Today I show you how I set my A7iii for photography. Now this isn’t the only way and you might have a better way that works for you, but I’m showing you how I do it, so you can learn from it and hopefully improve on it! For videography:
These cameras are pretty amazing in that you can customise them in so many different ways, so by all means this is in no way the only way to set your camera up, it’s just the way I like it and the way I have set it up after lots of shoots.
It gives me access to everything I need and I’ve got all these settings memorised, mainly through repetition of use.
I mainly shoot in either aperture priority or manual mode.
When things are happening or changing quickly in front of me, I need to be quick in getting my settings. Aperture priority is a little like a semi automatic mode and when used in conjunction with the exposure compensation dial, I can very quickly get the settings I want. Click here for aperture priority.
When things are more controlled, I switch to manual mode. This gives me total control over everything I want. Say for instance landscape shooting, I have time to change the settings as the conditions change. On portrait shoots, I control the lights and move the subject to where I want….so a nice controlled environment.
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Thanks
Mike
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So many good songs and sound effects on the epidemic sound website, go check them out!! (I’m not sponsored by them, just love the selection!)
#boxheadmike #phototips #a7iii
First off, I want to say Thank You!!! for making all this great content. I recently found your channel and find your videos immensely helpful. I watch your videos with my Dad (who came from trad. Canon Dslr) and it's great to learn together. FYI, I mainly photograph my family, landscapes, city scenes (usually on vacation).
I just had a few questions/comments on the custom buttons:
1) Since the 3rd update, I believe the eye-af is now autonomous (as long as you have the 'face/eye priority' set)… So, do you think it's still worth setting the 'af-on' button for 'eye-af'? (Sorry if you touch on this in another video…) If not, this would free up the 'af-on' or 'multi slc center button' for something else, which takes me to #2
2) I've set the af-on to 'recall custom hold' for a dedicated afs as a quick way to switch from afc. I learned that afc doesn't take advantage of the contrast points and wanted a way to get to afs (which does) Thoughts?
2a) I've seen that some people set the recall custom hold for 'instant reactions' or 'oh $(&*#' moments where they would use afc, wide, and high shutter speed.
3) Since you use c4 as mf/af toggle (and now i've set the afs with custom hold), is it really worth using C1 for focus mode? I thought about changing it to #4)
4) 'Iso auto min ss': Mark Galer has shown me the light here…. and perhaps a suggestion for another one of your 'fn' buttons 🙂
Any other thoughts on updates to your settings?
Thanks again!
Great video. I am somewhat new to the art of photography, please take a look at some of my aerial photography videos and subscribe if you can.
Nice tut but not everyone has the money for a camera like this , pitty.
Thank you for this video! I just bought an a7iii and I’m working to set it up. I have a question about the light metering…I see on your screen you have the “Metering Manual” icon at the bottom next to ISO, but mine has the Exposure Compensation icon. How can I switch mine to Metering Manual?
Mike, I’m like you Video really good!
THANKS MR. MIKE #GREAT VIDEO #SONY A7III
A beautifully judged video. Cool, calm and collected. I've just gone mirror-less onto A7 iii and found your guidance most helpful, thanks. But I'm having problems using a Godox TT350s since I usually shot flash in full camera manual mode as I control everything that way. But Godox doesn't seem to work for me. Any guidance much appreciated.
I think when shooting fast moving objects its best
To shoot in shutter priority.
Thanks for the Tutorial.
In which Dial mode are these Settings explained ? Is it M / A / P ?
Hi Mike, I just wanted to say I just came across your channel and I find your videos to be incredibly helpful. I really appreciate you taking the time to make these videos.
Wow, Mike. You just made my life so much easier. After looking through dozens of videos I found yours, which is the most well-explained, clear and mellow explanation. Plus I love your accent. 😉
Hi Mike, only got my A7iii on Friday and this video (along with all your other A7iii videos) are super helpful in setting up and learning about the camera. Great video/videos! I've probably set up my camera 90% same as you in terms of custom keys for photograpy as it makes sense – now to get used to it! Thanks again and keep them coming – great way to learn 🙂 Thank you!!
Thanks for the great tutorial!
I just got my a7iii and my 16-35mm f/4 all setup today.. I am having a issue the photo on the live view looks dark but its really over exp?
Thanks for this video!
please create one for video.. pleaseeeeee
Very insightful video!
Literally just found this great tutorial, this camera is so customisable its easy to miss things that are in other menus, like you I shoot mainly in continous Hi shooting mode but I wanted bulb for fireworks shooting, but after a few days and conversations with Sony (who try to be very helpful) with no joy I finally found it in single shot mode bulb at the bottom of the shutter speeds. So we all learn some thing every day especially with this camera. Thanks very much for the video Mike and I will return. Gordon
I really love to see this video for videography. Are you planning on making that?
Just got my A7iii back from repair and they factory reset it, I'm glad you have a video on this.
Holy cow! I’m amazed as how customizable this camera is!
