For landscapes, I set camera mode to Manual Mode, Manual Focus, ISO 100, turn Auto ISO off and turn off other irrelevant settings such as face recognition. The problem is the autofocus. You can even change the focus spot size by rotating the control dial. The Sony A7 II comes with an improved version of the hybrid autofocus system found on its predecessor, offering up to 30% faster autofocus performance. Gary also shares how to setup back-button focusing and … It has a slightly higher megapixel count, 5 FPS vs 3.5 FPS, in-body stabilization, and it shoots 60 FPS 1080P in S-Log 2. And by low light conditions I’m not talking about shooting in moonlight, I’m talking about shooting inside your house with the lights on at night. But, they are nothing if not persistent, and after numerous iterations they pretty much get things right. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Then you can press the up, down, left and right buttons of the Control Wheel to move the Focus Point. Doesn’t matter for most people, since the A7R II does not come with a built-in flash. FINDER/MONITOR: Auto – will automatically switch between viewfinder and LCD. Can switch off face detection here so that the autofocus does not get sidetracked by faces. Only works in “Superior Auto” mode. Nasim, I just purchased the A7Rii as I photograph newborns and their families in the hospital under poor lighting situations. Sony a7II and a7RII Settings. And I concur, I love Sony a7 ii, but the final working results are disappointing. Or, is this how 4-K video works and nobody mentions it? For the record, I love the size of this camera and the quality of the raw files, especially the low noise of the high ISO captures. For whichever reason, it is mapped to “2” instead of “1” on the top dial. This was also brought up in a preliminary review of the Sony A7 II by Nasim Mansurov on his Photography Life blog in January. When setting your Sony A7 III in continuous autofocus mode, you can control the sensitivity of the focus acquisition. I saw in a previous article you talked about this in nikon cameras and would like to know if you have figured out how to do this with the a7r2. 1. Note: This isn't meant to be a complete review of the camera system. The camera does the rest of the exposure calculation work quite well. Just like the top C1 and C2 custom function buttons, this one is easily programmable through the menu system. Don’t bother with creative styles, as they are irrelevant when shooting in RAW. my sony a7 II went in pal. A Down Button menu will pop up with a lot of options, 7. I can use eye-AF to instantly place my focus point over the subject’s eye, out pretty close to the edges of the frame. Auto-suggest helps you quickly narrow down your search results by suggesting possible matches as you type. While these two dials are primarily used for adjusting the exposure during shooting, their functionality can change depending on what you are doing. SteadyShot Settings: Auto. The Sony A7-series cameras have a myriad of different settings and buttons, which can be confusing to understand, especially for first-time Sony users. The first dial close to the flash unit is the camera mode dial. The Sony a6500 Vs. the Sony a7ii: Battle of the Popular Pics! Nasim Mansurov is the author and founder of Photography Life, based out of Denver, Colorado. Grayed out in AF mode, must be in MF to work. I keep “ISO AUTO Min. PL provides various digital photography news, reviews, articles, tips, tutorials and guides to photographers of all levels, By Nasim Mansurov 36 CommentsLast Updated On August 2, 2019. But there’s also bunch of new setting you won’t find on any previous Sony a7-series cameras. Since Samsung has exited the cameras business. Voyin, What version of LR are you using ? SS” setting). Click to know. As explained in my understanding camera modes article, I usually shoot in Aperture Priority mode, since it gives me control over the most important camera setting – aperture. I rarely ever use these, but sometimes it is useful to send pictures to my phone – this is where it is done. Audio Rec Level: N/A (grayed out in PASM). The Sony FE 28mm F/2 is the best lens for Sony A7ii users who recently switched over to Sony’s side. Similar to Nikon DSLRs, the Sony A7R II is equipped with two function dials on the front and the rear of the camera. For subject tracking in action photography, the Expanded flexible spot placed in the centre and physically tracking your subject after locking on with a half-press of the shutter button will generate the most number of in-focus images. I am a nikon user and customed to the “AE/AF lock” button, where with one button I can lock both and then recompose. Sony FE 28mm f/2; Sony FE 55mm f/1.8; Sony FE 70-200mm f/4; Sony FE 24-240mm f/3.5-6.3; To assess the performance of the new A7r II in terms of autofocus, the test could only begin with the native full-frame E-mount lenses. The second dial is the exposure compensation dial. