Mark, I can't thank you enough for this extremely informative resource; I'm struggling with action work on my new A7R3, coming from a Canon 1DX2, where I felt totally comfortable and confident; I haven't been getting consistent focusing on my action work so really feel this will make a difference!
Thank you very much for your videos! Being a veteran DSLR user, it has been a challenge to quickly learn my new A7iii. Your videos, by far, have been the best tutorials! I appreciate YOU and your knowledge of the Alpha systems. Cheers!
thank you for this. i just upgraded from the A7 ii to the A7 r iii, and all of the new features were a little bit confusing. now I have set me three memory settings to action, landscape and portraits. thanks again for making it so easy to understand.
Thank you Mark!!!! Just bought A7III and am about to shoot my son's hockey game. I was not sure the logic of being in Aperture mode until you showed the ISO Min Shutter option. Makes sense. Thanks.
Thank you Mark for these videos, I watched all 3 settings - Landscape, Action & Portraiture. Very useful and your channel is my go-to reference. Happy to be a Sony Alpha / GM lens photographer.
Thankyou Mark for your informative Videos, this is my first foray into digital. I am an analogue large format Photographer and alternate printer. This is all very new and thank goodness there are people like you who devote so much time for the benefit of others.
Thanks! Maybe this will help me! I was trying to shoot bluebirds this morning on regular wide, and it was locking onto the background almost every time...
Mark you are a god send. Been struggling to get to grips with my Sony A7R3 having always been a Canon user. I have even been contemplating returning it and going back to Canon. But your clear, concise videos have helped me enormously, thank you so much.
Thanks a lot for your extremely useful video tutorials! I should’ve watched them earlier so I wouldn’t have to struggle with changing settings manually after different individual motifs... :))
Your videos are easy to understand and so detailed i just set up my new A7R III with the help of your videos and found them so easy to follow. Cant wait and go and try them all out. Thank you very much. AAA teaching
I just got the Sony 100-400mm GM OSS lens today. This really really helped me be successful on my first outing with the lens and my a7RIII. Thank you so much!
Thanks so much. I just switched over to Sony and your videos have been a fantastic help in getting me up and running. Clear, thoughtful, thorough. Bravo!
You have to use apertures wider than f/8 on the A7RIII and A7IIII and wider than f/11 on the A9, e.g. f/8, f/5.6, f/4. If you use f/11 or f/16 on the A7 models focus will be locked on the first frame and will not track your subject. Most action photographers shoot with the aperture wide open or close to wide-open.
Awesome! Thank you! - I figure there is no point in removing the older videos from my channel when Sony are still manufacturing some of the older models (such as the A7III).
Your the very first person that ever talked about the horrible high fstop tracking I've been commenting about it since release of A7rii it also effects I believe below 1/40 or f8 & higher contrast af kicks in as you lose your 399 or 600+ af points
Thanks Mark, You have a clear way of explaining. I have a question concerning Lock-on AF. You will use either Expand Flexible Spot with this option or use Lock-on AF:Wide when your subject is moving too erratic. Can you explain why you don't use one of the other options in Lock-on AF (flexible spot S/M/L or Zone or Center)? Thanks again
The two options mentioned seem to cover me for 99% of all situations. Lock on AF Expand Flexible Spot is as good as S/M/L as it starts at S but expands to L as required until it can find an edge of the subject to lock on to. Center is like Expand Flexible Spot you have left in the Center of the viewfinder. Zone may be a useful alternative to Lock-On AF: Wide if there was a subject close to the camera (other than the subject you are trying to track) that you want the camera to ignore - moving the zone to the other side will effectively ignore anything outside of this area. I don't typically find many situations where Lock-On AF: Expand Flexible Spot cannot deal with this. If you are NOT skilled at moving the spot with the joystick I can see where zone may be useful. I can also see where Zone may be useful if you are having trouble identifying where the AF point is positioned in the viewfinder.
Mark you are very professional in photography and teaching.I am a regular viewer of your videos.I am planning to take sony a 6600 in time.Can you please do a video about camera buttons and how it works.
Fantastic teaching as always Mark - very impressed with A7M3. I'm so pleased the Work experience student who designed the earlier interfaces has been sent back to school and a real interface designer has sorted things out. It is so much more logical. Now can we retrospectively add this to our earlier camera models?
Gerry Lefoe - it would be nice to see this as a firmware upgrade for older models but I suspect Sony will be afraid of upsetting owners who are familiar with their current menu system.
At the moment the colour of the square cannot be changed - Sony are aware of the feedback in relation to this - so I hope to see it change or become an option in a future firmware update.
Thanks Mark, great video. I use both the a7rii and a7riii bodies. There is so much to learn to maximize the usage of these little gems and your videos make it easy to understand.
Useful. Thanks. But one point- APS-C format does not "magnify" your images. It just throws away pixels from the outside of the FF image. The pixels on subject remains the same.
John Chardine - technically you are correct but in APS-C mode the image is magnified in the EVF and on the LCD screen and this emulates the narrower field of view an owner of an APS-C camera would experience. At 200mm the lens would behave like a 200mm lens on an APS-C with an ‘equivalent’ focal length of 300mm.
