Sony A7RIV Bird In Flight BIF - Wildlife Autofocus Camera Menu System Setup Guide
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- čas přidán 23. 07. 2024
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SONY A7RIV QUICK START GUIDE FOR BIRD AND WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY: photoworkshopsandtours.com/in...
BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY: A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO MASTERING THE ART OF CAPTURING STUNNING IMAGES OF BIRDS: photoworkshopsandtours.com/ind...
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This is the best setup roundup I've come accross to this day! I've been a Sony user for 6 years now and even though I know and use most of the tweaks, you brought some new light to them. The ability to use focus peaking and 5.9x zoom in AF-C is AWSOME! Can't find words to express my gratitude!
Awesome glad you liked it
I went through this vid 2 years ago when I first bought the A7r IV. I havent used it much recently and needed your wisdom for a full reset and refresh, some settings were not what I thought they should be. This is still an outstanding and very useful piece of work. Thanks so much!
Hey Mark! I can not thank you enough. This has been night and day for me. After watching this video about 4 times through out the last 2 weeks. I upgraded from the a7r3 to the a7r4. I followed your settings exactly with some slight changes to the custom dial functions. I went back out to a local park that's notorious for having Eastern Bluebirds and Thrashers. I've been trying for weeks to try to photograph one as Bluebirds are fidgety and fast. With your help...I managed to photograph quite a few...and their TACK sharp! Focus Peaking, Crop sensor "spotting scope", back button focusing, registered AF area - they all played together seamlessly. I'm combing through the photos now and I'm really happy and, again, super thankful you made this video!!
I’m only about halfway through, but this has been so helpful in setting up my week old A9. Your breakdown and step by step guide is so easy to follow. Thanks for all your wonderful videos!!
This was fantastic, great overview!! I've been on the fence about this camera for a bit and this was a wonderful overview.
Woahhh I never would expect to find you on a photography channel! That’s so rad man 👊🏽👋🏽
Switched my gear from Nikon to Sony in the last month. A7Riv is my body and 200-600 Sony is my wildlife lens, with the Sony GM 70-200, Zeiss 16-35, and the Sigmas 24-70 f/2.8 & 20mm f/1.4. This video really helped me out getting started with the wildlife settings. Thanks!
Thank you so much for the time and effort on this guide! You're not kidding when you say this camera has a whole lot of options and this really helps focus in on the main points important for wildlife. I've played around with a few variations based on your recommendations but have found myself settling on a nearly identical setup as in this video. The written guide is also excellent for quick reference. Fantastic work!
I've been using your setup of the A7R!V for several months now and love it. I recently purchased the A7RV and hoping you will do a setup video similar to the one you did for the A7RIV. Thanks so much for the work you do!
Great Video/Tutorial Mark!
When it comes to wildlife photography, Sony has the best "Ambassador" they could ever ask for. If anyone (like me) with a moderate amount of experience is willing to spend the time to learn from you, they will gain another level of appreciation for this amazing Sony Camera!
Thanks for Sharing.
That's awesome! Thanks
Thank you for your insight and sharing of your settings, the custom key setup is a lot more intuitive than the custom options I had used. First weekend out and it made shooting more pleasurable!
I have the A7iii with the 200 to 600 and this video was very informative. I like the option of switching between focus area with one press of a button. I set mine to C1. Thanks good stuff.
Mark, I have an A7Riii, not the best camera for bird photography, and I had been feeling really frustrated with it. After watching your video on A7RIV, I have made the changes in settings that you recommended, and I am feeling so hopeful again. You have a great ability to explain counterintuitive concepts really well, like why AF responsiveness set to 5 makes more sense, or shooting in Zone mode while trying to track something so small. Really appreciate you and it goes without saying that I am a new subscriber, and will recommend your channel to all my photography friends. Thank you 🙏🏼
I am so grateful to have found this video. I have finally assigned custom buttons thanks to your wonderful video! I am super excited to start practicing capturing birds with all of these new settings. Hitting the function key to get back to the main tabs of the menu button is something I never knew! (much I did not know) I can't wait to share this feature with my Sony friends. Thanks for making this video.
