In AF-S mode aperture stay open wide till you take a picture so is much easier to find focus. If you use for example 85mm f1. 8 lens in AF-C mode and aperture you set is f5.6 - that settings make much more trouble for camera to find focus because aperture is small but when you switch to AF-S, camera looking for focus with wide open aperture f1.8 and after that close it to f5.6. So in low lights situations AF-S is King. Hope I explained this clearly. Sorry for my English.
Great video! Three years later (2022-09-16), and this information is still useful as more photographers are looking at pre-owned A73, A7R3, A9 and similar bodies.
Great information Chris, I recently upgraded from A6500 to A7iii so I am in "learning mode" and this has been one of the best explanations on focus modes I have seen to date.
Been shooting Sony for a few years now and never knew about the trick with picking which person to focus on by hovering your focus point over to make their box go white first! Very very helpful thanks Chris!
This was so helpful! You mentioned two things that I don’t know how to do still: 1) how do you make the toggle stick “jump” back to the center point? 2) which button did you designate for eye focus lock? Would love to see your custom button setup and menu!
Chris, you had me at "Hawaiian Shirt Tuesday" but I think this is one of your 'best' videos- very good information disseminated in such a clear and helpful manner. I have saved this video to watch again and appreciate you explaining each mode and the reasons behind your choices. Thanks.
Great video thanks. Just a note on the Lock-on modes - these activate subject tracking and are great for fast moving subjects - it's like Eye AF but for everything except eyes! I don't do weddings but do lots of events and some performing arts. Lock-on AF: Centre is my default AF setting. I move the camera to centre on the subject, activate AF and then recompose my image. I find this much faster and easier than messing about with the joystick or touchpad to move the AF point, it's a very fluid way of working.
@@LindtBunny Yes, I use that same setting but I still don't get that image quality. Did you download any of their raw? I have your same team and I can't get that.
Choosing the face was what I've been struggling with. It's so difficult to see those subtle color changes. You've really helped with subject locking, thank you!
Great video Chris, thanks so much. I've had my a7iii for several months and have been shooting mostly events - concerts from the pit. Been searching for a good explanation AND hands-on so I could finally understand the options. This video did it. I struggled with more than one person in the frame and the camera selecting who to focus on, your demo helped me better understand. Grateful!
I just got the A7III and migrated from the D750. Also shooting live music events and struggling with the camera - it picks one performer when I want the other.
i Under estimated the AF-C on my A7rii, i only use it for eye AF .I will surely be using AF-C more now thanks to you for this simple explanation.There is also a problem when there are multiple faces in a shot and you are in WIDE AREA , it is near impossible to get the right face unless you change the AF area and then you point it over and press the eye-AF button to lock it.. The more you know.....thanks for this!Subbed!
Rami H to choose a face when in Wide Area, place it in the centre of the frame then press the shutter or AF button, no need to switch modes. Same applies when using Eye AF with Wide area. That said, I rarely use Face Detect now, Eye AF does the same thing but is more controllable IMO.
Chris , love the videos but could you help me with the settings when shooting the bride and grooms to ensure tight sharp focus on them both . Great shows
AF-M will only engage automatic magnification if you have a focus by wire lens. On fully manual lenses you have to dedicate a button for that. I am wondering how did you set the camera to zoom out with a half press? I have to cycle the magnifications to zoom out...
now this is super informative and nice! still on my nikons, cuz i am packed with gear and can't afford to switch, but it is super nice to know that Nikon mirrorless suck so hard compared to Sony, this af thing is just insane thank you dude!
This was a very helpful video for a 10+ years Nikon shooter starting to switch over to Sony! There's one question I haven't found the answer to in any videos on CZcams so far... with eye AF, how do you choose which eye you want to focus on? Sometimes I'm shooting and want to focus on the left eye for instance but it keeps focusing on the right one... is there a way to address this?
thank you so much for this video Chris. For a while I've been wondering how to get an eye AF locked on a specific person in a group of people. I usually use "wide" with eye AF so it usually just pics the eye closest to the camera. Very very useful information. thank you again. or should i say, Mahalo from Oahu, HI. :)
I just got my A7riii and this was video was SO helpful, man, thank you. One question for anyone out there: if you’re using AF-C all the time, even for still portraits, I guess you have to be using back-button focus in order to recompose and still hold focus on your subject?