The A9 uses a new BIS stacked CMOS sensor for ultra-fast readout times to remove the impact of shutter distortion when using an electronic shutter. The A7RII features a sensor that is a similar design the the A6500 and A7RII so is not immune from shutter distortion - the sensor design is discussed in this article: www.markgaler.com/sonys-stacked-cmos-sensors-the-dawn-of-a-fully-electronic-age
Photographing small birds in flight is technically the hardest subject in photography. I am sure it has put many an amateur photographer off photography completely, because of the low success rate. I recommend building up panning practice using slower moving subjects, e.g., bicycles. Practice locating subjects above the finder with your eye and then raising the viewfinder to your eye so that it appears in the centre of your viewfinder each and every time. Practice pre-focusing the lens at an approximate distance before locating a bird in the sky. I also recommend switching to a small spot when the bird is in amongst branches. Newer cameras such as the A7IV have bird Eye AF and superior tracking performance which makes bird photography a little easier. The cameras with stacked sensors (A9, A9II and A1) have better tracking performance when compared to cameras with regular backlit sensors. If you need additional support check out my support channel at Patreon.com/markgaler
@@AlphaCreativeSkills Thank you for your answer.Today i was trying on big birds flying like ducks and swans and it was great.I got some nice shots.The funny thing was that i have turned on touch operation and moved the focus point with my nose to the lower right corner without knowing and in sunlight it was a bit hard to find out what is wrong.:)
You can restrict the Touch pad focus initiation to the upper right-hand corner so your nose doesn't drag the focus point to the lower right-hand corner when it touches the monitor.
Thanks for your positive feedback - I would like to help Sony make some of the groups of settings required for certain tasks more accessible to the broader Sony community. The revised AF functionality and menus in the A6400 is a step in the right direction.
I appreciate my question is very late to this thread, but I hope you still might be able to answer. Very recently purchased an A7iii and this is exactly the video I've been looking for. My question is, presumably I will have to reset many of these settings after saving as a preset, as many won't work for 'ordinary, day to day' shooting? So many of these settings are specific to action photography, that I wouldn't want set normally. For example I like ot shoot uncompressed. Must I change the setting back once I've made the preset? I'm new to your videos but so far they have been incredibly helpful. Thank you.
When you are finished recalling a registered Memory on the Shoot Mode (turning it to 1, 2 or 3) when your return the dial to P, A , S or M all of the settings you were using prior to recalling the memory are still there.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills Thanks for replying Mark, although I found that if I applied the settings while the dial is turned to A those settings remained for Aperture Priority even after I'd set them to a custom memory. Should I have performed the initial set up with the Dial turned to 1 or 2?
Very good and informative, but is there a way to change your shooting mode from aperture priority to say manual or shutter priority after saving the setup to memory?
Hi! This video is excellent and I, for the most part, set up my camera with your settings. I have a question about Steady Shot and taking photos of birds in flight with the 100-400GM. Usually the birds in flight are flying from right to left, or from left to right, and I am moving the lens with the birds. Is this considered panning? ... and should I put on mode 2 on the 100-400 lens ... or should I turn off steady shot completely? I have not had a high rate of good birds in flight--however the lock on does seem to work, the bird is just not sharp. I have my minimum shutter speed set at 1000 (and maybe that's too low). Thanks for any help you can provide!
Brooke A Miller - Mode ll is recommended for panning from left to right or vice versa. If the movement of the bird is erratic and the lens has to be moved vertically as well as horizontally then switch steady shot off on the lens. If your panning technique is not yet fully accurate then I would definitely advise raising the minimum shutter speed to 1/2000 second.
Thank you for your video, but I need help! Can’t het sharp images with tamron 70-200. Your settings in this video help me a lot but still can get sharp images on indoor volleyball games. How can I get help? Thank you
I push the APS-C function out of harms way as it it can be too easily enable during a shoot when positioned on the right side of the camera. It's pretty obvious when this happens on a prime but can go unnoticed for a long time when using a zoom. Not the end of the world for an R but pretty tragic when using a 24 megapixel camera. C3 on the top left of the camera or the Fn menu is often a safer place. The A1 now features an APS-C icon in the finder so I now leave the APS-C mode on the C3 key.
One thing I would like to be able to do is to activate/toggle Silent Shooting with one press of a custom button (for perched birds or other more static wildlife photography where going silent in the field would help). As it is now on the A7rIII, you can assign Silent Shooting to a custom key, but this brings you to the ON/OFF menu, so this is an extra step.
Hi Mark, thank you very much. I love watching your videos, they are very informative! One question, if I successfully setup all the menus and custom buttons to dial 1 and 2 exactly how you described. I switch from one to the other and it all works really well but when I switch the camera off the settings reset to original. I am making sure I am saving to position 1 and 2 not M1, M2 etc. Do you think there might be an issue with my camera? Thanks
The Memories should be retained even when the camera is turned off. You should be able to rotate the Shoot Mode dial away from 1 or 2 and when you turn it back to 1 or 2 you should be provided with a screen showing you visual confirmation of the settings you have saved (same screen you saw when saving/registering the settings). When saving settings just check you are pressing the Center button the confirm registration. If your setup workflow is all good you will need to get the camera checked out.
Thanks for your great videos! Which focus field would you choose for flying birds and can I use the rest of the settings for it 1: 1? Many greetings, Udo
@3:58 Select Media; Selects the memory card slot from which settings are recalled or to which settings are registered for M1 through M4. So it doesnt set the slot where the pictures are stored to as you state in your video.
