My Sony Customization & Focus Trick - Sony a1, a7RV, A7IV, A7SIII 

What is your favorite customization feature on your camera?

I need to watch this again. I switched to Sony a few years ago. For me the eye autofocus is one my favorite things.

On the A7rV the AF in Focus Mag is available in AF-A as well as AF-S. AF-A is supposedly a hybrid of AF-S and AF-C.

I have set the AEL to "hold for manual focus" (I can't remember what it's called in the menu) but that way in AF-C, I can press it (I use back-button focus so it's just next to my focus button) and turn the focus ring and it zooms in on my subject and I can check the focus and adjust. I shoot a lot of wildlife, and this is great for grabbing focus through branches or grass.

This is very helpful. I acquired a new A7RV earlier this year, my first Sony body, (I've borrowed and used A9II and A1 prior) and have been slowly tweaking the settings to work similarly to how I've used my OM System cameras for more than a decade and I like how well these two systems compliment one another with customizations. BTW, I use the center button of the wheel, the OK button, to enter crop mode as it's pretty helpful with the A7RV (26mp more than enough) as I use it mainly with primes (11/1.8, 20/1.8, 55/1.8, and 135/1.8 so far), other than the 200-600, whereas on the 2x crop sensor OM-1 bodies I have, I use mainly pro zoom lenses. Having ready access to shoot two different fields of view with a prime on a body that already has more megapixels than I need 95% of the time, is like having a modest zoom lens where I can use the wide and tele end without changing lenses. The only other Sony FF body I'd use is the A1, with 50MP, so crop mode would still be close to the resolution I'm used to with OM System, but the two cameras are somewhat redundant for wildlife work, IMO, whereas the A7RV compliments the OM-1 cameras when I need another body for some time lapse work, group photo work, night scapes and landscapes. I will watch the other linked videos asap.

Dmf also perform the same function which you can add to recal function hold.

Thanks the magnification one is a ripper!

absolute genius tehe focus setting.Thank you!!

THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU!

A way more mindblowing setting is custom shoot sets. I've assigned a dedicated button to, when pushed, sets my camera to wildlife settings (af-c, fast shutter speed, open aperture and so on). Allows me to instantly go from one setting to wildlife settings. Super useful when being out shooting landscapes and an interesting bird suddenly flies into the scene. Push the button, capture the bird, release the button and the camera resets to previous settings and I can continue with the landscape shooting as if nothing happenend.

I picked up a few hints from this segment that I have applied to my A7III. I'd already set up a lot of button customizations that I'm getting down to second nature and I'm going to try yours as alternatives. That muscle memory thing is important. I'm also one of those people that accidentally hits the red video button but keeping it live is the quickest way to get the A7III over to video mode if something calls for it. Twisting the Mode wheel is one of the more awkward things for me to do accurately when I'm in a hurry. I shoot artists at their work and musicians performing in small places so flipping back and forth stills video is frequent. Enlarged eyecup - absolutely no regrets doing that.

I assigned the weel to change focus area.

Using wheel center button to toggle zebras on/off

Great info Toby! Ironically, I literally just finished watching Omar Gonzales's R7V setup video. He also had some good info. So now, I'm suffering what they call, "analysis paralysis. LOL

Does that mean I have to switch focus mode first before using the custom button for autofocus in magnifier mode? That would essentially make it completely useless.

Thanks, helpful video. I set my center button on the jog wheel to focus standard, although I don’t know if it’s doing what I originally thought it does. I want it to take me back to my original focus setting but it doesn’t seem to work. Perhaps you can make a video about this feature ?😊. Sony’s documentation must’ve gotten lost in the translation, lol.

Hi Toby, I use centre button on wheel to switch between AFC and MF in video in case my lens doesn't have focus button

Thanks for this as I am always looking for ways to simplify my settings to the most useful. I have one of my custom buttons on Metering Mode and don't think I use it much as I don't tend to change how my camera is metering. Do you change yours much or just set it and forget it? So I am thinking of changing it to face and eye subject so I can use it more as I rarely think about it now and now I should consider it more. Thoughts. I almost never go into my Fn button. Thanks Tom

I've used the focus magnifier in my older Alpha mount bodies for years. You mentioned early in video that after activating the magnifier, you can refocus. I've always used manual focus ring for that. Is that what you implied or do you use autofocus again (back focus button) ?

I recently bought the A1 with an fe 2.8 lens. I am so mad that I can't even use it the way I want. I need help as all you said about the buttons is accurate, but how does this help me in my wedding or event photography journey?