Using the zoom

Using the zoom control

When you move the zoom control, the zoom lens position changes.

  • To zoom in (telephoto position): Move toward
  • To zoom out (wide-angle position): Move toward
  • Rotating the zoom control all the way in either direction adjusts the zoom quickly.
  • The zoom indicator and focal length (in 35mm [135] format) are displayed on the shooting screen when the zoom control is moved.
  • Digital zoom (), which allows you to further magnify the subject up to approximately 4× the maximum optical zoom ratio, can be activated by moving and holding the zoom control toward when the camera is zoomed in to the maximum optical zoom position ().

Notes about digital zoom when recording movies

  • The zoom indicator is not displayed while recording a movie.
  • If you keep zooming while recording a movie, zooming stops at the position where optical zoom switches to digital zoom. To continue zooming, briefly release your finger from the zoom control before resuming operation of the zoom control.
  • The zoom ratio of the digital zoom is limited to approximately 3.6× when [Movie options] is set to [2160/30p] (4K UHD) or [2160/25p] (4K UHD) while recording a movie.

Digital zoom and Dynamic Fine Zoom

The zoom indicator changes to blue when the digital zoom is activated, and it changes to yellow when the zoom magnification is increased further.

  • Zoom indicator is blue: Image quality is not noticeably reduced by using the Dynamic Fine Zoom.
  • Zoom indicator is yellow: There may be cases in which image quality is noticeably reduced.
  • The indicator remains blue across a wider area when the image size is smaller.
  • The zoom indicator may not change to blue when using certain continuous shooting settings or other settings.

Using the side zoom control

The zoom can also be operated by moving the side zoom control toward or instead of the zoom control.

The function of the side zoom control can be set in the setup menu [Assign side zoom control].

Zoom speed

Rotating the zoom control all the way in either direction adjusts the zoom faster than the side zoom control.

Using the snap-back zoom (temporarily widening the visible range)

If you lose sight of the subject while shooting with the lens in telephoto position, press the (snap-back zoom) button to temporarily widen the visible area so that you can frame the subject more easily.

  • While pressing the button, frame the subject inside the framing border () of the shooting screen. To widen the visible area further, move the zoom control toward while pressing the button.
  • Release the button to return to the original zoom position.
  • You can select the setup menu [Snap-back zoom] to specify the size of the area that is visible when the button is pressed.
  • Snap-back zoom is not available in the following situations.
    • While pressing the shutter-release button halfway
    • During movie recording