Yes - the A7RIII behaves exactly like the A65000 in Continuous Shooting Mode when using the mechanical shutter, i.e. Blackout exists between each individual frame but the viewfinder is 'live'. In this respect it is the same experience as using a DSLR. There is no blackout in Hi+ but the feed has lag - making it difficult to pan. The A7RIII should be considered as a full-frame equivalent to the A6500 rather than a slower A9.
Hi Mark, Great tutorials. Something that I would find helpful would be a spread sheet of your various settings for the A7RM3. Four columns total: Left column for the features, then three columns (one column each) for Landscapes, Actions, and Portrait.
Thanks for the video, very informative! I've been really struggling with actions shots of my dogs, but I use adapted Sigma ART lenses with the MC-11 adapter. Literally 95% of the pictures are out of focus but I have a feeling that either the primes are slow or it's the adapter that's slowing them down. I have the newest firmware installed on the camera, adapter and lenses. I'm planning to rent the 70-200 f4 and I do hope it performs better, because I really love the camera for dog portraits and landscapes and being able to shoot actions shots would be the icing on the cake for me. I didn't have any issues with action shots on my Canon 6D and 6Dmk2 and the old Sigma 70-200, so I do hope I can get at least the same performance on Sony with a native lens.
Using non-native E-Mount lenses via an adapter slows AF performance dramatically. Make sure any lenses you purchase for your Sony (Sony or non-Sony E-Mount lenses) have linear focus motors.
Hi Mark, great tutorials. When you use Lock-On AF/extended flexible spot, how do you make sure the focus is on the primary target? For example, in your rodeo sequence, how did you make sure that the camera focused on the primary target, in this case, the person, not the bull? Thanks.
In the Rodeo sequence if the camera was set to Lock-on AF wide and chose the bull instead of the cowboy the depth of field would probably be enough to render both in sharp focus if the two subjects stay close to each other. Depth of field is helped when shooting the subject at a distance with a telephoto lens. If you need to be in control about which subject in the centre of the frame the camera chooses to track then you have to start the sequence with a Spot AF on the cowboy. This is the reason Sony added the multi selector (joystick) to make choosing a subject faster than on previous models. In the example of the Rodeo if the two subjects were at the same distance from the camera and bot close to the centre when the lock on AF engaged the camera would most likely choose the cowboy because of the colourful shirt. In AF wide the camera is also influenced by distinctive colours as well as front and centre.
Mark, I am currently renting an a7rIII for a week before I purchase this model and change from Canon. It is an amazing still camera and I'm getting marvelous detail in my shots. But It has been struggling with AF-C on every moving subject I select. It takes forever to lock, where my Canon locks in tenths, if not hundredths of a second. I have wondered if anyone has had this issue and if it was a character of the camera, despite the reviews. I was also wondering if Native lenses perform better. But after watching your video, and changing all the settings I am encouraged to think this will fix the problem. I can't wait to try it out tomorrow, which is my third day of location shooting. I am a Canon user with Canon L, and Sigma Art lenses that work very well in Single Shot Auto Focus, but in AF-C they all fall apart. but it appears that the settings are the game changer. Thanks so much for the time you spent in putting this video out. If all this works as I hope, I'll purchase the camera this week. There are so many things about this camera I like. Thank You! mg
AF-C performance of these cameras is excellent with native e-mount lenses. Performance using non Sony lenses via third party adapters can be good or bad depending on adapter, firmware of adapter and specific lens being used. Check the firmware of the adapter is the current version and let me know if the settings helped.
I read and saw so many recent reviews about the Canon L glass working I was pretty sure it was operator error on my part. Your settings are great and work well. First of all, in AF-C, I discovered in reading the manual you do not have to hold the back button focus down during the shot as you do with Canon. . Second, the lock light is on even when the lens appears to search, and those shots came out in tight focus as well. I'm sure that native glass will function smoother, but for now I don't want to spend what I would need for GM Glass. Advise if I'm incorrect in my findings. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance Mark
Michael Graham - I am pleased you achieved some good results. Obviously the answer to ‘will it focus quickly’ is difficult to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ when dealing with third party products with variations of firmware. The same happens with Flash systems. The Sony Flashes all work great, but photographers have mixed results when using non-sony products.
I just recently purchased an A7R III and have been trying to get familiar with all of the settings this camera has to offer and your videos are by far the best that I have came across for the different shooting situations and everything else related to Alpha Cameras. I was wondering if you have a specific shooting setup for photographing birds when panning? I have a 70-300 g lens and just started to get into bird photography I find for myself the that continuous lock-on flexible spot is difficult unless you start when the bird is stationary but when a bird is already flying, it is hard to lock on. Pretty much all of my images have been out of focus shooting at 125th of a second at around 200mm hand held.
David Fukuda - increase the size of the AF area to Lock-on AF zone or Lock-on AF wide -if you cannot accurately target your subject with a spot AF. remember the camera will target the subject that is closest to the camera and towards the centre of your selected AF area. Your shutter speed is way too slow to capture birds in flight. Occasionally motor sports will slow the shutter speed to 1/500 or 1/320 second to add some motion blur behind the speeding vehicle but you can’t blur the sky. The slower the shutter speed the higher the miss rate unless your panning action is 100%. Take the shutter speed up to 1/2000 second as outlined in the movie and use a + exposure compensation value if the bird is backlit by the sky or Manual exposure settings.
