Best Sony Alpha Settings for Action Photography
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ก.ย. 2016
- The latest Sony Alpha mirrorless cameras are more than up to the task of tracking and freezing fast moving action. It is all a question of choosing the appropriate settings. In this movie Tutorial Mark Galer shares the settings he uses for reliably sharp images.
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/ markgaler - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Excellent tutorial. THANK YOU. Very well described and the final chart was just fantastic for summary! I have been looking for tutorials on this particular topic and I am convinced that this is the best tutorial on the subject. Thank you very much!
I tested the settings suggested here and the settings work perfectly ! Thanks Mark! I'm very excited about this new find.
Not only providing great video's but seeing you reply to so many comments is awesome. Cheers mate new SUB
Thank you soooo much!!!!! I had no idea my camera was capable of doing this and now all pictures of my dogs and ferrets are super clear!!! 🥰😍❤️
Thanks Mark, this does simplify things. After going out and making a host of mistakes, this gives just the correction. Great tutorial.
Excellent tutorial, easy to follow and understand, very useful. Thank you!
Your video has helped me more than any other videos to learn more about my Sony a6500. Thank you so much!
Thanks for the great tutorial Mark
Thank you for another great tutorial.
Thank you for your time and great teaching keep up with the great job and great videos
Very informative, subscribed. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing, very informative. Subscribed.
great material here....especially for a new SONY owner! Thanks so much!!
Thanks for this great tutorial.
I am not a native speaker of English, but the way you explain is easy to understand...
I have a Sony HX100V.
Subscribed.
Cheers
Thank you so much. Such a helpful tutorial!
Great infos mate!
Thank you for sharing
Awesome tutorial, like the owtto focus settings, thanks
Very useful, thanks.
Super tutorial, thank you!
Nice, I need to use that Memory 1, 2, for sports and portraits. Good tips.
Used tips, got great result. Subscribed.
Best sony video I have seen thank you!
2k21 and this just took my action shots to a different lEV3L. Thank you sir.
Beautifully described!
Awesome video!! Thank you!!
Fantastic video. Thank you!
Thank you for the good video,very interesting and it helps me a lot. 😃👍👍👍
thankyou for this informative info ~ wonderful
Very useful... Thank you Mark!
Thanks for the great video! Still have to test the settings, but I am very optimistic!
What I found really useful was the memory programming function, which I did not know before.
Highly recommend this tutorial for anybody interested in action/wildlife photography!
Will definately subscribe to your channel :-)
Very useful Thank you very much
Never really used the memory recall function as I just change it on the fly but it give it a whirl. Very informative vid
Great info !
Excellent tips by Mark Galer.
For a Sony A6500 version 1.03 firmware at time of writing this - users will find this info absolutely valuable except,
1) Use main iso setting "AUTO" as "ISO AUTO" will not work on a A6500 as it invokes Multi frame NR & don't for get to select minimum ISOASS to 2000 or 1000 as required.
2) Under Function Menu set for "Function Upper 1" use "Focus Area" instead of the "Focus setting"
3) The recall of memory M1 saved selection is done via the top Mode selection dial to "1"
Beautiful video, very easy to understand. Thank you so much, you changed my life!
Thanks for the positive feedback
Thanks a lot very useful
Superb!
Awesome video!
Thank you! I didn't know the slower aperture was needed😀
Actually faster aperture. Slower aperture is f/11 and so on, fast aperture is f/1.6 and so on. You need to let in a lot of light.
just got the a7 ii and this vid was good good
Best explanation of settings for capturing subjects in motion! Everyone else got it wrong, others mentioned, back button focus and a whole bunch of other hogwash, but your explanation was spot on. I have used it right away and i love the results from my A6300 with the Carl Zeiss 24MM 1.8. Thanks a bunch!
Thanks for the positive feedback - these settings are very reliable for me. here are the images I shot yesterday on Sony's new A6500: flic.kr/s/aHskSWuUd7
Alpha Creative Skills Will the Sony a6000 be capable of shots like these or will I need to save up and get the a6500?
