What a surprise to wake up to another video so soon! I find this video interesting because so much of how you operate is very similar to myself and I feel I "discovered" much of what you're teaching by a lot of trial and error. I do want to expand however on something you briefly touched on and that is native ISO's. In the beginning I found myself often shooting photos choosing my shutter and aperture but using auto ISO and perhaps rolling the exposure compensation dial with my finger for dark or light subjects. However, over the past few months I find myself essentially shooting at only 2 iso settings and that is 100 or 640 on my A7R3. I tried a few experiments shooting one photo with the same aperture and shutter speed at ISO 640 then took the same photo at ISO 3200 (which gave proper "exposure"). In the end both images were identical once I raised the exposure in post but by using 640 and then doing everything you can to get a shutter speed that saturates the sensor with enough light you're doing 2 things, first you can visually see that to get an optimal noise free images you may NEED to let in more light and second you've drastically decreased any risk of blown highlights. The only real caveat to shooting this way is if you have your EVF set to show what you get thing can be very dark and in those instances you're forced to set a higher ISO just so you can see what's going on compose and focus properly. I also use zebras to determine exposure, short of specular highlights I'll generally pull down my exposure so nothing is visible at a zebra setting of 107+. I wish it were possible to setup a button on Sony that would allow a quick toggle between ISO 100 and 640 or perhaps name it hi and low gain. Also, as you mentioned in many cases if your camera would pick an ISO of 400 you're in fact better off just using 640 (on the A7R3 or A73) which will result in a cleaner image, it's too bad Sony's auto ISO can't be setup to make that choice for us in those instances. Lately I find myself shooting wildlife that's not moving quickly in aperture priority mode and using ISO 100 or 640 depending upon the light. Sometimes the light dictates a shutter speed that may be too low however, when those moments of stillness are caught and something perhaps as low as 1/60 sec @ 600mm is proper the resulting image is absolutely stunning and extremely detailed. I would never suggest this for rare once in a lifetime moments where getting the shot is far more important than ultimate quality but for animals I have taken 1000's of images of it's a good way to gamble on getting the ultimate high resolution shots albeit with many rejects. In closing, happy shooting and I'm glad we can all make each other better photographers. While I'm not at your level and for me photography is still a hobby not a profession I find immense pleasure in teaching others what I can offer and seeing them improve. Your channel provides information that seemingly doesn't exist elsewhere on youtube and I'm sure you're aware what your providing will not garner mass appeal like channels that feature the latest gear reviews or clickbait thumbnails but you have managed something even more special in that your viewers truly have a desire to better themselves and learn. I don't know if it would be possible or something desirable for you to produce but I'd love to see some video of you actually in the field along with your setups, hides and locations.

@AdrianChoPhotography

4 жыл бұрын

robwas thanks for adding to the discussion. Yeah doing this stuff on KZread is a funny thing. I know there’s lots of ways to try to make the videos “more exciting” but quality over quantity and being true to my own style is always my goal. I’m also very aware even from the viewing numbers on my own videos that most people come to the channel to watch gear videos and if I didn’t make those I would have far fewer subscribers. Most people don’t want to admit that they could improve their technique or creative approach but just want to focus on gear and yet when you look at their images you can tell. I did not want to make a “camera settings” video for a long time because I suspected some people had expectations that I would reveal some magic settings that I could share in a downloadable config and the reality is that there are no real magic or special settings. In that way they will disappointed with this video. People especially want to know the magic settings for tracking AF and the reality is that I rarely use it. One of the things I notice is that for people who shoot deeper DOF, when the tracking AF makes a mistake and jumps to the wrong thing, the deeper DOF can provide some cover for the camera’s mistake but that doesn’t always work if you’re shooting shallow DOF. I also basically shoot ETTR and totally rely on the zebras. One of the reasons I don’t like to just always shoot at the two native ISO points is that I really do want the image to look as “right” as possible out of the camera to reduce my edit time. I have thought a lot about producing more stuff in the field and I know it would be of value and I will continue to think about it. I have two main concerns. One is that when I’m working out there anything else is a big distraction and I would be pretty unhappy if I missed shots or did anything stupid because I was distracted by making videos about what I’m doing. The other thing is revealing locations. All those concerns aside, I think I will start trying to produce some in-the-field stuff once I can get out there again. The funny thing is that I just spent most of the last month or so building up a more sophisticated capability in my studio which takes me in the opposite direction. I don’t know if you noticed but all my videos are now live-edited and done in one take and so when I’m producing a video like this it’s basically the same as if I was giving a lesson online.