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. In recent years they have introduced a number of very well received cameras including a series of mirror-less camera bodies that use interchangeable lenses. : grayed out in PASM. There’s lots to love about the new Sony a7RII including upgrades to the original a7R of 5-Axis image stabilization found on a7II, Silent Shooting mode found on a7S and Electronic Front Curtain Shutter (EFS) found on every a7-series camera – except the original Sony a7R. 2.7 Custom Key Settings AEL Button – Eye AF; AF/MF Button – AF On; It’s also important to note that for Eye AF to work, the camera must be in AF-C (continuous autofocus) mode. I shoot photos and video. Michelle, did you ever figure out a good lens to use? Besides the advanced customizable autofocus functions (find the guide here), The Sony A77 II has some more hidden features and functions that you might want to familiarize yourself with.. I’ll start with some of my settings … The Sony A7iii is a powerhouse but to unlock its full power you need to be able to get into the settings. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Aside from the hot shoe, there are only two dials and two function buttons you will be dealing with. 2). Once you do that, you will no longer be able to focus by half-pressing the shutter release – focus will only be possible to activate through your chosen custom function button. I have mine engage only when the camera is in the movie mode, so that I do not accidentally start recording video. Doug. The difference in AF performance between the A7 series cameras is quite noticeable, particularly when shooting in good light – the A7 II acquires focus much faster in comp… SS” at “Standard”, which works for my hand-holding. From the NEX 5 to the NEX 7 to the A7r, features, functions and interface have shown a steady improvement an… I need to find out how to activate the “4K OUTPUT SELECT” button. Switch between Multi, Center or Spot. It was especially bad in low light conditions. My main deal will be what each setting means and actually does. I set mine to “Drive Mode”, so that I can quickly switch between the different drive modes like Single Shooting and Self-Timer (the two I use the most). If it weren’t for difficulty of programming without any manufacturer support (and the limited number of lenses), I might switch. I wonder if you can assist me how to solve my confusion: Sony’s ARW file format (RAW) is not friendly on general platforms, transfer to Lightroom is impossible in RAW format. Choose Menu > Camera icon (Page 3) > Focus Mode > AF-S, AF-C, etc… Using the memory recall. You can follow him on Instagram and Facebook. Memory recall: only available when when one of the two MR modes is selected on the top of the camera. SteadyShot: On – keep this turned on for in-body image stabilization + lens stabilization. To move your focus point someplace other than the center of your viewfinder, first you gotta press the Down Button of the Control Wheel to move Focus Setting (to normal people that just means the Focus Point). This tells the camera you want to move the focus point. The built-in Sony SteadyShot system promises to offer about 4.5 stops of stabilization capability which should help reduce the effects of camera shak… The rear of the Sony A7R II is a lot more functional compared to other parts of the camera, thanks to a number of different navigation and function buttons. 3. ISO: The “Auto” setting usually works pretty well. Sony was among the first manufacturers to add phase-detection autofocus pixels onto a camera's main imaging sensor, which allows for ultra-precise focus. Understanding Sony’s Autofocus Settings. Hi Poydan, Welcome to the community. Saved by Michelle Price. Recommended Camera Menu Settings for Landscape Photography, Tips for Photographing the Great Conjunction. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Read more about Nasim here. Unfortunately, Sony currently has a bug in its firmware – if you set “Focus Magnifier” to other buttons, you can press the buttons several times for zooming in during MF operation – the C4 / Trash button does nothing when pressing it several times. A lot of trial and error for sure. I have a A7Rii gray card issue. Weighing only around 200g, this is a lens that you can literally fit inside your pockets. I rarely ever shoot video, but when I do, I use the smaller frame rate and size to save space, Bracket Settings: Selftimer during Brkt: Off, Bracket order: 0 -> – -> +, Picture Effect: Off (grayed out in RAW mode). If you don’t do any of that, it is best to keep “Airplane Mode: On” to save battery life. When I use the custom “set” button, it will not trigger the off camera flash so I don’t get a reading that factors in the flash. He is recognized as one of the leading educators in the photography industry, conducting workshops, producing educational videos and frequently writing content for Photography Life. I read nothing of this in any blogs. My FE 1.8 55mm looks like a 70mm, tossing out the wider view. How could it not replace the Canon? Any idea what is going