The A6000 has fast Phase Detect Auto Focus - the setup settings are slightly different as the Lock-On functionality is separated form the Focus Area settings. Moving the focus point is also slightly more complicated than on the A6300 and A6500. Choosing the area as Wide and switching on Lock-On AF in the menus provides the A6000 with good performance. The A6000 AF points do not extend to the edges of the frame, as with the A6300 and A6500, so it is important to try and keep the moving subject away from the edges otherwise the camera will lose the subject it is tracking. The short answer is yes - the A6000 can get shots like the ones shown but you will also miss more shots compared to using the A6300 or A6500.
RM, Back button focus is a common and recommended procedure promoted by many expert photographers especially for sports and wildlife. I use it all the time for photographing sports involving a ball such as soccer. It is much easier to hold down a rear button with my thumb to maintain focus tracking and then press the shutter button for high speed continuous shots at the precise time you require it.
Can the A6300 be programmed for back button focus?
007Stalled 7 - although this may be true for many DSLR users - these mirrorless cameras work just fine using the shutter release for many users.
For Sony A7ii users: use S-mode instead of A-mode, as we aren't able to set the minimum shutter speed on our cameras.
Would you reccomend keeping the shutter speed at 1/2000 on S mode or go faster?
Best tutorial ever Thank you
Glad it helped!
Excelent. Thanks
thank you so much sir
photo from bali?! yeay!! hahaha nice video by the way.
Great. Good instructions also apply to my a6300. Good set-up and intelligent ISO AUTO SS Min. The concept, however, is also applicable to the other my a6000.
See you soon and I hope that other intelligent adjustments. Thanks I always learn something more than what ilmanuale can explain.
The a6000 doesn't have Iso Auto SS Min.
Super tutorial. I just got the 7ii, but it worked out totally well for my sport shoots👍
Thanks a lot
Great to hear! The Phase Detect Autofocus got a lot faster with models released after the A7II. The A7II will be fine when you are panning with your subjects. For subjects rapidly moving towards the camera (such as the Dalmatian used in this video tutorial) you may find the camera cannot keep up. If you find you are dropping too many shots in a sequence you need to change your vantage point or work with a lens/camera combination that can keep up.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills thanks for all the advice.
I will use the 7ii to the max and am looking forward to getting a newer model afterwards. You helped me a lot. Keep up the good work
You're a cool guy! Thanks!
Nice vidio sir.
Good video bro
Thank you
Excellent tutorial and managed to set my A7r II but it appears my wife's Sony A7 II doesn't have the ISO AUTO Min.
Can you please share your thoughts on bird photography with sony a6000.. what would be the budget lens and adapter if I can't afford sony g master lens.. looking for a decent quality under $1000
Fantastic video, you have a great way of explaining these concepts. Very useful, thank you :)
Thanks
Hi Mark, Can these settings be dialed into the original a99? this is my back up camera and I do a lot of bird photography, but have just been using shutter priority, but have found these settings very helpful thank you
Excuse my ignorance, but what does the A-B: A0 and G-M:G0 mean in the saved settings display screen?
Hello Mark, thank you for your video. I want to use these settings for wildlife, but I can't set the Focus Area to Lock-on AF: Expand Flexible Spot, because I use Subject Detection: Animal. Any tips? Best
Definitely helpful. Thank you!
This is such a great tutorial. I really like how you broke everything down. I learned so many new things about my Sony A6300 that I recently purchased with my SELP18105G E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS. I'm not to pleased with the sharpness of the lens. I wish I had read reviews before purchasing. Why is it that you recommend auto ISO? I was always told that auto is no good, because it adds a lot of noise to a photo. I was also told to keep it at 100. What mode do you set your dial on the top to? I have mine set to manua mode.l Anyway to contact you outside of TH-cam? Do you have a Kik or Instagram account?
Interesting tutorial, but I still did not quite understand. Which mode are you using? Which shutter speed are using? Also what do you do in order to focus on the eyes of the running dog towards you instead on the nose?