Thanks Mark for this setup guide. Been hesitant to use the back button focus but I gave it another go on my A7iii. Set it all up last night and today managed to get so many keepers of a Rainbow bee eater tossing it's prey in the air. Plan to get A7R IV when the prices go down. Thanks again
Your quote that the A7RIV “is brutal in its honesty” in that it will reveal poor technique, poor glass and poor aperture and shutter choices .. is so true .. when I stepped up from the A7RIII, I had to force myself to become a better photographer as this camera will not hide your mistakes or protect you from yourself.. but I am happy the camera is challenging me to be better.. it’s a sniper rifle.. not a machine gun
Exactly
Jeez, that's a great way to put it--between you and Mark. I'm feeling the exact same sentiment. This camera really rewards impeccable technique. But it severely punishes sloppiness.
@@sdijnfpo0jaisf Absolllutly. I do not know where you have been before the A7r3 but the same is said stepping up from a 21mp to a 36 mp camera. 61 mp, It will definitely test your skills.
I upgraded to the A7RIV and 200-600mm from the A99II and 70-400mm and wholeheartedly agree. The 600mm and 61mp combo is really unforgiving with motion blur from camera shake, especially hand-holding.
I remember seeing a lot of reviews for the A7RIV saying the auto focus system was terrible and it would miss focus a lot. I honestly thought the same thing when I first got it until I realized it was slight motion blur in a lot of my photos. Once I improved my hand-holding techniques and forced myself to use faster shutter speeds more often, BOOM everything was sharp. I wonder if that's what was happening in those other reviews too. The A7RIV's focusing system and tracking is leaps and bounds over the A99II, so I'm really happy with my upgrade. Even my A mount lenses with the EA3 adapter nail focus better on the A7RIV!
And thanks for this in-depth video Mark! Love these settings. Especially how to turn the back screen off. Since I hike around with my camera at my side a lot, I'm always bumping my focus hold buttons so mine never really likes to stay asleep. That trick has saved me so much juice! I love the quick switching between small and zone focus with the back buttons too! I did the reverse since I usually photograph perched birds, but this is a life saver for when they take off. I just crank my shutter speed and press the zone/AF button and I'm ready for them!
I love the way you setup your camera and your two easy buttons to autofocus. I actually use the stick to have the third eye AF autofocus, so I have 3 ways to quickly autofocus with my thumb. Pretty useful, thanks for sharing !
I haven’t even finished the video yet but this may be one of the most informative and intuitive videos for all the things that I need. I’m super appreciative 🙏🏾
Mark, I am so glad to have found your videos. Grateful to find someone who can explain it so simply to this old guy. I am putting some of your suggestions to work already. Thank you
Buy the e-book! Great way to thank the best of all the camera-lens reviewers on CZcams.
You are a gift from the universe. My camera was lost/stolen for the last few weeks. Opted to purchase the a7iv because I needed a machine to get me through the rest of my work. Through divine intervention and a lot of persistence my a7riv was recovered. The main reason I was frustrated with the a7riv was I never quite dialed in the af functions to be reliable while shooting otf. I ran across your video and out of respect for my darling camera making it back into my hands I decided to configure the settings... why? Well, I believe the thief realized how complex the camera was, performed a factory reset and quickly realized the learning curve was going to be a hurdle for giants. Chimp driving a Ferrari.
Anyways, thank you so much. the camera feels better in my hands than it did before and I look forward to jumping back and forth between models to optimize the video and af for crowds and action with the a7iv and getting those magnificent print worthy shots while minimizing my shot loss count with the a7riv. For me, inadvertently, the thief put the dream team of cameras in my hand and then this video came along to add the cherry on top. You are great! Will most definitely support!
Thank You! Thank You!! Thank You!!! I finally understand how to use this awesome new camera of mine. Your video was exactly what I needed to try to navigate the HUGE menu of this super intelligent camera that I love. You do it in a way that anyone can follow and understand. Thank You soooo much!
Thank you. First help for my A9 and now my A7RIV. Nice🙏
Thank you.I did all your suggestions on my A7R4 which I bought today. I will start to use it with 200-600 tomorrow. I hope my A7R4 and 200-600 will love each other:)
Excellent video Mark! Watched it twice to pick up anything I may have missed. Also bought the guide and the setting file just in case I miss something while setting it up. This camera is definitely a challenge to my skillset, I've been a photographer for 55+ years, and still learning :), and this camera definitely can and will point out the personal deficiencies one may have. And that's good!