You’ll wanna use back button anyway. Look up my back button video. You can just use eye focus because it works all over the frame anyway so just hold that eye af button down and recompose
Chris Turner Thanks so much for the quick reply, man. I’ve resisted and resisted on back button, thinking I rarely shoot moving subjects anyway (and that maybe I’m not that coordinated), but more and more I’m thinking I have to bite the bullet, particularly now I have a Sony mirrorless in my pack.
Great video, thanks. Maybe you have same video about metering modes? It's kinda clear to understand the difference between them, but I stuck trying get sunny backlight low contrast dreamy portraits - overexposed background or head outline only) Or some recomendations maybe?)
Chris, do you realize that by using AF-S mode and together with face focus tracking being enable, when you click the shutter half way, it actually focusing 2 faces with 2 green box instead of once focusing one face when using AF-C mode.
@@ChrisTurnerPhotographer yeah. i get it. but somehow, this is just how's the camera behave. When photographing bunch of ppl with different distance, best way is to use larger F. Maybe F8.0
Yeah I get it, I’m just saying it’s kind of pointless when you can just choose the right eye (in front of the group for example) and have the faster focusing of AFC, plus back button for the win haha
Hey! I’d love to know how to focus on multiple faces. This is a problem I face when shooting events, sometimes the camera focus on multiple faces, but most of time it chooses just one 😓 Thank you!
hi :) I have just managed to handle the same problem: go to "set. face prty in af" -> do not only turn on "face priority in af" but also "face detection frame display" :)
I fondly remember the old days of analog photography when everyone knew how to focus without much ado... now the question is rather how many videos it takes before one has a chance to grasp the concept of proper focussing... this video is really great help, i.e. for the focussed (pun intended) photographer, but we will never be back to the grand old days when things were easy even for the sloppy guy
Haha I agree. I shot a lot of film, it didn’t matter if focus wasn’t tack sharp cause the photo was generally soft anyways unless I was on medium format. Things were simple yet complicated at the same time
Chris - interesting and very informative. Curious what focus setting would you suggest for wildlife photography where the animals are on the move chasing prey, so the action is happening fast and shooting would be fast as allowable - either 10 fps or 20 fps depending on what Sony I am using with a 100-400 x 1.4TC? Thanks
Hey everyone! I know this video is a bit older now but hopefully someone here might be able to help me. When I set my camera to any of the lock on modes and press AF-ON it no box appears around my subject. Does anyone know why this might be?
My magnification to focus doesn't appear to work in AF modes. But it seems to on yours - is it because I am not using a Sony lens? I am using a Sigma 18-35 and a MC-11 - all focus seems to work but that.
Hi Chris! Thanks for the video - very helpful. I know this is a very old video but in case you do see it: why would one use the joystick instead of simply tapping on a point on the screen? Is it so that you don't have to remove your eye from the viewfinder?
AF-S and AF-C speed difference.... i think the camera uses the contrast AF too to make the AF more precise, AF-C is phasedetect and AF-S is phase detect with contrast detect?.... tho hover thing what it does it normal for contrast af
ajschot Exactly, contrast is more precise, but it has to go beyond and then “rewind” to the sharpest spot. With phase detect, it is much better at tracking something moving
At 5:50 "If you have 20 people, you should see 20 faces with boxes around them". Is there a settimg I might have turned off that is not showing me this? I assume you are not holding down a focus button at this point. I am on Sony A7iii, maybe it does not have this function? I would really love to use it. Thanks for any help!
what button did you set up for eye-focus? I have it set to the AEL, and AF-ON for BBF, and with four faces, it still only picks one and does not allow me to pick another face in the group. What am I missing in what setting if you know?
*Yes I meant "I never use AF-S" not AF-C lol my bad.
In AF-S mode aperture stay open wide till you take a picture so is much easier to find focus. If you use for example 85mm f1. 8 lens in AF-C mode and aperture you set is f5.6 - that settings make much more trouble for camera to find focus because aperture is small but when you switch to AF-S, camera looking for focus with wide open aperture f1.8 and after that close it to f5.6. So in low lights situations AF-S is King. Hope I explained this clearly. Sorry for my English.
I thought I heard wrongly. Glad you corrected here. Great video, keep it up!
I've double checked the video and was on my way with the same kind of comment)
Finally someone did a no nonsense video on Sony focus modes. Thanks for not ranting and just running through easy to understand examples, refreshing.
Great video! Three years later (2022-09-16), and this information is still useful as more photographers are looking at pre-owned A73, A7R3, A9 and similar bodies.
Little trick, if you clic on the joystick in wide mode, it also make a center focus ;)
Probably the best video on AF for Sony!
The focus selection of bride and groom from a bunch of ppl is such a useful trick! Thank you mate!
