photographer and you'll see the lens in action.

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

I also have an a6300. I don't use the kit lens--I'm assuming from your description that you do. Actually, I bought one, but put it on my a6000.

The green brackets do give you the actual focus area. Depending on the area mode you have set, the green brackets can appear just in the center or wherever the camera has decided that the focus should be. The ultimate show of the focus success is the little green dot in the lower left corner.

If you have the focus area set to wide, it will focus on your building wall. The sly fox is probably too small, but if you change to center focus, that might work. There are six focus area options. Play around with them all.

One of Sony's weaknesses is the terrible manual. Canon, Nikon and Pentax all know how to write manuals. I can't understand why Sony can build a really great camera, but can't write a decent manual. (It's the other way with their audio gear. Their audio equipment is mediocre, but the manuals are good.) There is a full manual available on their website. You can download it (PDF). But it is still a piece of cxxp.

Don't ignore all the Youtube videos on the a6300. Gary Fong has some good ones. Gary is a marketer, so you have to pay the price for everything he "gives" away. But he is good.

You didn't say whether you were using the Auto or an SAP mode. If you want shallow DOF, just open up the aperture and let the camera choose the shutter speed or go to Manual and do the same thing. Of course an f3.5 aperture may not be large enough. That's one reason I have an f1.8, 50mm.

This is an awesome camera. As a Nikon/Canon/Pentax user for 40+ years, I have been skeptical of Sony. Bought the a6000 and became a believer. The a6300 is even better. Of course I'm just barely beginning to use mine--two months into it.

You may also find the Gary Friedman book on the a6000 is somewhat useful. It is not nearly as good as the David Busch books, but Busch has still not published his a6300 book. I have it on order from Amazon and just hope it comes out before I die.

Kuzano

It's all hype. Has been since the second set of brackets came on the scene.

The physics of lens optics is simple.... you get one point of focus per snap of the shutter. One shutter speed, one aperture and one ISO/ASA. That's it! No more, No less!!!!

All the rest is "our camera can make you a better photographer" Marketing BS. Same with BBF. Forty plus years of photography and my method has been center focus on the subject, half shutter to lock, and re-composes. Buy the hype if you need it!

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

How I set the camera sort of depends on circumstances. If I am just strolling around and knowing what's around the corner, I go with one of the automatics, such as P or maybe Intelligient or Superior Auto. Or maybe a landscape type of scene mode. If I have a specific I will try with some items on manual, like Aperture priority. I always go with auto AWB because I do not have a good sense of the lighting color spectra. But at my age photo trips are a thing of the past for the most part. I am leaning toward the 6300 which is why I referenced that promo.

I take it the 6300 Sony manual reads like a table of contents. Newer brother like older brother. Is the free Sony eManual any better.

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

I usually settle for the central single point focus on my Nikons. However if I have a number of H&S portraits to shoot, the single point is selected off-centre IE. where the subjects eyes will be in the frame. If only to avoid a lot of focus/re-compose actions on each shot. These single points can be easily selected on Nikon cameras, don't know about other makes.

Dun1 Loc: Atlanta, GA

Gary Fong has numerous tutorials on You Tube about the little green brackets and how you can customize the settings to make it easier to track a certain subject, even in the video mode.