Very informative video. Thanks for taking the time Mark. I was wondering why you yourself don't set up for back button focussing. On that note, can you answer a question please? On my old Canon 7d, if I was in continuous AF and tracking a subject using the shutter button for focussing, it would lose focus after the first shot and would then have to re-acquire focus for the next shot and so on. Consequently, I would get some out of focus shots in the sequence. If I disabled focus from the shutter button and used the AF-ON button for back button focus, then it would continue to autofocus all the while I was pressing the shutter button, without having to re-acquire between shots. Does the Sony A7III work the same way or does it continue to track on the shutter button whilst taking pictures?
The A7lll does no have to reacquire the subject it is tracking because it does not use a mirror. DSLRs phase detect sensor is in the mirror box and is temporarily blinded each time the mirror flips up to clear the path of light to the sensor. The use of back-button AF requires the use of continuous AF only and sometimes I like to use AF-S. Sometimes I am holding down another custom button and I don’t want to have to hold down the AF-On button as well. Back-button AF is loved by many users but it does not add any AF performance for a user who knows the AF systems of the Sony cameras.
Hi Mark, thanks for the great tutorials you have been sharing. I have an A7 III and I am using the 100-400mm GM with the 1.4X TC and I have setup my camera exactly the way you explained and I have been shooting surfing for the most part and the camera isn't locking the focus,. I noticed even thou I place the box spot on the surfer the focus goes from one side to the other side of the frame and I normally lose a few shots. It's actually quicker and more accurate to keep refocusing whilst shooting. Any ideas what could be causing it? Would that be an issue with the 1.4X TC? I haven't tried shooting without the TC. Thanks
The camera may have trouble separating the subject from the surf - bird photographers have the same problem when a bird is about to take off from a tree. The camera can sometimes see the bird and the tree as one subject so becomes confused when they separate. My solution would be to try increasing the size of the Focus area from Lock on AF: spot to Lock on AF: Zone. If this does not work I would use the wide, zone or spot options that do not have lock on. In this instance the spot would be the hardest option as your panning would have to be accurate or you would have to move the spot AF area accurately. The larger AF areas are your friends when this happens. I have set up the AEL button to quickly change AF area when Lock-on becomes erratic.
Fantastic explanation! Thank you so much. I am very disappointed that I missed your workshop here in Sydney on the 2nd. Hopefully you will be doing more of those soon. You should maybe think about doing one for wild life and sports photography, that would be great! Thanks again
This is one of the most thorough, informative and easiest tutorial to follow. Love it.
Mark, I can't thank you enough for this extremely informative resource; I'm struggling with action work on my new A7R3, coming from a Canon 1DX2, where I felt totally comfortable and confident; I haven't been getting consistent focusing on my action work so really feel this will make a difference!
Did you have any improvements? I've also been struggling with AF on car racing photography with mi A7r3 for years...
Thank you very much for your videos! Being a veteran DSLR user, it has been a challenge to quickly learn my new A7iii. Your videos, by far, have been the best tutorials! I appreciate YOU and your knowledge of the Alpha systems. Cheers!
Thank you for this video. It helped me improve my hockey shots a ton. Lot more photos in focus now. Thanks again.
thank you for this. i just upgraded from the A7 ii to the A7 r iii, and all of the new features were a little bit confusing. now I have set me three memory settings to action, landscape and portraits. thanks again for making it so easy to understand.
Thank you Mark!!!! Just bought A7III and am about to shoot my son's hockey game. I was not sure the logic of being in Aperture mode until you showed the ISO Min Shutter option. Makes sense. Thanks.
best tutorial videos I've ever encountered. you've got yourself a new fan!
Thank you Mark for these videos, I watched all 3 settings - Landscape, Action & Portraiture. Very useful and your channel is my go-to reference. Happy to be a Sony Alpha / GM lens photographer.
Great to hear!
Thankyou Mark for your informative Videos, this is my first foray into digital. I am an analogue large format Photographer and alternate printer. This is all very new and thank goodness there are people like you who devote so much time for the benefit of others.
This is the most in-depth tutorial series of sony alpha camera. thank you so much!
Great video, really helpful and informative. Going to try these settings out as soon as we're all back to normal
Glad it was helpful!
This was really detailed. I only managed to grasp 3/4 of it. Thank you Sir.
Thank you for this guide. It was quite difficult to get around for a new user like me!
You need 10x the current amount of subscriders Mark, truly amazing quality content which helped alot learning the sony system!
Thanks! Maybe this will help me! I was trying to shoot bluebirds this morning on regular wide, and it was locking onto the background almost every time...
this was the best setup video for a7 third gen so far.
I was looking for a setup that was fast to use that gave great results. thanks
Thank you very much! I am new to Sony a7III and this was a very useful information! The game day is coming up tomorrow!
Mark you are a god send. Been struggling to get to grips with my Sony A7R3 having always been a Canon user. I have even been contemplating returning it and going back to Canon. But your clear, concise videos have helped me enormously, thank you so much.
Richard Brown - Thank you for your very positive feedback Richard. This gives me the encouragement to continue supporting the alpha community.
Amazing Content! Thank you very much for this easy to follow and professionally explained Tutorial!
best video series on Sony alpha. now i m able to quickly toggle my setting with single button.
Thank bro
Glad it helped
This is my go to video when I need to brush up on locations to all these high speed settings. Thank you!
Great to hear!
I got my 1st football game gig tonight. Thx ya for this
Hope the information helped.
Mark, thank you so much for such a professional walk thru on for my A7RM3. The best yet.
Thank you! All my questions have been answered in under 20 mins :-)
Amazing deep video tutorial, thank you very much.