@robwasnj

4 жыл бұрын

@@AdrianChoPhotography Excellent points. I do want to add, sometimes my English isn't great and what I meant to say comes through incorrectly. When I mentioned locations I didn't mean giving away specific geographic locations but mean something like "today I'm shooting in an open field with the sun at 45 degrees to the side" or perhaps "today we're in a forest, I picked this location due to the overcast shooting conditions". As for your productions I think they're fantastic as-is and the easier it is to make videos the more information we can get out there, I have done videos for my swimming pool business and one take quick uploads allow me to do more and not let it take away from more important things. I noticed someone commented on the audio but on my setup I find it very clear and understandable. What you wrote about stopping down is interesting, I don't own a prime so when I shoot birds in flight I'm nearly always at f/6.3 regardless however with that said I get tons of images that are not critically sharp especially when shooting darker birds like red winged blackbirds. On my cameras the A7R3 I find the tracking modes pretty much useless, no matter how I set them up once the background isn't a clear blue sky the focus jumps to everything but the bird. From what I understand it's much better on the A9's and even the other A7's with more focus points. Perhaps I expect too much but I'm not happy unless I get pinpoint focus right on the eye to the degree that you can sometimes see another scene in the animal's eye from the reflection, often I see myself or my house when I shoot in my yard!

Yes I agree, you have to become Zen like or at one with your camera. It sounds a bit odd but I go into a photographic zone in my wildlife photography. Likewise I shoot fully manual and back button focus for full control on my A9II. I must run through my settings as I don't use custom settings, but assign the focus buttons on a recall eg.1/1600 sec wide open normally for birds in flight/action. It's normally all about speed for myself so usually have Zone set for focus. By pressing C2 I can choose three modes Flexible spot S.Expand flexible spot and Zone. Thanks for reminding me to assign some more buttons, great video very interesting to see how exactly how you operate this amazing camera. Of course there are so many and indeed too many ways to set this camera! You just have to see what works for you at the end of the day.

@robwasnj

4 жыл бұрын

Photographing wildlife, most notable birds in flight is almost like a sport. I find practice galore even if I use silent shutter to save my camera from wear and tear can be extremely helpful and when the real moment comes success rate is so much higher. I used to do a lot of trap and skeet shooting and the action is very similar. I too have a button set on my camera for 1/1600, wide open, zone area focus, and auto iso so when a BIF comes by I can quickly hit that and not lose the shot. I agree the flexibility of setup on these cameras is fantastic.

@AdrianChoPhotography

4 жыл бұрын

Yes exactly! People are always asking to reveal some magic settings for BIF. Apart from a few basic settings, it’s mostly just a ton of practice and yes it’s absolutely very similar to something like skeet shooting. What is great with these cameras is that generally they are very responsive. There are still some things that are very sluggish like the wake-from-sleep time but generally they are pretty good and can only get better.

@AdrianChoPhotography

4 жыл бұрын

One thing I wish for is more custom buttons. I have run out of them and could definitely do with more. However I don’t have anything assigned to the wheel on the back as I find that too easy to accidentally press. But I’d be really happy for more custom buttons in other places. Some at the front near lens mount would be great. One thing I have mentioned to Sony that does really annoy me is that I want a way to exclude “AUTO” from the range of options in the ISO. When I spin the dial all the way down I want it to hit 100 and not AUTO!

