Hello and all Help Appreciated!

[coachmarino]

Hi!

I work in digital marketing, and I've been tasked with updating our traditional marketing materials. I also want to do some somewhat decent videos for our YouTube Channel.

Now I have a camera. This is it (I don't live in the UK) ILCE7SM2B.CEC | Buy α7S II E-mount Camera with Full-Frame Sensor & View Price | Sony UK

The manual and online stuff is a little vague for me. I'm a complete beginner. We start shooting next week! I have two lenses, one is I guess more of a standard lens... FE 50mm F1.8

The other one is backordered it's the $900 one, FE 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS Full-frame E-mount Telephoto Zoom lens

My flash is also backordered i60A

What's the best way to get started? I can barely figure out how to turn the thing on. I took a few pictures. Basically I've kinda figured if I hold the shutter down half way, it auto zooms, and then I push all the way down to take the pic.

But that's it!

So any resources I can get to get started would be greatly appreciated. Happy to share what little info i know

 

[photo1x1.com]

Hi there and welcome to the forum.
The Sony a7s II is an awesome camera (especially for video), I do own that particular one and several others of the sony line (and others ) but I´m not sure if it is the perfect camera for you. What kind of videos are you going to shoot?
Most videos are usually shot in manual focus (and manual mode in general). The Sony cameras can be used in auto focus video mode, but the a7s II is not the best one with regard to focus, it is very slow. The a7r II has a much better auto focus and while its video quality is slightly inferior, but the auto focus alone would make me buy the a7r II (especially for video beginners). I just recently purchased the a7 III which seems to be awesome for video and has an even better focus for photos, but for now, I feel the video autofocus is not as good as the a7r II (still way better than the a7s II though - and much cheaper).
So if you can, I´d send it back.
Same with the 24-240mm. And you will not need a flash for video work either.

Before I go further into detail, let me know what you plan to shoot. Maybe you even have an example.

 

[otherprof]

Hi there and welcome to the forum.
The Sony a7s II is an awesome camera (especially for video), I do own that particular one and several others of the sony line (and others ) but I´m not sure if it is the perfect camera for you. What kind of videos are you going to shoot?
Most videos are usually shot in manual focus (and manual mode in general). The Sony cameras can be used in auto focus video mode, but the a7s II is not the best one with regard to focus, it is very slow. The a7r II has a much better auto focus and while its video quality is slightly inferior, but the auto focus alone would make me buy the a7r II (especially for video beginners). I just recently purchased the a7 III which seems to be awesome for video and has an even better focus for photos, but for now, I feel the video autofocus is not as good as the a7r II (still way better than the a7s II though - and much cheaper).
So if you can, I´d send it back.
Same with the 24-240mm. And you will not need a flash for video work either.

Before I go further into detail, let me know what you plan to shoot. Maybe you even have an example.

This sounds too much like “Hey guys! Let’s put on a show!” You may be a quick learner but your output has to be professional quality. I’m taking your statement about hardly knowing how to turn it on seriously, and recommend hiring a pro to update the marketing material while you get proficient enough to take over the job.

 

[ac12]

I think you are in way over your head.
You need to know your gear well enough that you can do what you have planned/want to do.
As @otherprof said, best to get good/pro help, or your videos will look amateurish or worse. That is absolutely NOT what you want for company stuff. There is a place for DIY, and it is NOT when representing the company to the public.
Even with a pro, telling them that the shoot will begin next week is too short.
I suggest you postpone the shoot until you can find a good pro to shoot for you.

Sorry, but there is no magic wand that any of us can use to give you the knowledge and skills that you will need.
If I did, I would use it on me first.

 

[photo1x1.com]

Guys, I agree with you in most of what you say. BUT: we are talking about youtube videos. That's why I asked what coachmarino is planning to shoot. Many popular channels don't care about camera tech or other things. They just put the cam in auto mode and start shooting. And they are very successful. It's about the content, not about how you produce it and how it looks like.
Also: I don't know how ads in America look like, but here in central Europe, there is a trend towards clips that look handheld (not to say shaky), and cheap. In other words, DIY. For beginners that can work with many cameras, but it doesn't work well with the mentioned a7s II. It's too sophisticated and lacks a good reliable autofocus that for example the Sony a6000 has. It does record 4k, which the a6000 doesn't, but knowing that most users watch youtube on mobile devices AND editing 4k needs a powerful computer too, it might be better to record 1080p anyway.
So these are just a few thoughts. The industry is changing, I guess we all have to adapt. Even if we don't like it.

 

[ac12]

For a business vs. personal video, presentation is important.
And this sounded like a business to me.
"I work in digital marketing, and I've been tasked with updating our traditional marketing materials."
It may be about content, but for a business it is advertising/marketing.

It is difficult to manage things like YouTube when the world can view the results.
As you said, what is accepted and works in one part of the world may not work in another.

 

[coachmarino]

Hey guys,

I may be in over my head...maybe not though.

The videos we are talking about right now are only one man videos that can act as video versions of podcasts. Not much production to be done. I can do the editing after, but, again, it's not really that much, just something to introduce the video and something to end.

And it doesn't go without saying that something more professional can't also be done. The basic idea is the quality has to be better than someone shooting with their iphones. A lot of the stuff they have online right now is iphones. And this company is not a nonprofit, it's high revenue, clients are highly engaged.

I won't, for example be doing TV commercials. We have a firm that did one for us. Or if we do like a real promo, we have the network coming into do a commercial, and with all the footage I have, I can do what I need to do which is edit down videos for social media and Youtube. We also have a PR company on retainer that has done a 2 minute promo for us that we could use again.