Thanks a lot for your extremely useful video tutorials! I should’ve watched them earlier so I wouldn’t have to struggle with changing settings manually after different individual motifs... :))
I’ve got a lot to learn. Cheers.
Awesome - thank you so much, this will help me dial in my surf photography :)
thank you for making a photography a fun for late starter. thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@AlphaCreativeSkills how can we improve to take great photos. If you could suggest us
this was super helpful, thank you for sharing
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent, easy to follow, accurate..
Thank You Again... My 1-2-3 Are All Set.... Great Educational Content Mark!
Your videos are easy to understand and so detailed i just set up my new A7R III with the help of your videos and found them so easy to follow. Cant wait and go and try them all out. Thank you very much. AAA teaching
Thank you - great intro to action shots on my new A7RIII
So clear, so nice, so....grateful, Mark! Really great job.
Hello. Thank you very much. Comprehensive and clear. I have already followed your advice and registered this settings.
Excellent and understandable information for a newbie - Thank`s.
I just got the Sony 100-400mm GM OSS lens today. This really really helped me be successful on my first outing with the lens and my a7RIII. Thank you so much!
Thanks so much. I just switched over to Sony and your videos have been a fantastic help in getting me up and running. Clear, thoughtful, thorough. Bravo!
This video is very much appreciated. I'm new to Sony with the recent purchase of the a7r iii. This video was quite helpful. Thank you.
Thanks, that was very informative. I just saw in the A7III manual you have to stop the lens down past f/11 for the focus to lock on the first scene.
You have to use apertures wider than f/8 on the A7RIII and A7IIII and wider than f/11 on the A9, e.g. f/8, f/5.6, f/4. If you use f/11 or f/16 on the A7 models focus will be locked on the first frame and will not track your subject. Most action photographers shoot with the aperture wide open or close to wide-open.
❤❤ you have a new subscriber. Older video but still being viewed today. Thank you
Awesome! Thank you! - I figure there is no point in removing the older videos from my channel when Sony are still manufacturing some of the older models (such as the A7III).
Well done. To the point. Thank you.
Your the very first person that ever talked about the horrible high fstop tracking I've been commenting about it since release of A7rii it also effects I believe below 1/40 or f8 & higher contrast af kicks in as you lose your 399 or 600+ af points
Thanks Mark,
You have a clear way of explaining.
I have a question concerning Lock-on AF. You will use either Expand Flexible Spot with this option or use Lock-on AF:Wide when your subject is moving too erratic. Can you explain why you don't use one of the other options in Lock-on AF (flexible spot S/M/L or Zone or Center)?
Thanks again
The two options mentioned seem to cover me for 99% of all situations. Lock on AF Expand Flexible Spot is as good as S/M/L as it starts at S but expands to L as required until it can find an edge of the subject to lock on to. Center is like Expand Flexible Spot you have left in the Center of the viewfinder. Zone may be a useful alternative to Lock-On AF: Wide if there was a subject close to the camera (other than the subject you are trying to track) that you want the camera to ignore - moving the zone to the other side will effectively ignore anything outside of this area. I don't typically find many situations where Lock-On AF: Expand Flexible Spot cannot deal with this. If you are NOT skilled at moving the spot with the joystick I can see where zone may be useful. I can also see where Zone may be useful if you are having trouble identifying where the AF point is positioned in the viewfinder.
Mark you are very professional in photography and teaching.I am a regular viewer of your videos.I am planning to take sony a 6600 in time.Can you please do a video about camera buttons and how it works.
Download the A6600 eBook from my website (free download) - it will have all the info you need.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills thanks mark.
Extremely helpful, thank you!
Thanks Mark !! Extremely Helpful ...
Glad to hear it!
Shoot A7RIII so really liked this video; super helpful
Thanks for the positive feedback
Fantastic teaching as always Mark - very impressed with A7M3. I'm so pleased the Work experience student who designed the earlier interfaces has been sent back to school and a real interface designer has sorted things out. It is so much more logical. Now can we retrospectively add this to our earlier camera models?
Gerry Lefoe - it would be nice to see this as a firmware upgrade for older models but I suspect Sony will be afraid of upsetting owners who are familiar with their current menu system.
Great video! When you use the joystick, do find the black square is hard to see? Can the colour of the black square be changed?
At the moment the colour of the square cannot be changed - Sony are aware of the feedback in relation to this - so I hope to see it change or become an option in a future firmware update.
Great job Mark!! …. I learn so much from your detailed tutorials.
Thank you so much Mark, as always!
Many thanks for this great explanation!!! Straight forward and very professional :-)
Thanks Mark, great video. I use both the a7rii and a7riii bodies. There is so much to learn to maximize the usage of these little gems and your videos make it easy to understand.
James Johnston - Thanks for the positive feedback
Hi James , can you tell me if after you setting perfectly these too camera, does the A7r3 is still slower than A73?
I have never used an a7III, only the a7RII and a7RIII. Sorry.
The A73 does not feel slower than the A73.
thank you mark really love your videos and info
Great tutorial! Thanks.
Useful. Thanks. But one point- APS-C format does not "magnify" your images. It just throws away pixels from the outside of the FF image. The pixels on subject remains the same.
John Chardine - technically you are correct but in APS-C mode the image is magnified in the EVF and on the LCD screen and this emulates the narrower field of view an owner of an APS-C camera would experience. At 200mm the lens would behave like a 200mm lens on an APS-C with an ‘equivalent’ focal length of 300mm.