@robwasnj

4 жыл бұрын

@@AdrianChoPhotography BIF can be a challenge, at times i resort to manual focus. I do wish sony provided a way to keep the focus zoom continually activated while shooting. A few days I ago I borrowed an a9ii from a friend, I thought with the same lens it was markedly more responsive and the focus almost felt supercharged compared to my current camera. Still when background became contrasty or busy it still struggled with determining what the subject was vs background. Mirrorless cameras might have a slight bit more lag due to the EVF but I think the trade-off is 100% worth it, we just have to start a sequence sometimes a bit before the moment we want to capture.

@robwasnj

4 жыл бұрын

@@AdrianChoPhotography I too disabled the wheel along with the touch screen due to accidental hits. A better joystick or purpose built touchpad for moving the focus point would be awesome. Also a smaller point than "small" would also be great, I noticed even if your focus point isn't on something but it's near something high contrast the system will often lock onto that. Once such example that has caused me countless out of focus images are ducks on reflective water, rather than grabbing the head of the duck it gets the ripples on the water even though no part of the focus spot ever touched any water. If the duck has a bright eye not so much an issue but dark eyes and dark head extremely problematic.

Also thanks for the tip about the focus hold bottom!

@AdrianChoPhotography

4 жыл бұрын

The one thing I didn’t show, but was probably obvious, is that you do need to assign the recall custom hold to a button. I’m only using one recall custom hold (there are three) and I’ve assigned mine to the AEL button but you can use any custom button. It’s a very handy feature in the Sony cameras.

@basembarakat

4 жыл бұрын

@@AdrianChoPhotography I got the point that a bottom need to be assigned. But thanks for confirming.

Interesting video Adrian - thank you! I'd forgotten about the dual ISO bit! Can I ask what you are reaching down for? Is it to show those caption slides? Could you not add those in the edit?

@AdrianChoPhotography

4 жыл бұрын

Hi Bruce. For a little while now I have been live editing all my videos so everything you see is being shot live with no editing afterwards. It’s tough because it means I have to do the whole video in one take but it means I don’t have to spend time editing afterwards. So what I’m doing as I’m shooting the video is switching between various camera angles and showing the captions and other things on the screen. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for the tips! How do you have your tracking sensitivity set up? Do you lean more towards locked on or responsive?

@AdrianChoPhotography

3 жыл бұрын

Basically it depends on the situation. I often start with setting 2 and adjust from there. My most important recommendation is to adjust your settings to suit the situation. If I need to retain those settings I’ll save them back to my appropriate custom mode. Thanks for watching!

Nice video, you use SS 1/100 in AEL with the 400 plus 1.4? I would like to know the lowest hand held SS to obtain a low autoiso. thank you

@AdrianChoPhotography

4 жыл бұрын

Hi Efrain. Thanks for watching. That is a good question. One thing I shold be clear about is that I am only using the AEL button as a button for my recall custom hold. I have no use for the normal AEL function so I was happy to reuse the button and use it as a quick way to grab a slow shutter spot. Sometimes I might not use this feature and might simply drop down the shutter speed (and the ISO) manually. To get to your question, it depends on a lot of things. Usually the rule is that you try to have a shutter speed that is 1/focal length so if you are using a 400mm lens or say 400 + 1.4 = 560 then you shoot with a minimum of 1/400 sec or 1/560 sec. However it also depends on the motion of the animal and the resolution of the sensor and how stable your hands are, etc. If you check out my video on difficult lighting and shooting in low-light sometimes I have shot as low as 1/30 or 1/40 of a second but that is also with a shorter lens (like 24 mm) and when the animal is not moving. I also make sure I am always bursting when I do this (I am always bursting anyway) so that I have many images to choose from and can get the sharpest one.