Great video. Sony should be paying you to make these plain understandable instructional videos. I do have one question (maybe two): 1. Exactly what settings are you programming on both the c1 ( I think you said c1) and the c4 (trashcan) buttons to make them put the focus point in the state that you can move it, then with c4, it will move the focus point back to center. I tried what you had with c4, which was the monitor/viewer, and it just shut off the monitor. That would be a critical setting to be able to switch back and forth like that with just one button, and put your focus point on dead center again. Thanks very much, and I am a new subscriber!!
Wow, never mind. It worked, just by not programming the trashcan button to be anything!!! Would love to see all your setting anyway, and how you programmed the camera to suit your needs!! Thanks again.
What would your recommend for action shots at night?
Still my favorite settings today in 2021
Thanks Mark, great tutorial. I have a couple of extra questions for you on this topic. Do you adjust anything further when trying to shoot action in poor/low light situations? And do you use Sony's 'Multi-frame NR' mode at all? thanks again.
I use Lightroom for Noise Reduction - the Multi-frame Noise reduction is a JPEG feature and I am a Raw shooter. In low light there are only three answers when shooting action - use a wider aperture lens, wait until the ambient light is brighter or use slower shutter speeds and use panning blur as a creative element in the capture.
Really wish Sony would give the a7ii that ISO Minimum Shutter option. Would love to have that feature and I can't see why a firmware update couldn't make it possible.
new firmware today - but it is still not there.
jimmynotjim just watched Marks Video and had the exact thought you've raised mate, you've taken the words right out my mouth. Has that ISO Min SS come out yet in a firmware update for the a7ii ?
@@iamdjm still not on the latest version 4.0
@@raoulb.4609 and no details on if the a7ii will get the update to 5.0 :/
My A7sii is on Version 3 and it has the ISO AUTO Min. SS option. Are you referring to a different model?
Mark, thank you for the insight and the video. Love your content and am a subscriber to your channel. I have a small terrier (black and white) weighs about 18 lbs and shoot with the A6000. I have tested multiple options for capturing him running in AF-C and a) Lock on auto-focus is a laborious task requiring many variables to be in place before locking on and shooting and b) Lock-on auto focus often loses my dog running rather quickly. I am just not convinced this is the best mode for shooting a smaller dog with the A6000. I have been experimenting with "center zone" in AF-C and appear to be having much better results with lock-on auto focus off. Can you comment and let me know if you have any other suggestions? For what it is worth I am planning to upgrade to the A7r3 next year and that should also help improve my action photography with the newer auto focus technology from Sony.
The Lock-On AF functionality of the A6000 is a two-step affair that is not great for using flexible spot that was highlighted in this movie tutorial. Sony combined the Lock-On AF and Focus Area into the same menu for the A6300 and 6500 cameras making it much faster to half-press with the shutter release to lock on, follow and capture. On the A6000 you may be better off to choose a wide or zone and let the camera find your moving subject. The down side of this is that the camera will usually choose the subject that is nearest the camera (and this may not be the subject you are wanting to track). The Lock-On AF is vastly superior on the A7RII and A7RIII cameras but slow on the A7II and non-resistant on the A7R, A7S and A7SII.
Great video! One question though, am i suppose to be in mode Aperture priority? I noticed the big “A” on the screen of the camera. Thanks in advance.
Yes! Naturally you would use the S, sports mode to have shutter priority. This would give freedom to the camera to operate Aperture and ISO but shutter speed is fixed to what you set. Mark only sets an indirect minimum shutter speed using the ISO for minimum SS setting. So he is primarily setting the aperture (A) and tells the camera to choose whatever ISO it needs to achieve a minimum shutter speed of 1/800s resp. 1/2000s.
You could also just go to sports mode (S) and set 1/800s or 1/2000s manually and make sure to choose the ISO setting as AUTO. But this would have the following consequences:
disadvantage: Camera has freedom to choose an aperature that is smaller than f/8 --> but this would only happen in an excess of light, which is usually a rare / luxury problem
advantage: you don't need to control the aperture.
Sorted
How do you activate the Flash Exposure Lock (FEL) on the
A99ii, and can you assign it to a custom button?
I have not yet used the A99II. This movie covers Action settings and not Flash - but if I wanted to lock the exposure of flash I would be setting either the Flash unit to Manual or the Wireless Radio Commander to Manual. I have never needed an FEL button on a camera to do this for me.
