Still getting used to Focus Areas on a7iii

[R0ck3tm@n]

What do you folks tend to use most?

Switching to the a7iii from a 5Dmk3, this has been my greatest challenge. I was always a manual focus point guy and just had the wheels down so well on my body, that I could find my point and nail the shot so well with my Canon.

Now with the a7iii I find myself bouncing around and I'm never happy. Sure with a still shot, it's easy, M. The other day, for instance, I was a distance from my 2.5YO son jumping from the ottoman to the couch. I was using the mode I keep hearing about other photographers using, "Wide", but it continually focused on the couch, wall, etc., and not him, the moving subject. I quickly became frustrated as you have a small window before a 2.5YO does something different and you lose the shot altogether.

I guess I just need to play more with moving subjects, admittedly I shoot mostly still. Just wanted to gain your experiences. Aside from this, I adore my a7iii and wouldn't trade it for the world.

 

[VidThreeNorth]

Sony has announced a firmware update for the "a7iii" which is due around April:

"Sony promises firmware updates for a7 III, a7R III and a9, improving AF", Published Jan 15, 2019 | Richard Butler, Dan Bracaglia

"Sony promises firmware updates for a7 III, a7R III and a9, improving AF"

For now, I can say that the apparently, the "a7iii" will sometimes work better with "Continuous Auto-Focus" instead of "Single Auto-Focus" which is exactly the opposite of most cameras that I have used, so you might want to try that. Also, it will not be a surprise that it tends to be lens dependent.

I think there's a "focus speed" adjustment too. For still photography, turning that up a bit might help. But for video, you will probably want to leave it at default or slower for a "professional focus pull" look.

 

[VidThreeNorth]

I remembered this video (not too hard since it was recent) which was actually a comparison between the Sony a7iii and the Nikon Z6, but it shows a series of focus performance tests using a specific lens on both bodies. In this case, it shows that the Z6 is better at "Single Autofocus" but that the Sony is so much better at "Continuous Autofocus" that it might has well just be used that way all the time. But that is a particular lens. My advice would be to look for tests of your favorite lens, or better still, set up a test of your own.

"Sony a7 III vs Nikon Z6 + Sigma Art 35mm FTZ vs Nikon 35mm f/1.8 S", posted by "Gerald Undone", Dec 9, 2018
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[lance70]

What do you folks tend to use most?

Switching to the a7iii from a 5Dmk3, this has been my greatest challenge. I was always a manual focus point guy and just had the wheels down so well on my body, that I could find my point and nail the shot so well with my Canon.

Now with the a7iii I find myself bouncing around and I'm never happy. Sure with a still shot, it's easy, M. The other day, for instance, I was a distance from my 2.5YO son jumping from the ottoman to the couch. I was using the mode I keep hearing about other photographers using, "Wide", but it continually focused on the couch, wall, etc., and not him, the moving subject. I quickly became frustrated as you have a small window before a 2.5YO does something different and you lose the shot altogether.

I guess I just need to play more with moving subjects, admittedly I shoot mostly still. Just wanted to gain your experiences. Aside from this, I adore my a7iii and wouldn't trade it for the world.

I use Cont AF for the mode, wide zone and lock-on AF expand flexible spot if someone is moving or an animal etc (put the focus point on your son with those settings and it should stay locked on and track him)...That's by far the most reliable for me when I can't pick up the eye with eye AF.