Book excerpt: In a few short years, Sony has gone from being a Nikon and Canon competitor to an acknowledged innovator with a lineup of cameras that are smaller, lighter, faster to focus, and loaded with cutting-edge features that many of us have been dreaming about. So, it's no wonder you're excited about your new Sony RX100 V, a tiny pocket-sized camera with full-sized features, including a new sensor design that allows shooting rapid-fire snapshots at up to 24 frames a second, lightning-fast phase detect autofocus, slo-mo movies that can be played back at speeds 40X slower than normal, and Ultra High Definition 4K video. With all these features at your disposal, you don't expect to take good pictures with such a camera -- you demand and anticipate outstanding photos. Unfortunately, your gateway to pixel proficiency is dragged down by the limited instructions provided by Sony. Over the years, Sony has reduced the amount of useful information included in its printed guidebooks, often to a scant few pages, and relegated more detailed instructions to online HTML-based guides and PDF versions that are difficult to navigate. And, sad to say, not everything you need to know is included. What you really need is a guide that explains the purpose and function of the cameras' basic controls, how you should use them, and why. That's what I am giving you in this book. If you want a quick introduction to focus controls or which exposure modes are best, this book is for you. If you can't decide on what basic settings to use with your camera because you can't figure out how changing ISO or white balance or focus defaults will affect your pictures, you need this guide.