Great video! I have a Sony a7rii with the Sony 24-70 2.8 G master lens mark 1, should this kit be good enough to capture fast moving dogs or do I need a faster lens?
Fast is relative- coming towards the camera at close range requires very fast AF while panning with a subject can be handled with lenses that have slower AF - if in doubt go for later generation lenses with XD linear focus motors
Hi Mark. I'm just got my A7iii and although I shot Nikon most of my life, there is still a learning curb. The dial on top, should I set it to S? I certainly appreciate your thorough explanation and I can't wait to try it at an upcoming bicycle race.
I also am switching from long time Nikon user. How did you find the transition?
Hi Mark, Thanks for this wonderful video. Yet would you happen to have others to explain a bit more the difference between "Flexible Spot" Focus and "Expand Flexible Spot" Focus on a6300 sony. Generally under what situation each of them would be used. Million thanks
Expand Flexible spot uses a small spot and expands the size of this spot automatically if it cannot find an edge inside the small spot.
great review! whats that black/red disc on a string to the right of your camera? :)
An RN it's for hooking up to a Peak Design camera strap. It's a quick disconnect system for straps.
I use tamron 150 600 with MBiv on my a7rii and a6300. What should i take care of since its a non native lense. Thanks
Lock-On Autofocus may be restricted to 'Lock-On AF: Wide' when the lens is non-native (this is dependent on the adapter).
Can you do 1 for the A99
don't you get a lot of grain when using high iSO?
Wonderful video as usual! Question though, I'm used to using the AF-On back button. Should I use the shutter instead to "lock on" or will it still work with the back button. Having trouble locking on my subject.
Watch my Focus Area movie to acquire more skills in capturing fast action images - there are no performance advantages between using Back Button AF and leaving it linked to the Shutter release.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills Hi. Excellent tutorial, but I want to shoot in M mode all the time. So what would be the settings for it? I'm a newbie and understood from the video that this settings apply only for the A mode. Am I right?
Do you have a video with recommended settings for Single Shot in a low light, party setting with the a6300
I don't but the secret would be to use a wide aperture prime such as a 50mm f/1.8 or an f/1.4. The wide aperture not only ensures the ISO does not go to high but massively improves the ability of the AF to lock-on. The A7S and A7RII are the low light kings in the Alpha E-mount lineup. If the ambient light dropped very low you might need to use Manual AF.
BALI..😍😍
Excellent video! When you are setting up the parameters; do you have the camera in Manual mode? (Newbie). Thank you!
Do these same settings apply for the song a6600? I recently just got the a6600 and I’m struggling with action shots.
This is the video for your camera: th-cam.com/video/GcihJikc7m8/w-d-xo.html
I’ve set up my a7iii just like this for taking pictures of my dog who runs at 100mph! I’ve set the min SS to 2000 on auto iso but it’s still going below that speed? I’m on aperture priority. Do I need to be in manual or should it be working in aperture priority does anyone know? Thanks
Raise the maximum ISO, use a wider aperture or shoot in brighter conditions
I am just getting into water sports photography. Question: has does choosing Shutter Priority fit into all of this? Love your channel.
You can use Shutter Priority but I prefer Aperture priority with ISO Auto Min. SS as then I can control aperture and shutter speed.
Hello i have the sony a55v and may i ask how to stop focus shifting? eg. taking portrait pictures but wanting the focus on background
Use a spot focus and in AF-S and move the spot to your subject or focus and recompose.
Mark Galer's Alpha Creative Skills thanks for your help, i’m new to photography haha
hi folks, i have a7r can i set it up with this functions? to catch some sport moments.
Although the A7R is a great portrait and landscape camera it has no Phase Detect AF and therefore can't track moving objects quickly. You would need an A6300, A7II or A7RII to set your camera up as shown in the movie.