Very useful information thank you. Regards
Great video Mark thanks
Great video, thanks. Can you elaborate on why the electronic shutter is not as good as the mechanical shutter for action shooting? Rolling shutter?
The A9 uses a new BIS stacked CMOS sensor for ultra-fast readout times to remove the impact of shutter distortion when using an electronic shutter. The A7RII features a sensor that is a similar design the the A6500 and A7RII so is not immune from shutter distortion - the sensor design is discussed in this article: www.markgaler.com/sonys-stacked-cmos-sensors-the-dawn-of-a-fully-electronic-age
I have a new a7r3 and i find this video really usefull.
But i find hard to focus small birds on 600mm
Photographing small birds in flight is technically the hardest subject in photography. I am sure it has put many an amateur photographer off photography completely, because of the low success rate. I recommend building up panning practice using slower moving subjects, e.g., bicycles. Practice locating subjects above the finder with your eye and then raising the viewfinder to your eye so that it appears in the centre of your viewfinder each and every time. Practice pre-focusing the lens at an approximate distance before locating a bird in the sky. I also recommend switching to a small spot when the bird is in amongst branches. Newer cameras such as the A7IV have bird Eye AF and superior tracking performance which makes bird photography a little easier. The cameras with stacked sensors (A9, A9II and A1) have better tracking performance when compared to cameras with regular backlit sensors. If you need additional support check out my support channel at Patreon.com/markgaler
@@AlphaCreativeSkills Thank you for your answer.Today i was trying on big birds flying like ducks and swans and it was great.I got some nice shots.The funny thing was that i have turned on touch operation and moved the focus point with my nose to the lower right corner without knowing and in sunlight it was a bit hard to find out what is wrong.:)
You can restrict the Touch pad focus initiation to the upper right-hand corner so your nose doesn't drag the focus point to the lower right-hand corner when it touches the monitor.
great content, solid information, thanks so much
Awesome! Thank you for your lessons
Very helpful
Great tutorial
Well done and a thank you
No problem 👍
Thank you for this video! So clear and precise. So once I have those saved in my memory, what mode should I shoot on? Auto?
You are loading Aperture Priority in the saved Memory. You will then be recalling it from either 1, 2 or 3 on the Shoot mode dial.
Wow thanks
Thank you. Very useful information.
Glad it was helpful!
78k views, only 1.7K likes. Please don’t judge the ignorant and selfish masses. Keep up the great work! When are you designing the Alpha Mark?
Thanks for your positive feedback - I would like to help Sony make some of the groups of settings required for certain tasks more accessible to the broader Sony community. The revised AF functionality and menus in the A6400 is a step in the right direction.
I have to say not being very smart with camera's, that was my favorite video.
I appreciate my question is very late to this thread, but I hope you still might be able to answer. Very recently purchased an A7iii and this is exactly the video I've been looking for. My question is, presumably I will have to reset many of these settings after saving as a preset, as many won't work for 'ordinary, day to day' shooting? So many of these settings are specific to action photography, that I wouldn't want set normally. For example I like ot shoot uncompressed. Must I change the setting back once I've made the preset?
I'm new to your videos but so far they have been incredibly helpful. Thank you.
When you are finished recalling a registered Memory on the Shoot Mode (turning it to 1, 2 or 3) when your return the dial to P, A , S or M all of the settings you were using prior to recalling the memory are still there.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills Thanks for replying Mark, although I found that if I applied the settings while the dial is turned to A those settings remained for Aperture Priority even after I'd set them to a custom memory. Should I have performed the initial set up with the Dial turned to 1 or 2?
Very good and informative, but is there a way to change your shooting mode from aperture priority to say manual or shutter priority after saving the setup to memory?
That is the only thing you can’t change
Very helpful thank you
Hi! This video is excellent and I, for the most part, set up my camera with your settings. I have a question about Steady Shot and taking photos of birds in flight with the 100-400GM. Usually the birds in flight are flying from right to left, or from left to right, and I am moving the lens with the birds. Is this considered panning? ... and should I put on mode 2 on the 100-400 lens ... or should I turn off steady shot completely? I have not had a high rate of good birds in flight--however the lock on does seem to work, the bird is just not sharp. I have my minimum shutter speed set at 1000 (and maybe that's too low). Thanks for any help you can provide!
Brooke A Miller - Mode ll is recommended for panning from left to right or vice versa. If the movement of the bird is erratic and the lens has to be moved vertically as well as horizontally then switch steady shot off on the lens. If your panning technique is not yet fully accurate then I would definitely advise raising the minimum shutter speed to 1/2000 second.
Mode 2 on the lens is the correct setting in this instance
Lock on Af is so slow on the R3 maybe the new firmware fix the lag
Thank you for your video, but I need help! Can’t het sharp images with tamron 70-200. Your settings in this video help me a lot but still can get sharp images on indoor volleyball games.
How can I get help? Thank you
16:56 I like the APS-C function set on C4 button as I need it faster sometimes.
I push the APS-C function out of harms way as it it can be too easily enable during a shoot when positioned on the right side of the camera. It's pretty obvious when this happens on a prime but can go unnoticed for a long time when using a zoom. Not the end of the world for an R but pretty tragic when using a 24 megapixel camera. C3 on the top left of the camera or the Fn menu is often a safer place. The A1 now features an APS-C icon in the finder so I now leave the APS-C mode on the C3 key.