Selection of the eyeAF subject was very helpful.
Great information Chris, I recently upgraded from A6500 to A7iii so I am in "learning mode" and this has been one of the best explanations on focus modes I have seen to date.
Thanks for the feedback Steve!
The info at the 5:40 mark is exactly what I’ve been looking for. This video really made my day. Thank you.
Been shooting Sony for a few years now and never knew about the trick with picking which person to focus on by hovering your focus point over to make their box go white first! Very very helpful thanks Chris!
This is the only really coherent, practical explanation of this topic I've seen so far. Thanks!
Great video Chris! Especially the tip about choosing a face when using eye-af 😊
Thanks mate :)
Thanks so much Chris. I have been researching Sony focus modes for weeks. Your video made it so clear and simple. Cheers mate
That’s great. Thanks for the feedback!
This was so helpful! You mentioned two things that I don’t know how to do still: 1) how do you make the toggle stick “jump” back to the center point? 2) which button did you designate for eye focus lock? Would love to see your custom button setup and menu!
On the a7 bodies that have a joystick, simply pressing into it will make your focus point jump back to center
Chris, you had me at "Hawaiian Shirt Tuesday" but I think this is one of your 'best' videos- very good information disseminated in such a clear and helpful manner. I have saved this video to watch again and appreciate you explaining each mode and the reasons behind your choices. Thanks.
Best vídeo of all I've seen about Focus modes. Thank you so much!
Great video thanks. Just a note on the Lock-on modes - these activate subject tracking and are great for fast moving subjects - it's like Eye AF but for everything except eyes! I don't do weddings but do lots of events and some performing arts. Lock-on AF: Centre is my default AF setting. I move the camera to centre on the subject, activate AF and then recompose my image. I find this much faster and easier than messing about with the joystick or touchpad to move the AF point, it's a very fluid way of working.
Exactly what I do Ian! Why move the spot and lose time when you can quickly focus in the middle then just move the camera instead. So much better
My photos are not sharp enough. Always use af-c and flex point to select a face.because I shoot weddings. I wonder what I'm doing wrong.
@@LindtBunny My photos are not sharp enough. Always use af-c and flex point to select a face.because I shoot weddings. I wonder what I'm doing wrong.
@@privilegezudaire1239 are you using Eye AF and continuous mode? And human face detection?
@@LindtBunny Yes, I use that same setting but I still don't get that image quality. Did you download any of their raw? I have your same team and I can't get that.
Choosing the face was what I've been struggling with. It's so difficult to see those subtle color changes. You've really helped with subject locking, thank you!
i didn't get that moment. how do we lock it there??
Great video Chris, thanks so much. I've had my a7iii for several months and have been shooting mostly events - concerts from the pit. Been searching for a good explanation AND hands-on so I could finally understand the options. This video did it. I struggled with more than one person in the frame and the camera selecting who to focus on, your demo helped me better understand. Grateful!
I just got the A7III and migrated from the D750. Also shooting live music events and struggling with the camera - it picks one performer when I want the other.
i Under estimated the AF-C on my A7rii, i only use it for eye AF .I will surely be using AF-C more now thanks to you for this simple explanation.There is also a problem when there are multiple faces in a shot and you are in WIDE AREA , it is near impossible to get the right face unless you change the AF area and then you point it over and press the eye-AF button to lock it.. The more you know.....thanks for this!Subbed!
Rami H to choose a face when in Wide Area, place it in the centre of the frame then press the shutter or AF button, no need to switch modes. Same applies when using Eye AF with Wide area. That said, I rarely use Face Detect now, Eye AF does the same thing but is more controllable IMO.
You can register your favourite face so camera will be known which face is important for you.
Thanks Chris! The tip about the AF-S vs. AF-C was awesome.
Hey. I really like the simple / effective video set up you're using. It works.
This was so brilliant. Thanks 🙏🏻
Super comprehensive, what a great video! Helped me learn a few extra things especially with the selection of one person with eye focus 👌
Directly to the crystal clear points! You saved me a ton of time. Thanks Chris!
Thanks a lot for this video, this has answered so many questions about the Sony focusing system, really helpful if I move over to Sony.
No worries! Check out the A7 setup video also if you haven’t
Thanks for the helpful video. I was thinking of getting rid of my Sony camera but but I’ll keep hold for now 🤗
Chris , love the videos but could you help me with the settings when shooting the bride and grooms to ensure tight sharp focus on them both . Great shows
Yesss please
fantastic sum up! Especially I didn't know how to choose in between faces.