Hello Mark, I have a Sony a77M2, and I went to the camera settings, and I also found the memory tab, I press the center bottom, I see the same menu that you show on the video with all the settings, but when I press again the center button in order to access that menu and do my configuration, it take me out of there and I see again the option MEMORY that you have on your video on 9minutes 11 seconds, I press again the center button and I see again the menu that you show in your video on 9minutes 17 seconds. It is like a kind of circle. Any help? (Sorry for my english)
Is it possible for you to take your camera into a camera store so you can check the menu system is behaving correctly?
You can check if the settings were entered by dealing the Exposure Mode dial on the top of the camera to M1 or M2 to see what settings have been recorded.
How is the auto focus in the A7ii ? nice review
I found the AF-C performance is OK on the A7II but not fast enough for sports/action. I would recommend using either the A7RII, A9, A6300 or A6500 E-Mount cameras for this type of photography.
oh I am stuck trying to set my camera up grr....I have intelligent auto set, when I follow tutes like yours to change and add custon buttons, I cant as it says this mode is on, what do I need to do , I have tried to change it but have lost hwat it needs to be switched too and how to do it.....I have been using auto to get used to the camera now I am wanting to customise ..I am lost with this locking me setting things up? do I need to start all over again settign the camera up following a cute you may have? thanks
It's time to come out of Intelligent Auto. I am in Aperture priority for these 'Action' settings.
aaahh! no wonder it wasn't working! as fIollng it all in manual mode!
Mine is greyed out, it says "this operation or setting not available as follows.. shoot mode, manual exposure" I followed the instructions on this video. Can anyone help? thanks
I am using Aperture Priority and not Manual Exposure Mode.
Will this work on the sony a6000? thank you
Yes - although selecting Lock-ON AF was not streamlined in the A6000 setup - so it often comes down to initiating AF lock on and then pressing the shutter release (two button presses rather than just one). On the A6300 and 6500 the Lock-On AF options were incorporated in the Focus Area menu. Now it is a simple case of pressing the shutter release with the focus area of choice.
Why when I’ve inputted and saved these settings does my viewfinder always seem to bright ? Over exposed ? Can you help ?
My settings don’t include any changes to Monitor or Finder brightness. This can be changed in the menu to suit your personal preference.
Nice tutorial.
Why Lock-on AF does not work, on my A7iii, with Animal subject detection?
Thanks
It only works on the A9, A7C and A1 cameras
@@AlphaCreativeSkills ok thanks
I missed what shooting mode you are using??
Aperture priority with ISO Auto Min SS set to 1/2000 second when using memory recall 2. I outline all of my shooting settings for each Sony camera in my 500 and 600-page eBooks. I also make available camera setup files (CAMSET) for later model Alphas - go to Patreon.com/markgaler
It has to be in shutter priority of less than 1/1000 or else you can't freeze image, I tried your setting but fail on A, then it did freeze when I changed to S. ( I was using a6500)
You have to add in the Auto ISO Minimum Shutter Speed when working in Aperture Priority to ensure the shutter speed does not drop below 1/1000.
yes yes, the Auto ISO min has to set to a particular minimum shutter speed instead of "Faster", because when I set to "Faster" and shooting horse racing, it turned out Shutter was 1/320.....
But, if exposure is not sufficient, the shutter speed still goes slower than the ISO min SS.
Mark. When is the sony A9III coming out?
I have signed a non-disclosure agreement with Sony. Sony Alpha Rumors is the best source of leaked information
@@AlphaCreativeSkills I figured as much.
Would photos like this be possible with an a5100???
If you match it with a fast focusing lens you should have some success
Mark Galer's Alpha Creative Skills I have a sigma 30 that I've been using for portrait sessions. But my taekwondo dojang has asked me to take pictures of some sparring. I know I need a new lens. What would you recommend?
Minute 1:00 - what sort of dog is this? Our looks exactly the same and we are still wondering what parents might be involved :)
what about lenses for dog photography for the a6400? looking to stay under the 400$ range
Dollars don’t mean much if you don’t list the country you live in - there are currently 22 countries that use the term ‘dollar’
@@AlphaCreativeSkills U.S
So if you've a mk 1 A7 you're pretty much screwed 😂 can't find a similar guide for my camera 😔
The original A7 was better than the A7R but its AF is very pedestrian, i.e. you can track people walking and that's about it.