I have the a7r3, but I found this guide helpful, anyway. Bought it to support your work. Great job, Mark.
Thanks I came here after struggling with birds with my A7RIV, you're a great help thanks. A note on e-front curtain shutter if it's on it reduces the quality of background blur.
Hey Mark! As a followup to yesterday’s comment regarding the Focus Hold Button (MF option) on the lens, it should be noted the magnification range for manual focus is 5.9X to 11.9X (toggling the Center Control Wheel button) when in full frame sensor mode and 3.9X to 7.8X when in crop mode.
Thank you so much, after changing all these settings on my a7iv I feel more confident over the controls that I can actually control. Thank you!
Just got my Sony A7r iv and 200-600 lens today. I appreciate you putting this out and look forward to trying out your settings and tweaking anything (if at all) once I get used to the camera and lens. Thanks again! 👍🏽
Mark, excellent guide! I have the A7III and can apply a lot of your techniques to my camera. I loved this so much that I just bought the digital book on your website. Looking forward to learning more from you! This is the wildlife guide I have been looking for! Thanks so much!
Superb! I watched every second, stopped many times, back again ... So cool with huge thanks for sharing, Mark.
THANK YOU, Mark.
I swiched from another camera to this a7r4 just a few days ago because I was overwhelmed with the idea of (61 mega p) but when I turned it on I paniced. But your above film is absolutely great you explained things in a calm and understandable way. I have set up my camera now and am going out for a few days to take some shots in my lake country. I will buy the manual and your book on bird photography. Thank you one more time. Great film.
Excellent video!.
Thank you very much for the effort, for the patience to explain things in detail, always with clear explanations...
...and for sharing it!
Regards from Spain.
Thanks heaps for this very informative video and all your practical tips - these are very much appreciated. I have the A7R4 and have just purchased the sony 200-600mm lens and have set my camera according to your settings and it's a great great improvement over how I previously had my camera set. Many many thanks!!!
Best menu setup guide for this camera...EVER! Thank you sir.
I have a 7iii and 100-400mm. Watching this still, in the hope that the lessons generally apply.
Great stuff Mark, thanks for taking all of the time to make this very informative video! With some of these short cuts and settings, I know my A9 will be easier to manage and set up quickly.
Aloha Mark. Chuck Burke here....I"m 19:13 into your video and I think you have answered all of my questions LOL...between this and the previous video where B&H sent you the A7R4 to test...I am pretty convinced it is time for me to step away from my D850....Thank you for all the effort and work you put into your incredible videos...always entertaining and more importantly always extremely informative. Thank you.
Really learned something very helpful from this clip, like AEL button to quick change focus area. Thanks a lot!!!
Hey Mark. Another great video. You're one of the best out here on the tube. Keep up the great work.
New to Sony menu’s and your video has helped enormously
Thanks Mark, i just received my a7 iii and you helped me a lot .
I just discovered your channel, very very informative, I am subscribing.
Great setup and walk through tutorial Mark, thank you for sharing!
Thanks Mark I have the A7III but still found the information fantastic. 👍🏿
Great stuff, thanks Mark. Just downloaded the accompanying book and file too, will use all this to try to set up a 7R4 and a9 too so they have mostly identical settings and controls. Keep up the great work.
Used this settings for my a7iii. Thank you works great so far
Hello, how is your A7iii going with wildlife / BIF photography? Which lens do you use? Thanks for sharing
Loved this tutorial! Thank you for all of the tips and tricks! I really appreciate what you do.
Thanks Mark for this detailed video. This has been very helpful since I just received the new Sony A7 IV this week. The menus are different on the A7 IV but I could follow your setup just fine. I have been a lifelong Nikon user (selling all my gear now). I was comfortable with the Nikon D500 & 200-500mm lens for wildlife. Great camera, but I wanted to do more with video and the D500 was not great for video (especially auto-focus). I had previously watched your D500 System Setup and finally got the nerve to watch your “Why I moved from Nikon to Sony” video. The Sony A7 IV seems to be a perfect hybrid.
This is certainly going to be a transition, but very impressed thus far. I purchased a Sony kit lens for now (28-60mm) along with the 200-600mm lens.
