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A7RII Custom Buttons and Function settings

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Thought it maybe a nice idea to talk about this. Obviously you can setup anyway you would like. I have a couple slight tricks that maybe useful or not. One thing I do is stay on manual focus but the ability to AF with the back push button.

So here is what i have setup at least for now.

C1 Focus Magnify
C2 Focus Mode
C3 Focus area
C4 Grid line
Dial down button Peaking Level
Center button Silent shooting
AEL Button Ael hold
AF/MF AF/MF Control hold


to me this FN is my life blood. I always use it, keeps me out of the menu's

Function setting
Top row left to right
Focus Mode
Focus area
ISO
Color balance
Face detect. I may change this
Center Lock AF

Bottom row left to right
Steady shot ON/OFF switch
Silent Shooting
Steady shot focal length. I only have one non Sony lens
Grid line
Peaking level
Peaking Color

Some things are duplicated between Custom and function

Dial Button
Left Drive speed
Disp Top is for the display options
Right is ISO with Dial rotation to set
Down dial I have set for focus peaking level
Just spinning the dial I have it not set. I run into issues if this is set to something because I wind up hitting it and throwing something off. So its off


Im still playing a little mostly with function buttons
 

dchew

Well-known member
Re: A7RII Custom focus and Function settings

Guy we are very close.

I like your FN set up better. My custom buttons are exactly like yours, except:

Down Button: Sets Steady Shot focal length. I use two Leica lenses (50/90 APO) and have to manually adjust that.

C4: Memory recall

Center button: Zebras. I might change that to focus peaking level since I don't use Zebras very much.

I also don't program the wheel. Always gets me into trouble.

And as previously mentioned my C1/C2 are swapped from yours.

Dave
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Re: A7RII Custom focus and Function settings

Guy we are very close.

I like your FN set up better. My custom buttons are exactly like yours, except:

Down Button: Sets Steady Shot focal length. I use two Leica lenses (50/90 APO) and have to manually adjust that.

C4: Memory recall

Center button: Zebras. I might change that to focus peaking level since I don't use Zebras very much.

I also don't program the wheel. Always gets me into trouble.

And as previously mentioned my C1/C2 are swapped from yours.

Dave


Yes it really depends on how you work and mine is just a good starting point. I like your idea on the down button for steady shot and having manual lenses that makes good sense.

Like David folks that dial whell will really get you in a heap of trouble. I had it set for ISO on one of my cameras and it caused havoc.

Thanks David

I personally hate the Zebra but I know some folks like having it. Just too much blinking going on. LOL
 

DennisHHH

New member
Here are my settings.

C1 = Focus Magnifier
C2 = Focus Mode
C3 = Drive Mode
C4 = Focus Area

Control wheel = ISO
Center Button = Standard
Left Button = Steady Shot
Right Button = Deactivate Monitor
Down Button = Smile Face Detect
AF/MF Button = Eye AF
Focus Hold Button= Focus Hold

Function Button Settings
Upper 1 = Drive Mode
2 = Focus Mode
3 = Focus Area
4 = ISO
5 = Metering Mode
6 = Exposure Comp.

Lower 1 = ISO Auto Min.
2 = Face Smile Detect
3 = Steady Shot
4 = DRO
5 = Peaking Level
6 = Peaking Color


I'm also finding the 1 and 2 memory recall points on the mode select dial very useful. I'm setting up different configuration for bracketing on manual , normal one-shot use and auto tracking setups.
 
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Pradeep

Member
Thanks guys. I was about to ask for a thread about custom settings. We all have our own way of doing things, but it is great to see what everyone else thinks.

There is always room for learning something new!
 

seb

Member
my settings (still shooter):

The wheel (I use it a lot while switching between different focus-strategies):

left: focus mode
right: focus area (on manual mode, you get the magnifier, pushed twice and you are at 12x zoom) or push once and modify spots directly over the wheel.
center: standard (fast access to change spot focus, setting lock-on AF (if on), and more)
down: metering mode
up: display mode
wheel: not set (sadly to sensitive, otherwise it would be ISO)

front and rear dial: standard

FN (mostly to check if anything is ok and set the basics for the shooting):
Up1: Face detection
Up2: DRO/HDR (auto DRO)
Up3: ISO Auto min SS
Up4: Flash compensation
Up5: Flash mode
Up6: Steady Shot

Down 1: Drive Mode
Down 2: Image quality (RAW)
Down 3: Zebra
Down 4: Silent shoot
Down 5: White balance
Down 6: Control that effect mode is off (may change that)

C-Buttons (things you switch on and off for the next few shots):
C1: Lock-on AF on/off
C2: life view (turned life view display off. With the new "ISO Auto min SS" I switched (in general) from M-mode to A-mode and so there is no need for the life view all the time. but with life view turned off I have more advantages in low light focussing (MF) and tracking fast stuff)
C3: eye focus
C4: ISO (normaly to auto between 100 to 1600 (or up to 12800))

AF/MF: toggle(!) AF/MF
AEL: toggle(!) AEL

menu (some things that are worth a look, and my settings):

color space: adobe RGB
pre-AF: off
grid line: 3/3
peaking level: low
peaking color: red
display quality: high
remote ctrl: off
flight mode: on
EFCS: on
live view display: off
Long exposure nr: off
focus magnifier time: no limit
auto review: off
 

waardij

New member
found this recently:

Turns out that the a7R II is the first camera in the alpha line that has a somewhat buried, hidden ability to turn off the rear LCD and only have the EVF on, which will save battery life. This wasn’t immediately apparent and when I brought up my concern to Sony representatives in person, they did not tell me about it. I only found out about it thanks to my friend Colby Brown. It’s not intuitive, and it’s not one of the default options when you hit the “display” button, like it is for other cameras, so I’m still not super sure why they didn’t make it easier. File this under “weird design choice.” At any rate, here is how you do it:

1. In the menu system, manually choose either “Monitor” or “Viewfinder” under “Finder/Monitor” (Gear – Section 4). Choose one.
2. Assign a custom button to “Finder/Monitor Select”. Now when you press that button it will completely turn off the one you are not using.



do not know if it was mentioned yet. have assigned C3 to select between LCD and viewfinder. works great.

found this in: http://resourcemagonline.com/2015/08/review-the-a7r-ii-is-the-best-camera-sony-has-ever-made/57143/
 

dmward

Member
This is useful stuff. Im going to have to spend some time to figure out best setup.
One thing I miss from the Canon 5DIII was ability to assign Format to the personal menu.

I ALWAYS format my cards in the camera. Its handy to access that menu quickly if I notice a card needs formatting when its inserted in the camera.
 

Amin

Active member
I just realized that using focus settings instead of focus area, I can get ready to move the spot with just one button push and change focus area by turning the dial. That's gonna be my new config. Love the fact that you can customize the Fn menu. I don't have to go into the menu anymore except to format.
 

DennisHHH

New member
TURN Off LCD Monitor (really....)

Got this from Colby Brown Facebook. This lets you turn off the rear LCD and only have the EVF on until you use one of your buttons to switch to the LCD. Another push of the button takes you back to viewfinder only. Should save massive amounts of battery.

Go to the menu system (Gear 4) and choose either monitor or viewfinder on. Choose one of the three options, I have it set for viewfinder which turns off the LCD monitor. In this case it is really turned off using no power at all. Then go to custom button settings and assign finder /monitor select as an option. I have it assigned to the AEL button. When you push the AEL button the viewfinder goes off and the LCD goes on, push it again and the LCD goes off and the monitor goes on.
 
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GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
The VF flip option is excellent. There are so many customization and menu options it's hard to find some of the most productive option settings.

Of course, I go back to my A7II to set it to be the same as the A7RII and I find that the option isn't there (or maybe it is but hidden somewhere else?) :banghead:

Thanks for the heads up!
 

Muizen

New member
Re: A7RII CustomWhite Bamance setting

I would very much appreciate if an A7RII expert, could explain to me, on basis of a step-by-step series of measures, how to use the custom functions of the White Balance.
Thanks,
Harry
 

sbay

New member
Here are my settings:

Control Wheel: Not Set
C1: White Balance
C2: ISO
C3: Eye AF
C4: AF/MF Ctrl Toggle
Center Button: Focus Magnifier
Left Button: Drive Mode
Right Button: Focus Area
Down Button: Focus Settings
AEL Button: AF On
AF/MF Button: AF/MF Ctrl Toggle
Focus Hold Button: Focus Hold

U1: SteadyShot
U2: Focus Mode
U3: Flash Comp
U4: Flash Mode
U5: Smile/Face Detect
U6: Grid Line

L1: SteadyShot Focal Length
L2: Metering Mode
L3: Selftimer during bracket
L4: Silent Shooting
L5: ISO Auto Min SS
L6: Zebra
 

fotografz

Well-known member
It's taken a bit to get my A7R-II customized to my specific needs:

C-1: Focus Magnification: with scrolling for when I use Manual Focus lenses like my Leica Ms.

C-2: Focus Area: for use with AF lenses: I use Flexible Spot M mode using the rear button to AF, and this setting allows me to scroll the focus area and still use AF. I does require a second button bush to activate the scrolling function.

C-3 White Balance: In addition to the normal choices, I have a number of pre-set custom white balances to select from.

C-4 Flash Mode: Allows me to toggle between Wireless and other settings like Rear Sync. I probably depart from most other users in this regard because I use off-camera radio triggered TTL speed-lights interchangeably with an on-camera TTL speed-light.

Center of Control Wheel: to toggle between silent shooting and regular.

Right Wheel: ISO as marked

Left Wheel: Toggle between EVF and Monitor view.

I have automatic Review turned off in the main menu, and activate it with the play button when I need to review the last shot taken. It can appear in the viewfinder, or on the monitor depending on which is toggled.

I still need to go into the menu to toggle between "Setting Effect On/Off" and to Format the card. "Setting Effect On" is important for me because I like to manually control exposure using WYSIWYG, but have to revert to
"Setting Effect Off" when shooting in the studio with strobes at higher shutter speeds and stopped down apertures. BTW, it is not necessary when using a flash or sender with a compatible multi-function shoe: it switches over to "Setting Effect OFF" automatically.

That the two above settings require diving into the menu is my main complaint about the Sony A7R/A7R-II cameras I use.

- Marc
 
V

Vivek

Guest
I hope the "custom" button business is kept to the bare minimum in all sony cams. It is just nuts.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
I hope the "custom" button business is kept to the bare minimum in all sony cams. It is just nuts.
What do you mean? I generally have all of my cameras setup the same way (although there's one extra custom button on gen 2 A7's). It makes it easier to remember how I set them up. I'll post my settings in a few. I switched how I use them slightly last fall. Works slight better for me.
 
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