I will also be taking pictures of staff, and some pictures of the building. These will be for web and print, and to replace iPhone pictures.

In terms of why I chose this camera, that's pretty simple. My CEO mandate is that if we get money approved by the board we spend it. So I had a budget of 'x' and I didn't want to go too cheap because as my CEO says 'we aren't giving the money back'. My investment was based on some research.

Needs:
Camera capable of doing good pictures to update our marketing materials, replace iphone pics
Camera capable of shooting people being interviewed, or discussions, that's again, better than iphones.
Something fairly future proof, like, we may not get another chance at this one for a while.
We also got a mic.

So i guess feel free to poo poo, but this is the reality of where I'm at. Ultimately, the ramp up of what we do is more down to me...there's no plan in place of what we have to do and when. We'll only do what I'm capable of when I'm capable and suggest it. All help is appreciated!

I actually used it this weekend to take some pictures of my son playing soccer. Just getting used to certain ideas of using the camera and what it's capable of. But I sitll really just need a starting place.

Thanks!

 

[zombiesniper]

We start shooting next week!

This +

I can barely figure out how to turn the thing on.

This =

You're in way over your head.

The basic idea is the quality has to be better than someone shooting with their iphones.

I bet you'd be surprised how professional an IPhone video can look which again means stop before you produce a bad video.

If the company isn't going to fail by not getting these videos out then the ONLY option is to postpone the shoot and do it once someone has the proven talent to succeed.
First impressions count and if customers/clients see poor quality, it will only give a bad impression.
Take the time and do it right. Much cheaper in the long run.

 

[coachmarino]

I came here hearing it was a great place for help.

Are you mad I'm going to get paid for this?

Hoping the site isn't full of this type of person.

We start shooting next week!

This +

I can barely figure out how to turn the thing on.

This =

You're in way over your head.

The basic idea is the quality has to be better than someone shooting with their iphones.

I bet you'd be surprised how professional an IPhone video can look which again means stop before you produce a bad video.

 

[zombiesniper]

I don't care if you're getting paid and am not mad at all.
You want honest advice. I gave it. I want you to put out the best work you can. Before I could even begin to help you, you have to realize that rushing in is a recipe for failure. If the timeline is more important than a good job, I can't help you.

 

[waday]

Hoping the site isn't full of this type of person.

Not everyone, no.

When people on here give recommendations, it's really based on getting the best results for their client. So, people give recommendations based on that.

If you're looking to get better pictures than iPhone pictures, you're on the right track with the lenses and the flash.

Start looking into pictures that you like and figure out what you like about them. Is it the lighting? The angle? Look at composition. Try to recreate these.

With the flash, you'll need to know how to use it. I'm not familiar with it, but I'm assuming you can rotate it, yes? If so, 'bounce' the flash off the ceiling, or other walls. Maybe look into getting a reflector to help you out. You can find them cheap on Amazon or B&H Photo (if you're in the US).

What kind of photos are you taking? That's really important in us trying to answer your questions. For example, photographers use different lenses and techniques for landscape photography than they will for portrait photography. Portrait photography is different than product photography, and so on.

 

[waday]

Lighting introduction: Strobist: Lighting 101: Introduction

 

[coachmarino]

Thank you for all the help.

Maybe the better argument for my position is that I don't make the decisions! I work in a small business that makes a high level of revenue. I get given a project.

So now I need help.

What about a good basic starting point in how to start using a camera like this? I'm interested in doing this all better and becoming good at what I'm doing, but in the meantime, I need a good resource just to kinda walk me through how to use this camera, even the most basic functions.

I took a few action shots this weekend, just experimenting with moving subjects. I think I did it 'right,' they came out fine, and in my real life position I'm not going to have to take action shots. It would still be nice just to have a few resources as to what each function on the camera does and why I'd consider using them.

What I like about the 4K is the editing possibilities. I have a nice big laptop and plenty of storage to take some large videos and cut them for various uses. I know 1080p is all I need, but being able to edit after the fact is better since I only have the one camera. I'm actually not bad at basic editing.

 

[waday]

What do you need help with? Photography or videography?

I'm going to stick to photography, because that's my hobby. It may be beneficial to read through a few articles using a web search or even watching a few YouTube videos.

Read the manual for the camera. That will teach you the basic functions. Then, take pictures. Take more pictures. And when you've finally exhausted yourself, take more pictures. That's how you learn.

You took action shots, but you'll not have to use action shots? Focus on what you need to learn first, then branch out. We can't "teach" you through the forum if we don't know what you want to learn. "Everything" is too broad. As asked before, what type of photography are you doing? Product? Portrait? Landscape? Cityscape?

Post pictures on here and ask for help. What looks "right" or "fine" to a beginner may not look "right" or "fine" to a professional. Not saying it can't, but photography is a learning process. We're always learning, no matter how much we think we know.

 

[coachmarino]

I have to do staff portraits, candids in a professional environment. Pictures of our facilities. For professional B2B marketing.

I have to do videos, but I'm happy to start with a two person video podcast. I'm not ready for other stuff.

I AM concerned that I don't know how to operate the camera or what I can actually do with the camera. I might be missing things if I just snap pictures that are good enough and waste technology.

The manual is really vague. It isn't obvious say, for example, how to turn the camera on, if you're not used to this type of camera. I think the camera assumes I'm a pro.

I certainly want to improve as a photographer and do the best job possible, but before I do that I need to know the basics of my camera, and I'm having trouble with the manual. I mean, the camera shipped with plenty of paperwork. Most of it is the basic manual translated into like 8 different languages.

So a basic of 'how to operate a good Sony camera' would be a wonderful starting point IF it exists!