Again, as always thanks for your videos. Long time follower.
Glad it was helpful!
Your A7R4 setup tutorial is very useful so thanks for that. However, in your section about focus areas I was hoping you could go into the differences between the tracking and regular focus area types and why you only select the non-tracking ones? What are pro's and con's of the other ones for wildlife/bird photography?
Very good. Just got my A7R iv for bird photography and this has been a great help. Thanks.
I didn't get the 600 f4, just the 200-600 zoom with the 1.4x teleconverter. Tried a few trial shots today and I'm suitably impressed. Hopefully after changing some (not all) of my settings to reflect yours, I will slowly improve my bird images. Spring migration will be starting soon so I'm aiming to be at least reasonably proficient for when the rarity appears :-)
I've just thought of this hobby, bought the old a7ii. It was pretty expensive for my budget even after all these years price is still high, Sony hold its price so well.
Mark purchased your A7RIV guide...well worth it. Thank you!
Thank you so much! You are amazing...I’m learning photography thanks to these videos!!!
This one was hard to watch but so well done. I love the new setup. It looks great!!!
Excellent! I just bought this camera about 2 months ago. This was extremely helpful. Thx U
14:15, you may also switch directly the main categories (I stuck to your terminology, hope it’s OK for you 😉) always by the front dial, independent of the position of horizontal selector bar 🖖
Thank you for explaining everything. I haven’t been all that happy with the amount of sharp images that I’ve been getting using my current settings. I was wondering why you do not use any of the tracking modes when you’re primarily shooting wildlife?
Very nice explanation, thank you. Is there a reason you have selected zone as the main AF area? I use the thumbstick for continues shooting but when I do that I move the focus zone area around the screen. So what's the benefit to use Zone instead Wide focus area? Thx, take care.
Mark thanks so much for this video - I use it all the time!!!
Thanks Mark for another great video. Just wanted to let you know with the Focus Hold Button (MF option) on the lens, whenever you depress the Lens Focus Hold Button to go into MF you can then press the Center Control Wheel button to toggle between 5.9X and 11.9X magnifications. Great for fine-tuning your focus on still objects and expanding your “spotting scope option”. Keep up the great work and your Osprey action images are awesome!
Woah! I'll have to give that a try! Thanks
That is very helpful. Thank you!
Oh my, that's so good to know. Thank you.
One of my favorite features of the riv is super35 and still having 26mp. Thats a whole a9. Turns a 400 2.8 into 600 but keeping the light from the fast aperture.
Nice job Mark. I read somewhere to leave AF illuminator off and have it set off on my camera. Thanks Mark
Wish there’s a place to shoot BIF in my area but sadly there isnt.your videos really makes me want to be a wildlife photographer.the way you tell a story along with the shooting is really amazing and addicting! Keep up the good work Sir!
Good job Mark, excellent video. Highley appreciated.
Thanks for such an informative and thoughtful tutorial. I have learned a lot.
Great video, thank you for the time spent!
Thank you very much for your good and patient teaching.
I am looking forward to a set up video like this wonderful in depth video for the Sony a1 when it is really available and which I intend to purchase as soon as I can. I love your excellent teaching style.
Great video. I wonder if the custom key menu is different from A7III and A7R4. I can not find switch focus area to set C2 to begin with.
Very informative video Mark, thanks for putting the time in to make it 👍
Great video!! I setup my camera very similar before I stumbled upon your video. I learned quite a few useful tips and have since tricked my setting.
One question: what tripod and mount/gimbal is that? would it work well for Astrophotography and longer exposures?
This is a great video, just what I needed. But I’m confused about 1 thing: You didn’t register any focus modes w/tracking but your lens is tracking the bird. So what are the tracking modes for? (I use mostly center-tracking for portraits). Thanks!
I have watched many of your videos, and you sir are an impressive photographer. And to date you are the only persons video I have subscribed to. Thank you for your Awesome photos.
Thank you!
Thanks Mark! Very informative.
Serious gear. Your totos are amazing.
