Hi…I had posted a fairly lengthly comment here to Elise and Zas…who had some focusing problems with the 77ii. You could try the A7s with an LEAE4 adapter for now, but I agree there are a lot of buts with FE cameras for the moment. The default option is the 79 point Wide Focus mode. This hybrid AF system is a combination of phase and contrast detect AF, which allows for much quicker AF acquisition than only contrast detection, which is found on both Sony A7R and A7S. This feature is available in the Canon 7D Mark II, Nikon D750, and Sony a5100, among others. Hi there – I am having exactly the same issue. These tips help tremendously. Have fun with your A77M2, it’s an excellent camera. The A77 II is a complex camera, the AF features are fantastic, but it’s a steep learning curve. The camera […] Required fields are marked *, Copyright 2021 © All rights Reserved. However, when Sony announced the second iteration of the A7-series, the A7 II, I immediately requested a review unit for evaluation. Hi Cholly, I totally agree. Also some older lenses may not work as well with the af drive speed set to fast..and as Wim noted, he uses the slow setting here and that may work better with some lenses. Cheers. I can confirm that use of the remote forces the camera to autofocus, even when Menu > Custom Settings > AF w/shutter > Off. Sony’s A7lll Full Frame Mirrorless Basic Camera … Expect More The camera body and feature set of the A7lll is nearly identical to the A7Rlll that was released last year. This mode is best used for critical focusing. We purchased the A7 with the 28-70 kit lens and it seemed like that lense was particularly slow at focusing. Hi, I’ve not seen anywhere online yet about back button focussing on this camera, surely this would be better especially for sports and fast moving subjects and in conjunction with the new flexible spot af? I was so frustrated after my last game, that I considered returning the camera and going with something else entirely. We’ll go over some settings that influence the performance of the focus area settings first. Pre-AF is like a continuous autofocus that tries to keep your subject kinda focused at all times, even when you’re not pressing the shutter. Thanks again for the help and explanation. I wondered what would be the best focus system for action/wildlife photography so its nice to know that Expanded Flexible Spot is generally the best choice. With the 399 focus points on the Sony a7R III, and its ability to track focus like no other, the company touts it’s hard to get a shot that’s out of focus.This camera is like an artificially intelligent robot – it can predict and figure out exactly what you want in focus on. The a6400 is latest mirrorless APS-C camera from Sony. Detailed technical specifications for the Sony A7 II are available at Sony.net. The G lens needs no micro af adjustment as it delivers perfect pin sharp photos on static subjects. Best, Wim. The firmware for the a7RII isn’t even finalized yet and the video shows that the camera focuses as fast (or faster) than a DSLR—at least according to DPReview and this video test. Seems to work best for what I do. You’ll see a white square appear when the camera detects a face, pressing the shutter button will focus on the face. The usual choice of Single-shot AF (S), Continuous AF (C), Automatic AF (A, which switches automatically between S and C) or Manual Focus. Hi Sue, firstly, have you tried half pressing the shutter button? Hi. Flexible Spot is a manual AF area selection mode and lets you manually set the main AF point by using the Multi-controller to highlight one of the 15 points. On top of that, 2014 was also a year of personal transformation for me, so I was incredibly busy trying to shuffle a lot of things at the same time. Sony A-mount lenses include motorized SSM and SAM lenses as well as non-motorized Screw Drive lenses. My first weekend shooting with the 77ii, the majority of shots were out of focus, even on the automatic settings (I got so frustrated I thought I’d go to the “sports mode” setting to see if that was better – nope). Z6ii vs. Z7ii which has better tonal gradation? I have only tried it at one football match so far but first impressions (and results) were very good. The Sony A7, being the cheaper model aimed for general use, sports a 24 MP sensor and offers hybrid autofocus, while the A7R with its high resolution 36 MP sensor is targeted at more specific types of photography including landscape, architecture, studio and product photography. I will try out your other suggestions soon. Much depends on your drive mode settings. So something just wasn’t jiving. This technique applies for all a7, a77 and a99 series cameras, and Lock On AF: Flexible Spot feature is available for the a7S, a77ii and a7ii. The built-in Sony SteadyShot system promises to offer about 4.5 stops of stabilization capability which should help reduce the effects of camera sha… I had a Sony HX100V earlier (superzoom) which had a help button that explained each and every icon and its function on the LCD itself. I never thought of that one. The A7 II has an improved hybrid AF system, which Sony claims to be up to 30% faster. That is the solution. I just got my a77ii and OOB i was able to test its AF “intelligence” using the 55-300 SAM lens. Any help with this will be much appreciated. Tip: It might be a good idea to assign this to a button you don’t use much, or at least adjust this setting depending on the shooting conditions. I will try out the suggested combination of Hi continuous shooting rate with low AF drive next time with interest. Very nice website! I don’t want to toggle between 79 AF points , Yes you can use 15 points spread over the entire AF area. The most notable feature of this iteration of the A7 is the autofocus component. The recent A6000 represents better value-for-money and has an autofocus system that in some ways exceeds the capabilities of that in the A77II. And hopefully it will still be useful to you even several months after posting your comment. It is extremely helpful, and as you’ve noted, the learning curve is steep with this camera, even for dedicated Sony users. You can follow him on Instagram and Facebook. AF tracking will remember whatever you’ve selected to track, even if your subject moves out of your frame. And that in itself sounded really good, so off I went with my journey to assess the new Sony A7 II. I take mainly action/sports photography (soccer/football/basketball) and the a57 took beautiful shots, but unfortunately I dropped it. It doesn’t seem to have a tracking capability for that. Tomas, Hi Tomas, I agree, it is a fantastic camera. TY. I by chance found a post on dyxum that outlined much of what I was seeing and I’ve included that below for you. Yes migrating to another brand is always a challenge. I am finding the AF control very very complicated and still can’t find a good guide on how to use it. A workaround for now could be resetting your A77II, and use the Expanded flexible spot set to center and track your dog running, keeping the dog centered. Tip: This in-camera feature is especially useful for shooting fast-moving subjects with a complex background that commonly distract camera AF systems. bigger. Go in the menu system, and look for “custom key settings” ( The gear/wheel symbol, on page 6). Anyway I, and others, have found a significant improvement in the sharpness of bird photos by leaving the standard steady shot on (which matches what the a65 had) and turning the steady shot with shutter release to off. 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