@robwasnj

4 жыл бұрын

Hi Efrain, I love your photos that you share on FB. I know you asked Adrain this question but wanted to give some input myself. I can say I've gotten tack sharp wildlife photos (generally smaller birds) as low as 1/60 sec @ 600mm hand held but if there's ANY bird movement or something as simple as the perch they're on moving slightly due to wind it will make the image appear soft. In dim light I often test and see "how low can I go" by setting ISO to 100 and using aperture priority. Perhaps only 1 out of 10 images will be tack sharp but when you get on that is you have something noise free with amazing technical quality. I also shoot bursts generally in silent shutter in the hopes one of the frames will contain a good one where the subject and myself didn't move. I used to shoot guns and bows competitively and many of the same principles apply to using a camera, you want to slowly squeeze down the shutter button and not "punch it", also making your body like a tripod or leaning up against objects can great improve your handheld stability. With all this said for once in a lifetime shots, animal behaviors or times when you simply may not have another opportunity I would pick a safer higher shutter speed so you don't blow it. I generally only push the low shutter for birds I've photographed many times and shots where i want highly detailed "portraits" or headshots of them. Happy shooting, your images are awesome.

Granted I should RTFM, but this real life advice is so helpful! I see all this people on KZread selling LR presets, would be nice if you could sell camera config files :D Thanks for sharing

@robwasnj

4 жыл бұрын

Perhaps, but the true power of custom functions is being able to set them up for your particular use. My settings are a mix of what Mark Smith, Mark Galer and Adrian Cho have done but suited exactly to me and my shooting conditions. One of the best things I've ever done is setup my lens buttons to engage manual focus, I can't being to tell you how having that quickly accessible has saved me when AF just wasn't cutting it (high grass, etc). I don't think I've ever opened the manual for my camera but have watched countless videos on setup, for me it's a much easier way to learn.

@AdrianChoPhotography

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! I do agree with Rob that one of the best things about these cameras is that you can set them up the way you want. I'm always intrigued by how others shoot and even though I don't have any magic settings I wanted to share that and I'm super happy if it helps you in some way.

@shinysurfer

4 жыл бұрын

@@robwasnj Definitely agree, but having a strong base built upon experience (of others) is really helpful for people like me, that lack the expertise 😂. I have been testing that 1/1000 + max aperture + auto ISO assigned to the AEL button this weekend, and ended up adding wide zone AF to it as well. Feels like having two cameras in hand at once.

@robwasnj

4 жыл бұрын

@@shinysurfer I don't think there's anything wrong with copying and setting up your camera exactly like another photographer has and in fact there are a few videos on youtube that will take you step by step into doing that. With that said though I think part of the value in doing such an exercise is the process of learning how all the settings work and where they are, if you had a preset that just set them for you that would skip the crucial learning process. Also spending LOTS of time with your camera and poring over every single setting and learning what it does is invaluable, expertise doesn't always come from years but rather comes from actual time with the camera in hand. I try to get out at least 4 days a week with my camera even if it's shooting common birds in my backyard just to keep well practiced. One huge tip I can give on Sony at least is the AF system always focuses from front to back so if you anticipate a bird landing somewhere focus on something slightly in front of that spot so you're ready when the moment happens. Being new to photography I feel is a very exciting time because improvement comes in large waves, after awhile improvement slows down but sometimes you can gather just one tip from a 20 minute video and that makes it worth watching. I love that Adrian covers lesser discussed topics primarily and keeps gear reviews to a minimum, both have their place but youtube is simply saturated with videos on the latter.

It hard to convince shooter as its counter intuitive that Auto is more complicated than Manual!

@AdrianChoPhotography

4 жыл бұрын

Hi Basem. Yes I know it sounds weird but I truly feel that shooting fully manual is a lot more straightforward. You just need to understand the exposure triangle and have the muscle memory under your fingers so you can manipulate the dials quickly. Just like most things, it’s just a matter of practice until you don’t even have to think about it much.

@robwasnj

4 жыл бұрын

As a photographer for many years that has used cameras without working light meters and relied on sunny 16 I couldn't agree more! When someone hands me a camera to take a photo of them I want to know where the basic settings are, auto has it's place but only when you're aware of what choices it's making.