Great video, Mike, especially for me as a recent convert to Sony. Curious what mounting plate you have mounted on your camera. I really need one for this camera and I like how this one looks.
Hi Mike – Great video, i am new a73 user and your video not only helped me in understanding how to setup but also helped me in understanding the various options and their meaning and usage. However i still have a few questions.
– why to keep aspect ratio 3:2 but not 16:9?
– why you kept dro off but not auto?
– in what conditions you would turn ibis off? And why?
– in what conditions you would use mf but not af and why?
– in what conditions you would turn zebra off and why?
I learned a few helpful things Mike… dropped Canon (1983-2018 R.I.P. , I still love you ) and went Sony a7III, I'm impressed everytime i use it , I shoot mostly people, so the eye af is champion focus for me!
Good video but if you're shooting raw in not sure why you would choose to have it set to compressed. Any reason? Personally when shooting raw I like the image with all the information and data.
Mike; A question on the monitor display icons. I looked in the manual, Googled it, searched on YouTube. No luck. At 14:24 on your monitor display, you have ISO with a small gray circle next to it. I have the circle, but "Tv", next to it. What is "Tv"? Any guidance is appreciated. And thanks for another great video.
Great simple easy to understand video as always Mike. Wanted to ask do you have one from setting it up for video/filming on the A7mk3? thanks 🙂
This video is a great help to initialize my A7III, only some technical terms are a bit difficult to translate in Dutch but it solved
When shooting JPEG do you recommend in camera iso noise reduction and if so at what level?
Best tutorials for A7iii! Thanks a lot,
How are you so good at these kinda videos! god! thanks. Waiting for a video about focus areas differences 😀
Massively helpful.
Thanks for the great video!
Do you turn on all the functions in lens comp.?
If I don't do post editing, shall I turn on all of them?
Thanks
Fantastic video! Thanks for taking the time to explain your reasoning behind each choice. This was very insightful and helpful for me as someone of beginner/intermediate level.
Great tutorial Mike….I noticed you AF Track Sens you have set to 5. I have mine set to 2 so that it has better lock-on power to the object of interest. Is there alternative thinking for setting to 5? Also, you mention that half a shutter press will LOCK exposure when AEL w/shutter is on. I presume that it re-reads the exposure or does it just lock it to what exposure you have adjusted too? And does it release and relock the exposure when the shutter is pressed a second time? Cheers
Great tutorial!
Question: what’s the difference between compressed and uncompressed? Does it impact the quality of your Raw file? Curious about it. Thank you.
Thanks Mike, nicely paced. I watched this just for fun without my camera in hand but will go back at some point and see if I can refine any of my settings. I like the way you explained your reasoning behind some of your decisions and how you emphasized that this how you set up your camera and how others may have different priorities. Also cheers for allowing me not to stress out too much to find things to put into the "My Settings" tab!
As always a great tutorial Mike!! Ive seen a lot of videographers dismissing settings involving photos so this was helpful. Thank you!
Andres Jankowski
vor 5 Minuten
Hi there
I recently flew from Berlin to Bilbao, a not so long trip and with no particular extreme flight height. I had my camera Sony Alpha 7 III
on board and I took 5 or 6 cloud pictures. After a while I decided to take some more and the camera stoped working, it would go on and show me
the menue, but the screen was black and eve did not show me the pictures I have already taken. After trying again it went absolutely black
and all controls were gone.
After 1 1/2 hours already in Bilbao in my flat, I wanted to test the camera again, of course, and noticed that was it overheated, even it was turned off!
Of course I took the battery out of the camera.
I day later I make a new test, everything cooled down, and miracle, the camera was working!
Is this a known issue about Sony batteries and flights? Had someone a similar experience? Of course you hear all the storys about
smarthone and tablet batteries, but I had never heard about this.
I am new to this cameras, so is this me??
On my flight back, I took no risks and took battery from the camera , so no more cloud pictures, but this is more tha annoying
Did you hear from a similar experience? Thanks
Andres
Great video, thanks for the ideas. I had mine setup pretty similar but noticed a few differences so I'm going to try some of these out. Thanks!
punching in and out before you complete a sentence gives me a headache – otherwise a nice video – cheers
Another great video and long enough to have a coffee while watching 😉😉
Wy sRGB and not aRGB?
Another good tuitional video. I shoot wildlife almost exclusively and have my A7III (and A7II) set to manual with auto ISO. I generally shoot stationary mamals/birds at f5.6/f8 but it's easy enough to change the aperture. I will also set out with a shutter speed of at least 1/250th, but with good light I will use 1/500th as a baseline. I tend to use the two presets on the top function dial for birds/insects in flight. I have one set up for 1/2500th, f8, lock on AF wide, and the other preset is set at 1/1600th for overcast skies in order to keep ISO as low as possible. I also preset exposure compensation and adjust it as necessary. Using the presets means fewer missed shots.
YES!!!!