on? Instructions on how to activate back-button focusing are provided further down below. Choose Menu > Gear icon (Page 6) > Custom Key Settings > AEL Button > AF On; Change your auto focus settings. While I prefer to use the C4 button as a “Focus Magnifier” I ended up setting the C4 button to “Metering Mode” (to toggle between the different metering modes). What’s the best fast track video setting for Sony a7ii? Experience Sony Alpha 7M III full frame camera with interchangeable lens, image sensor, autofocus, 4K movie recording capability, speed up to 10fps, high-resolution imaging & more. This hybrid AF system is a combination of phase and contrast detect AF, which allows for much quicker AF acquisition than only contrast detection, which is found on both Sony A7R and A7S. So, in this article, we will go through every camera setting on the A7R II, including how to set the entire menu optimally. I personally use the C1 and C2 function buttons on the top of the camera to control focus behavior. Release w/o Lens: Disable – do not allow firing the camera without a properly attached lens. Before going into the camera menu, let’s first get started with the exterior controls. So, in this article, we will go through every camera setting on the A7R II, including how to set the entire menu optimally. The Menu button located to the left of the electronic viewfinder obviously opens up the camera menu – that’s where you make changes to the camera. DRO / Auto HDR: Off Focus Area: Flexible Spot: M. This mode works great for selective focusing. Why are the features hidden and undocumented? Let’s go through each menu setting. Metering Mode: Multi, but sometimes I change to Spot metering when a situation calls for it (see my article on metering modes) Flash Comp: 0.0 White Balance: AWB (Auto White Balance) Focus Mode: AF-A, which is a combination of AF-S and AF-C modes, works pretty well for most situations on the A7R II. When in movie mode, I usually pick Aperture Priority as well. Perhaps you need to update your “Adobe Raw”. But for the moment I’m sticking with my Nikons. Lower down you will find the AF/MF and AEL switch, which has a button in the middle. With the 399 focus points on the Sony a7R III, and its ability to track focus like no other, the company touts it’s hard to get a shot that’s out of focus.This camera is like an artificially intelligent robot – it can predict and figure out exactly what you want in focus on. I have no idea. Regarding my recent comment, I have just figured it out. Well, it wasn't so simple. I would recommend that the focus area function is programmed to one of the custom keys – The A7 has 4 such keys. Explore. If you’re new to these cameras or … Although you can modify and customize the function menu when the button is pressed, I rarely touch the default values. At the same time, it won’t hurt your pocket as much too, being that it’s one of the most affordable Sony FE prime lenses out there. Depending on the options selected in [Focus Area] or [Center Lock-on AF], the available functions varies when pressing the key.. The challenge was trying to interpret the vague descriptions in a thin user manual. The Sony a7II is the company’s fourth full-frame interchangeable lens mirrorless camera and spec-for-spec it’s arguably the most technologically advanced camera I have ever used.The a7II is notable as the first full-frame mirrorless camera to feature an in-body image stabilization system. I am able to get to 30″ but not beyond for bulb. Please note that the above settings work for me and they might not necessarily suit your needs. You can program your Sony a7, a7R, a7S, a7II, a7RII, a7SII, a7 III, a7R III camera for Back-Button AF so that focusing is performed by pressing the AEL button with your right thumb. Post-production software can only fix so much when you fudge your focus. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Thank you. Recently I purchased Sony a7 ii with Zeiss lenses for primarily architectural photography. I have no trouble with ARW files in LR or PS CC. This has the zoom or magnifier button. 0 My Sony A7 III Camera Settings for Portrait Photography. The A7 III is a fairly complex camera with tons of features, so I’m going to share exactly how I set my camera up for maximum efficiency on a … If you don’t want to go that route yet, I would encourage you to try using the Aperture Priority mode instead of the Program Mode, Auto or Scene modes. These cookies do not store any personal information. However, it’s buried deep into the menu structure of the Sony (what a pain!!!) Can switch between AF-S, AF-C, AF-A, DMF, or MF. Much simpler just to go directly to the Focus Area setting and select Flexible Spot – Once selected you can use the control dial to direct the spot to the area required. AF Micro Adj: Off, don’t do this unless you want to calibrate a lens, AF System: N/A – grayed out on some lenses, Function Menu Set. I have something of a love / hate relationship with Sony cameras. 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