Hey Mark. Absolutely fantastic video. I have watched it twice! Not sure I still need the digital guide but just bought it anyway. Haven't opened it yet but already got my money's worth from the video alone. Recently switched from my canon systems to the A7RIV and this video was tremendously helpful. My camera is set up similarly but not quite the same as yours. Definitely understand many of the features a lot better. I have been using the 100-400GM with or without the 1.4 tele. Unfortunately 400 or 600 are not realistic options for me. I had been considering the 200-600 G as it seems to zoom across its range much easier than the 100-400. I appreciate your comments non the 200-600 with he A7RIV but still am on the fence so please talk me out of it :). Looking forward to tracking some Eagles this weekend. Keep up the great work. Greatly appreciated. All the best.
coming from Hong Kong, your set up guide is very useful to me
Wonderful stuff as usual Mark. Hopefully you will have an A1 to test on your Florida shoot in March. Cheers
Really appreciate this video, coming over from Nikon things were a tad foreign helped so much!
Glad you liked itb
Thanks i just learned some tricks about the Sony that i did not know (pop the screen to always let it on and the fn to switch tabs on the menu)
Stil don’t understand.. would it be easier and faster if you make one of these buttons focus hold? Then if your (in my case) wife uses the camera it still works easily... it is just an otherway of doing the same (oh and standard the button on (some) lenses does this). What would be the benefit? I have the previous version (3) and on my canon i use back button focus but i had to switch everytime when i put the camera away. My wife sometimes uses it to make photos of the kids and she was always calling what happened if i forgot to change it back. I now work the other way around...
Thanks for sharing , Mark. Good shooting with you last week.
Always great shooting with you! See you in Washington!
Great video Mark. Really useful.
This was very helpful and well explained, Mark - thanks. I have a suggestion for you, which you might find useful.
For the lens's Focus Hold Button you have assigned AF/MF Control Toggle, which is good, but perhaps slightly more useful (because it's a tiny bit quicker) would be to set up a Recall Custom hold function with the following settings - Focus Mode = DMF, Focus Area = Flexible Spot M, AF On = On - and assign that to the Focus Hold Button instead.
With your setup, when the Focus Hold Button is pressed it just switches to MF (with an out-of-focus image, possibly) and waits for you to focus manually. With my setup, when the Focus Hold Button is pressed, it _auto-focuses first_ which then gives you something to punch into and fine tune with MF. Hope this makes sense.
Makes total sense but I always prefocus before using the spotting scope idea. I'll look into your suggestion. Sounds like a great setup.
I am not sure DMF will operate when the camera autofocus is set for AFC
@@smhoer8640 That's what recall custom hold is for, you overwrite the AFC with DMF (among other things) as long as you hold down the button. Probably my favourite feature on the Sony cameras.
Don´t even own a Sony, still I watched the whole thing!
Great work Mark of putting together a really great setup guide, the way you explain things are superb!
That's awesome. Thank you!
Same here. I wanted to see what the Sony menu was all about since some complain about them coming from other systems. All future cameras will force you to dig into their menu set ups if you want to get the most out of their features. Superb vid as most of your vids always are. Most likely the most advance slr camera out their rite now!
Thank you so much for this detailed video and clear explanations. You've put a lot of work into this and I want you to know it is appreciated. I will buy your pdf to show my support.
Excellent video. Very thorough and clear explanations. Happy shooting
Thanks
A great video I purchased the E-Book as well I must say you are a champion greetings from western Australia
Great video, Mark! Definitely worth the wait. Quick question, will you consider an A9II in the near future? I’m just curious if your a9 is collecting dust at this point. Thanks for all you do!
Thanks Mark! Was very helpful in my setup as well!
I saw you use AF tracking sen on setting 5 for the a7rv. Would you recommend the same for A9?
not everyone would take the time and/or would be willing to make such video and share settings. Thank you for that. I think I'll order an A7RIV pretty soon.
just looked at your photos on your site. amazing bird photos.
Thanks for the tips! Do you prefer the A7r IV or A9? I have the a9 and been thinking of swapping it for the R IV because I miss the resolution of R series. I love A9, but it lacks the ability to crop and when you zoom in, the photos look soft compared to R series.
Thank you for your posts always informative and so nice to have met you recently, thank you👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Thanks Mark brilliant video.
Great stuff Mark! Thanks very much!
A wonderful video. Thank you Mark
What a amazing video thank you for sharing your knowledge it was a big help