Thanks Mark
One thing I would like to be able to do is to activate/toggle Silent Shooting with one press of a custom button (for perched birds or other more static wildlife photography where going silent in the field would help). As it is now on the A7rIII, you can assign Silent Shooting to a custom key, but this brings you to the ON/OFF menu, so this is an extra step.
Hi Mark, thank you very much. I love watching your videos, they are very informative! One question, if I successfully setup all the menus and custom buttons to dial 1 and 2 exactly how you described. I switch from one to the other and it all works really well but when I switch the camera off the settings reset to original. I am making sure I am saving to position 1 and 2 not M1, M2 etc. Do you think there might be an issue with my camera?
Thanks
The Memories should be retained even when the camera is turned off. You should be able to rotate the Shoot Mode dial away from 1 or 2 and when you turn it back to 1 or 2 you should be provided with a screen showing you visual confirmation of the settings you have saved (same screen you saw when saving/registering the settings). When saving settings just check you are pressing the Center button the confirm registration. If your setup workflow is all good you will need to get the camera checked out.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills I will give it another shot. Once again really appreciate your guidance!
Mark, thanks again. If there is one dog running and everything else is landscape, should i choose WIDE (no-lock on) and sensitivity to 5?
Yes - Wide (lock on and tracking is required when there are obstacles closer than the subject you are tracking).
@@AlphaCreativeSkills thank your being very responsive and helpful
Thanks for your great videos! Which focus field would you choose for flying birds and can I use the rest of the settings for it 1: 1?
Many greetings, Udo
I have a video tutorial called ‘Focus Area’ that outlines how I choose the appropriate Focus Area for the subject I am choosing
Thanks for the knowledge for people like me that are too lazy to read the whole manual..
@3:58 Select Media; Selects the memory card slot from which settings are recalled or to which settings are registered for M1 through M4.
So it doesnt set the slot where the pictures are stored to as you state in your video.
Very helpful vid. Is the high+ continous shooting the same for a6500 concerning blackout
Thanks
Yes - the A7RIII behaves exactly like the A65000 in Continuous Shooting Mode when using the mechanical shutter, i.e. Blackout exists between each individual frame but the viewfinder is 'live'. In this respect it is the same experience as using a DSLR. There is no blackout in Hi+ but the feed has lag - making it difficult to pan. The A7RIII should be considered as a full-frame equivalent to the A6500 rather than a slower A9.
Hi Mark, Great tutorials. Something that I would find helpful would be a spread sheet of your various settings for the A7RM3. Four columns total: Left column for the features, then three columns (one column each) for Landscapes, Actions, and Portrait.
I'll put it on my 'to-do list' :-)
Thanks Mark. That would be great!
Great idea !
Great idea! It would be very helpful
Hows that "to-do list" coming along? :)
Thanks for the video, very informative! I've been really struggling with actions shots of my dogs, but I use adapted Sigma ART lenses with the MC-11 adapter. Literally 95% of the pictures are out of focus but I have a feeling that either the primes are slow or it's the adapter that's slowing them down. I have the newest firmware installed on the camera, adapter and lenses. I'm planning to rent the 70-200 f4 and I do hope it performs better, because I really love the camera for dog portraits and landscapes and being able to shoot actions shots would be the icing on the cake for me. I didn't have any issues with action shots on my Canon 6D and 6Dmk2 and the old Sigma 70-200, so I do hope I can get at least the same performance on Sony with a native lens.
Using non-native E-Mount lenses via an adapter slows AF performance dramatically. Make sure any lenses you purchase for your Sony (Sony or non-Sony E-Mount lenses) have linear focus motors.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills I'm renting the Sony 70-200mm f/4 next week, fingers crossed!
Good job!
Very useful. Thank you.
Amazing channel! You really help me with my new a7iii.
Some valuable info here, but only some applies to my a6500. Maybe it's time to add another camera!?
Hi Mark, great tutorials. When you use Lock-On AF/extended flexible spot, how do you make sure the focus is on the primary target? For example, in your rodeo sequence, how did you make sure that the camera focused on the primary target, in this case, the person, not the bull? Thanks.
In the Rodeo sequence if the camera was set to Lock-on AF wide and chose the bull instead of the cowboy the depth of field would probably be enough to render both in sharp focus if the two subjects stay close to each other. Depth of field is helped when shooting the subject at a distance with a telephoto lens. If you need to be in control about which subject in the centre of the frame the camera chooses to track then you have to start the sequence with a Spot AF on the cowboy. This is the reason Sony added the multi selector (joystick) to make choosing a subject faster than on previous models. In the example of the Rodeo if the two subjects were at the same distance from the camera and bot close to the centre when the lock on AF engaged the camera would most likely choose the cowboy because of the colourful shirt. In AF wide the camera is also influenced by distinctive colours as well as front and centre.
Hello, love your vids!!! I use back button focus, for action shots which do you suggest I use?
