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30 The A77 II in a Nutshell

different shots in succession, and then merge them all in Photoshop. The
underlying principle here was that each frame had the same subject but
completely random noise, and by combining the images the noise would
just get “averaged” away, while the subject, which appeared consistently in
each shot, would be reinforced.
Using the same intelligence found in the panorama stitching algorithms
mentioned above, your camera can use this very same technique, except
you don’t need a tripod and you certainly don’t need a computer. Using
either of these modes, the camera will take either four (HHT) or 12
(MFNR) handheld shots in rapid succession, line them all up (in case your
hand wasn’t perfectly steady), merge them all together, and produce one
high-resolution, low-noise, low-light image – all in-camera!
These are both very innovative features and you can see an example of
Handheld Twilight in Figure 1-8.

TIP: There’s a third feature called “Night Scene” (Section 5.35.6) which is
supposed to be for nighttime shots. But as far as I can see doesn’t do anything
different than AUTO mode with the flash disabled. You can safely disregard this
feature.

1.2.4 TWO LOW-LIGHT MODES COMPARED
In my last few books there were many multi-frame, designed-for-low-light
features of recent cameras and I would compare them all in this section.
And each time I did it the features performed a little differently. And with
the A77 II, the results surprised me.

Here’s a rundown on the subtle (!) differences between the two modes:

Function What it Does
MFNR Averages 4 or 12 sequential shots together (depending on
the Noise Reduction setting). Gives you complete control
over white balance, exposure compensation, creative styles,
picture effects, ISO, etc. You can’t turn it on while in RAW
or RAW+JPG mode. (MFNR is accessed via the ISO menu.)

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