In AFS it uses contrast and phase for better acuracy thats why it hunts
Phase detection works pretty well. Anyone know of circumstances when hybrid focusing is really much better?
This was amazing. Thank you
Very informative video, thanks!
Great video buddy. Thanks. I’m going to watch it a few times. Try to get my head around it.
Thank you Chris. I am coming over from Canon and your videos help a bunch!
what focus mode and area do you use for a group to get them all in focus?
I really enjoy your content mate, thank you for the straight forward video, subscribed and recommended to others.
Goat thanks mate appreciate that! More videos coming soon
More people need to see this. GJ
AF-M will only engage automatic magnification if you have a focus by wire lens. On fully manual lenses you have to dedicate a button for that.
I am wondering how did you set the camera to zoom out with a half press? I have to cycle the magnifications to zoom out...
now this is super informative and nice! still on my nikons, cuz i am packed with gear and can't afford to switch, but it is super nice to know that Nikon mirrorless suck so hard compared to Sony, this af thing is just insane
thank you dude!
I switched from Nikons - this is like running a spaceship versus a Cessna.
Best Sony focus more on CZcams thank you bro 🤟🏿
Thank you so much for sharing your great experience with us 😃👍🏻
Thanks a lot Chris for your detalied explanation. I woundring how did get multiple faces in focus as group photo with 85mm in your wedding shooting.
Awesome video Chris. Thank you
Great review and thanks for the tip for AF-C
This was a very helpful video for a 10+ years Nikon shooter starting to switch over to Sony! There's one question I haven't found the answer to in any videos on CZcams so far... with eye AF, how do you choose which eye you want to focus on? Sometimes I'm shooting and want to focus on the left eye for instance but it keeps focusing on the right one... is there a way to address this?
I think now you can change which eye in the menu but not during shooting, it’s supposed to chose the closest eye by default
Thanks Chris! Such a helpful video. 😄
thank you so much for this video Chris. For a while I've been wondering how to get an eye AF locked on a specific person in a group of people. I usually use "wide" with eye AF so it usually just pics the eye closest to the camera. Very very useful information. thank you again. or should i say, Mahalo from Oahu, HI. :)
I just got my A7riii and this was video was SO helpful, man, thank you. One question for anyone out there: if you’re using AF-C all the time, even for still portraits, I guess you have to be using back-button focus in order to recompose and still hold focus on your subject?
You’ll wanna use back button anyway. Look up my back button video. You can just use eye focus because it works all over the frame anyway so just hold that eye af button down and recompose
Chris Turner Thanks so much for the quick reply, man. I’ve resisted and resisted on back button, thinking I rarely shoot moving subjects anyway (and that maybe I’m not that coordinated), but more and more I’m thinking I have to bite the bullet, particularly now I have a Sony mirrorless in my pack.
Thank you thank you thank you
Thanks Chris this is so informative
Thank you for this amazing explanation!
Thanks. Your video was very helpful and easy to understand.
thanks for the tutorial. Easy to follow and understand.
Great video, thanks.
Maybe you have same video about metering modes? It's kinda clear to understand the difference between them, but I stuck trying get sunny backlight low contrast dreamy portraits - overexposed background or head outline only) Or some recomendations maybe?)
Chris, do you realize that by using AF-S mode and together with face focus tracking being enable, when you click the shutter half way, it actually focusing 2 faces with 2 green box instead of once focusing one face when using AF-C mode.
That’s kind of pointless, I mean I get what your saying but it’s impossible to focus at 2 different distances at the same time. You know what I mean?
@@ChrisTurnerPhotographer yeah. i get it. but somehow, this is just how's the camera behave. When photographing bunch of ppl with different distance, best way is to use larger F. Maybe F8.0
Yeah I get it, I’m just saying it’s kind of pointless when you can just choose the right eye (in front of the group for example) and have the faster focusing of AFC, plus back button for the win haha
Hey! I’d love to know how to focus on multiple faces.
This is a problem I face when shooting events, sometimes the camera focus on multiple faces, but most of time it chooses just one 😓
Thank you!
The lens can only focus on one element at the time. It's just the way things are ;)
You have to stop down to increase the depth of field to get multiple faces in focus...hope that helps...
Very helpful and to the point. Thank you!
Very informative! Thanks!
How do you get the boxes around the faces without not even touching the shutter button?
afs would be good for handheld architecture where you need to lock focus and recompose without worrying that it switched point of focus.
