Lessons
Class Introduction
05:40 2Sony A7 Mark II: Overview
15:53 3Photography Basics
07:36 4Basic Controls
08:12 5Panorama Controls
04:44 6Mode Dial and Exposure Compensation
10:47 7Custom Key Settings
06:27 8Focus Area
08:45Multi Interface Shoe
02:31 10Back Side: Navigation
11:02 11Function Button: Modes
22:40 12Display Options
10:18 13Left and Right Side: Navigation
15:26 14Bottom and Front: Navigation
03:45 15Sony Lens Options
15:37 16Camera Menu: 1
09:29 17Camera Menu: 2
06:01 18Camera Menu: 3
02:42 19Camera Menu: 4
05:02 20Camera Menu: 5
08:31 21Camera Menu: 6
08:46 22Camera Menu: 7
11:32 23Camera Menu: 8
05:39 24Camera Menu: 9
07:16 25Custom Set-Up: 1
04:42 26Custom Set-Up: 2
05:33 27Custom Set-Up: 3
09:19 28Custom Set-Up: 4
04:24 29Custom Set-Up: 5
09:35 30Custom Set-Up: 6
03:53 31Custom Set-Up: 7
07:12 32Custom Set-Up: 8
02:41 33Wireless Options
03:44 34Application and Play Menus
17:42 35Set-Up Menu: 1-6
16:01 36Camera Operation
09:21Lesson Info
Camera Menu: 4
Next page is our focus settings, and this is choosing where we're going to focus, and this is ah horrible place to come to in the menu to make this change. Normally you're just going to do that on the camera and let's go to a live demo on this camera. I don't know that I showed this to you completely earlier on, but let's, make sure our cameras were turned on let's just sort of programme mode, nice and simple frame up our subjects here, and so if I want to change the focusing system, I have it programmed to the sea to button on the top here, so it's little hard to see me setting it, but when I pressed that button, we get this information down here in the bottom, right? And so I'm going to turn the dial and that's going to change through the different modes of the different sized focusing brackets and so let's say, I'm choosing the large spot, then I can go up and I can start moving this around to the different parts on the frame. And so if I go back to shooting and I decide, I would li...
ke to move that to someplace else, I can hit that button, and then I can start moving it in a different direction, and we can move that focusing point around. But one of the things you'll notice is that when I hit the button, I have to press this button once to activate the direction part of it and then hit it again to make that change. And so if I wanted to change to the small point, I would dial over to the small section hit, enter and then I could actually, then I need to hit the button again how I hit the display, but that was the problem, and now I can move it around. And so now I can choose a very small area in which to focus get that display offer there. There we go. All right. So that's just a little bit more on the focusing system and so that's what they call focusing cities the a f illuminator is that low light in front. We talked about that when we talked about the front of the camera and what happens here is it's got a little light, it acts like a flashlight and it shines a light. If you are a private detective who works in darkened cars at night on the street, you definitely want to turn this mode off because it's going to give away your position and the fact that you're taking photos and so I like to be as discreet as possible when I'm shooting, so I always turn this off a f drive speed now you'll notice the little movie indicator because beside this which means it is something that is only working on the movie moz and so we have fast, normal and slow and one might think, well, what did I want this as fast as possible? And this is where it's kind of tracking a subject as it's moving around and the problem was setting it fast is it gets a little bit jumpy between its transitions and it makes that jump between focusing a little too quick and so you will need to match this setting with the type of environment and subjects you are shooting. And so I think normal is a good place to leave it at if somebody's moving around very slowly it's going to be more smooth and the video that it captures with the changing of the focus by changing this down too slow so I would probably stay away from fast and probably play around with slow and normal. The tracking sensitivity is the ability of this camera to track a subject as it's moving it's very closely related to the drive speed but this is the sensitivity of what it's looking for. So for instance let's say you're videotaping me right now and russ was to get up and walk in front of me across the room do you want the camera to immediately focus on russ as he crosses in front of me? Well, what if he's only there for just a half second? You probably don't want it to jump there too quickly and so if you did want it to jump to that new subject that stepped in front of the frame you would set it on high but by setting it on high it's going to be a little bit more jumpy as it goes back and forth and so this is kind of how long you want it to stay on a particular subject and so normal is the good place to start. You can play around with it if you shoot a lot of video and action around it expose your compensation well, we talked about this in the function settings we talked about it cause it's got a whole dial on the top of it but we can do it here is well exposure steps so on the camera changing shutter speeds you can choose either third stops or half stops depending on how accurate you want to get. Most people leave this at third stops that's just I think probably just where most people keep it at partly because that's where the cameras come with her from the factory but it's also about the smallest change in light that a person can notice between two images if you looked at two images and one was just a tiny bit lighter than the other that's probably about a third stop but if you need to change it for a half half stops, I know I have a light meter that works in half stops. And if I wanted to get it to match up with that, you could change it over for that.
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Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
a Creativelive Student
INCREDIBLE Class! I couldn't find anything on the internet that truly explained this camera, explained what it can and can't do and what accessories would work with it. I have had my Sony A7II for awhile now, but was so overwhelmed by it, I rarely even took it out of its case. It was just easier to use my Canon 5D III. After this class, I am so excited to finally practice with and use my Sony. John is an incredible teacher. He is thorough, professional, fun and knowledgeable! Buying this class was the best investment!!! I feel like I just got the gift of a new camera because I can finally use my Sony!!! Thanks John and Thanks Creative Live!!!
Enrique Vega es
I stored my Sony A7II for more than a year since I've been Canon's user for 7 years and I felt unsure of taking this new camera which implied a different menu system, different functions, a little bit intimidating. Finally, I took a bit of valor, put my camera next to the computer monitor for then start watching this guide and I spent a great time actually. I'm amazed at how helpful and clear is the sequence of the chapters. It was enough to get to chapter ten to know all the basic controls and start taking pictures with an equivalent confidence of my good old Canon, or even better since in the chapter 8th I learned how accurate and easy to use is the focusing system, either, manual or auto (For stills I've always used manual focusing). Very informative, enjoyable and now I became a new fan of the mirrorless cameras, at the point that I'm considering to buy another two :D
VeraInAlbania
John is an excellent teacher! In fact his Fundamentals of Digital Photography 2014 was the first ever class I watched on CreativeLive, and since then I'm in love with his teaching style as well as with CreativeLive! I bought my Sony A7II in March 2015 and when I found out that John is giving a class on it I was very excited! As I expected I learnt many secrets about my camera which I had been using for 9 months already. For example about the option of focusing on the eyes, setting the buttons, making panoramas etc. The camera is still smarter than me I must admit. I am enjoying my Sony even more now since after the class I feel much more confident. Thank you John and CreativeLive for such an opportunity! I would recommend to everyone who has a Sony a7II camera and the other cameras in this line to watch this class. It's a concentrate of useful information, very detailed and to the point. I spent two days just watching the class and practicing new knowledge with my camera straight away. I had to postpone all the other life chores. And I would be ready to watch the class again after some time as it's a professional camera which needs a lot of practice!
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