I don’t use back button AF as I like to move a spot AF point using the multi-selector and/or the monitor as a touch pad
Excellent videos.. What settings you recomend for soocer?.. Thanks a lot
These ones
Mark, I am currently renting an a7rIII for a week before I purchase this model and change from Canon. It is an amazing still camera and I'm getting marvelous detail in my shots. But It has been struggling with AF-C on every moving subject I select. It takes forever to lock, where my Canon locks in tenths, if not hundredths of a second. I have wondered if anyone has had this issue and if it was a character of the camera, despite the reviews. I was also wondering if Native lenses perform better. But after watching your video, and changing all the settings I am encouraged to think this will fix the problem. I can't wait to try it out tomorrow, which is my third day of location shooting. I am a Canon user with Canon L, and Sigma Art lenses that work very well in Single Shot Auto Focus, but in AF-C they all fall apart. but it appears that the settings are the game changer. Thanks so much for the time you spent in putting this video out. If all this works as I hope, I'll purchase the camera this week. There are so many things about this camera I like. Thank You! mg
AF-C performance of these cameras is excellent with native e-mount lenses. Performance using non Sony lenses via third party adapters can be good or bad depending on adapter, firmware of adapter and specific lens being used. Check the firmware of the adapter is the current version and let me know if the settings helped.
I read and saw so many recent reviews about the Canon L glass working I was pretty sure it was operator error on my part. Your settings are great and work well. First of all, in AF-C, I discovered in reading the manual you do not have to hold the back button focus down during the shot as you do with Canon. . Second, the lock light is on even when the lens appears to search, and those shots came out in tight focus as well. I'm sure that native glass will function smoother, but for now I don't want to spend what I would need for GM Glass. Advise if I'm incorrect in my findings. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance Mark
Michael Graham - You can switch AF w / shutter to OFF if you want the AF-ON button to behave as a back-button AF.
Michael Graham - I am pleased you achieved some good results. Obviously the answer to ‘will it focus quickly’ is difficult to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ when dealing with third party products with variations of firmware. The same happens with Flash systems. The Sony Flashes all work great, but photographers have mixed results when using non-sony products.
I just recently purchased an A7R III and have been trying to get familiar with all of the settings this camera has to offer and your videos are by far the best that I have came across for the different shooting situations and everything else related to Alpha Cameras. I was wondering if you have a specific shooting setup for photographing birds when panning? I have a 70-300 g lens and just started to get into bird photography I find for myself the that continuous lock-on flexible spot is difficult unless you start when the bird is stationary but when a bird is already flying, it is hard to lock on. Pretty much all of my images have been out of focus shooting at 125th of a second at around 200mm hand held.
David Fukuda - increase the size of the AF area to Lock-on AF zone or Lock-on AF wide -if you cannot accurately target your subject with a spot AF. remember the camera will target the subject that is closest to the camera and towards the centre of your selected AF area. Your shutter speed is way too slow to capture birds in flight. Occasionally motor sports will slow the shutter speed to 1/500 or 1/320 second to add some motion blur behind the speeding vehicle but you can’t blur the sky. The slower the shutter speed the higher the miss rate unless your panning action is 100%. Take the shutter speed up to 1/2000 second as outlined in the movie and use a + exposure compensation value if the bird is backlit by the sky or Manual exposure settings.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills
Mark, thank you for your response and informative suggestions. I will definitely try them out the next time I go. Thanks again!
Tks Sir
Welcome
Very informative video. Thanks for taking the time Mark. I was wondering why you yourself don't set up for back button focussing. On that note, can you answer a question please? On my old Canon 7d, if I was in continuous AF and tracking a subject using the shutter button for focussing, it would lose focus after the first shot and would then have to re-acquire focus for the next shot and so on. Consequently, I would get some out of focus shots in the sequence. If I disabled focus from the shutter button and used the AF-ON button for back button focus, then it would continue to autofocus all the while I was pressing the shutter button, without having to re-acquire between shots. Does the Sony A7III work the same way or does it continue to track on the shutter button whilst taking pictures?
The A7lll does no have to reacquire the subject it is tracking because it does not use a mirror. DSLRs phase detect sensor is in the mirror box and is temporarily blinded each time the mirror flips up to clear the path of light to the sensor. The use of back-button AF requires the use of continuous AF only and sometimes I like to use AF-S. Sometimes I am holding down another custom button and I don’t want to have to hold down the AF-On button as well. Back-button AF is loved by many users but it does not add any AF performance for a user who knows the AF systems of the Sony cameras.
That's a very quick and detailed answer, Mark. Thanks very much for taking the time.
Hi Mark, thanks for the great tutorials you have been sharing. I have an A7 III and I am using the 100-400mm GM with the 1.4X TC and I have setup my camera exactly the way you explained and I have been shooting surfing for the most part and the camera isn't locking the focus,. I noticed even thou I place the box spot on the surfer the focus goes from one side to the other side of the frame and I normally lose a few shots. It's actually quicker and more accurate to keep refocusing whilst shooting. Any ideas what could be causing it? Would that be an issue with the 1.4X TC? I haven't tried shooting without the TC. Thanks
The camera may have trouble separating the subject from the surf - bird photographers have the same problem when a bird is about to take off from a tree. The camera can sometimes see the bird and the tree as one subject so becomes confused when they separate. My solution would be to try increasing the size of the Focus area from Lock on AF: spot to Lock on AF: Zone. If this does not work I would use the wide, zone or spot options that do not have lock on. In this instance the spot would be the hardest option as your panning would have to be accurate or you would have to move the spot AF area accurately. The larger AF areas are your friends when this happens. I have set up the AEL button to quickly change AF area when Lock-on becomes erratic.
Fantastic explanation! Thank you so much. I am very disappointed that I missed your workshop here in Sydney on the 2nd. Hopefully you will be doing more of those soon. You should maybe think about doing one for wild life and sports photography, that would be great! Thanks again
These Action settings are the ones I use for sports and wildlife that is moving.