Very helpfull video. Also Why my a7r3 doesnt show the grey square on faces? Help pls? Thx.
hi :) I have just managed to handle the same problem: go to "set. face prty in af" -> do not only turn on "face priority in af" but also "face detection frame display" :)
@@Breeny19 Thank you mate.
I fondly remember the old days of analog photography when everyone knew how to focus without much ado... now the question is rather how many videos it takes before one has a chance to grasp the concept of proper focussing... this video is really great help, i.e. for the focussed (pun intended) photographer, but we will never be back to the grand old days when things were easy even for the sloppy guy
Haha I agree. I shot a lot of film, it didn’t matter if focus wasn’t tack sharp cause the photo was generally soft anyways unless I was on medium format. Things were simple yet complicated at the same time
I think I saw a CZcams video showing that the lag in focus is actually for Sony lenses
Really helpful ... thanks Chris :)
Hi how do you get the large square on the rear screen. Thanks for your time
Lock on is so slow tracking race cars. AFC Zone works perfectly
Chris - interesting and very informative. Curious what focus setting would you suggest for wildlife photography where the animals are on the move chasing prey, so the action is happening fast and shooting would be fast as allowable - either 10 fps or 20 fps depending on what Sony I am using with a 100-400 x 1.4TC? Thanks
Great video Chris
Very simple and informative ! Thank you :-)
oh man..you helped me so much with this video.. i came from canon and this helps alot..thank you
No worries mate glad it helped
this is relevant for the a7r iv
Mostly but the R4 has real time tracking added also. Otherwise yes
How would assigned the eye AF to a button. Isn't this on automatically.
Super helpful! Thanks so much!
Hey everyone! I know this video is a bit older now but hopefully someone here might be able to help me. When I set my camera to any of the lock on modes and press AF-ON it no box appears around my subject. Does anyone know why this might be?
My magnification to focus doesn't appear to work in AF modes. But it seems to on yours - is it because I am not using a Sony lens? I am using a Sigma 18-35 and a MC-11 - all focus seems to work but that.
can i move all the focusing options on the a7r2 like you did with the joystick on focus zone or can i only move the flexible spot
There are many opinions and I am not clear. What configuration do you recommend for both static and moving subjects? thank you
I believe you meant @8:50, "that's why I never ever use AF-S (not AF-C)" :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts (y)
Yep
Hi Chris! Thanks for the video - very helpful. I know this is a very old video but in case you do see it: why would one use the joystick instead of simply tapping on a point on the screen? Is it so that you don't have to remove your eye from the viewfinder?
AF-S and AF-C speed difference.... i think the camera uses the contrast AF too to make the AF more precise, AF-C is phasedetect and AF-S is phase detect with contrast detect?.... tho hover thing what it does it normal for contrast af
ajschot Exactly, contrast is more precise, but it has to go beyond and then “rewind” to the sharpest spot. With phase detect, it is much better at tracking something moving
Very legal and very cool
Thank you so much! Not sure why the locking eye-tracking didn't work for me though!
What camera do you have
@@ChrisTurnerPhotographer A7R3
Hello great video do you always use auto iso for portraiture?
What setting do you use for a large group, 5 people, 40 people, etc.
I'm a little confused, he says af-c is the way to go. Because it's work so good. But at 10:26 does he say "thats why i never ever use af-c"??
How to move focus points using joystick on a7r3? I know the touchscreen way
Chris, can i hug you? 🙏
How do you get this big square box thats on the screen?
great video,thanks for the info
This video helped a ton! Straight to the point and easy to follow. But when you say back button focusing, what do you mean?
Search back button focusing on my channel I made a video about it
Thank yku
Great video thanks. Nice you cover the Sony logo with tape on your camera.... haha.
How do you set up back button focus
At 5:50 "If you have 20 people, you should see 20 faces with boxes around them". Is there a settimg I might have turned off that is not showing me this? I assume you are not holding down a focus button at this point. I am on Sony A7iii, maybe it does not have this function? I would really love to use it.
Thanks for any help!
Yeah it says something about face detect frame display. Needs to be turned on
I have question, which focus mode Should I use for a singer moves around? Many thankx
Hi great video How i set my eye auto focus on my a6000
Amazing video, really helpful for wedding togs who use Sony. Do you have face detection turned on when shooting weddings?
Oh yeah all the time. I use eye focus more than anything
very simple and great video! Thx)
Thank you!
what button did you set up for eye-focus? I have it set to the AEL, and AF-ON for BBF, and with four faces, it still only picks one and does not allow me to pick another face in the group. What am I missing in what setting if you know?
Great video !
How do you get everyone’s face in focus?