Greetings from Costa Rica! Thank you so much, Stephen, for this video. English is not my first language and I appreciate your clear, slow pronunciation as well as your step by step instruction.
Thank you so MUCH, Stephen! I bought this camera over a year ago, and have not done much with it because it seemed like there was so much to tackle! But I am heading off to Costa Rica for a birding and wildlife adventure next month, and was determined to be able to use it. I feel MUCH more confident now that I have at least one solid setting in Memory and a better understanding of how to work with the settings. I SUPER appreciate your thoughtful, clear, step-by-step instruction.
So very helpful! I just had your book printed but really love how I can actually watch you do it in a video. I haven't read the book yet, but really looking forward to it. I have been "winging" it too long with out actually understanding cameras and settings like I should. I just got the camera a few days ago and have been so excited. Thank you SO much!
This is a great overall tutorial even that you aren't making landscape with this machine. I was wondering how to get he Focus Point Link on and there it is, among with other great advice. Thank you. @@StephenIngraham
Agreed, but considering that the camera was introduced some 5 years ago and animal/bird eye AF has only recently been perfected in top end Sony A7s, I am still amazed how good it is. It certainly seems to outperform my Sony A7RM5 with 70-200 GM2 lens.
I have found that, for birds in flight, I have more luck aiming the camera zoomed out to 600mm if I simply sight the bird over the top of the camera and blaze away at 24 fps with the focus set to wide, continuous. I found that if you sight over the top of the hot shoe to the top of the lens hood this line is close to the bottom of the frame at 600mm and by holding the camera out in front of me with the tension of the neck strap helping steady the camera I'm able to judge approximately where the top of the frame is. I'm going to make up something more like an open gun sight using the top of the hot shoe and the lens hood as mounting points that should be even better.
@@StephenIngraham Thanks for the reply! Indeed, it seems that whenever you go out with a camera set up for birds in flight they don't arrive until you have given up and set the camera for flowers or butterflies. We do have jackdaws nesting on (and indeed, in) our chimney so they give me some practice (to say nothing of half a winter's worth of kindling when we sweep that chimney)🙂
That was an extremly helpful Video, thanks a lot. I have rented this camera for 3 months to test it and though I have it now for three weeks I am not too happy with it. I am sure it is because I don't know how to use all the functions correctly. Now that I have saved your functions for bird Photography I will give the camera another chance to perform better
@@StephenIngraham Quick query if that's ok. When using flexible spot M how do you move the focus point to a different area of the screen without triggering the short-cuts assigned to the L R U D points of the dial? Thanks.
I have a M3 and my wife was jealous so she got the M4. The telephoto stopped working so she bought another. I dropped that one but it survived with the UV lens breaking. Then months later the telephoto stopped working with the dreaded " turn power off and on" message. We were headed on a trip so she bought another. Come to find we had purchased a warranty program and sent it in to be fixed. They telephoto the lens and now we have two working M4s. I get one now. Love the focusing.
Off to Vietnam next week, will certainly put this in memory on my RX10iv and also my RX100M7, not expecting to do much wildlife shooting but think I will be able to use the settings possibly with some adjustments on some of our touring, day trips and street photography. Much prefer taking these two cameras when travelling than my a9/a7iii with assorted lenses which I use for live music gigs.
Set AF on to AEL button. Spot of hot glue on it makes fast to find and use. AF on the focus Lock button good for low down snaps using the screen tilted.
Wow, this is the first time I have gotten to grips with this camera, all thanks to you. Just tried it and it's the best my pictures have looked. Do you have any others for portraits, landscapes or Macro?
Great to hear! For macro I use the same settings as for birds and wildlife. For landscapes see my ebook on the Sony Rx10iv. Free here psnp.info/psnp_/?p=1525. For portraits I generally just use iAuto. :)
If you mean at the long end of the zoom the most likely culprit is camera motion. Try a faster shutter speed (set the minimum higher) or set ISO to “fast” or “faster”. Practice correct hand holding. The bones of our arms should support the camera, not our muscles…keep your elbows in and under the camera as much as possible. Invest in a monopod…and build a bean bag head (see my video). :)
Excellent video - is there a way you can access the recall screen with all your settings already saved with one button click -if you are on the fly and you want to switch from saved program 1 to 2 fast it’s a bit clunky - you switch off MR and back on and select -or you press Fn click on MR and select - if just like to go straight to one of them with one click
Unfortunately I have never found a way to do that. You can program a button to open the memory function…but you. still have to select which memory you want, so it is to much faster than using the function button. :(
@Mt Top Memory saves all the current settings. Custom sets only save the settings that are part of that function. It is possible to come close to a BIF custom set with the Custom Settings and then save it to a button. I do that. It is not as comprehensive as a saved Memory though. Take a look at the settings available under Custom sets. :)
Is this video a modification to your settings for stationary and BIF that are detailed in your ebook? In other words, have you changed your recommendations? It seems to be a combination of the settings used for Basic and BIF. I have set up two separate (programmed settings based on yur ebook (Memory 1 and 2), and am wondering if they should be tweaked. Your insight is so helpful as I get ready for a trip to Africa.
The video is certainly my latest version but I can’t remember if it is different than my latest version of the ebook. To be safe use the settings in the video.
Thanks for the clarification. I changed the ISO Auto SS to Fast, Metering Mode to Spot Large, turned on Focal Point Link, and Phase Detection with Animal. I think those are the differences I noticed.
Hi again Stephen. I’ve heard people are using clear image zoom to get shots of birds that are far away. Would you recommend this? If so could you do a video on it? Thank you very much
I used to use Clear Image Zoom (CIZ) on occasion, when it was important to get a shot for id or just because I was unlikely to get any closer. In good light and if you keep your expectations reasonable, it works quite well. It actually works best to take close-up of subjects that are not that far away…when you just want to fill the fame, as in tele-macros, or insects, etc. However, the new AI enlargement tools in post processing software (Lightroom, Pixomator Pro, Topaz, On-1, etc) does a better job enlarging a crop to higher resolution, and you have more control. My advice would be to give it a try on a nice sunny day, and see if you are happy with the results. :)
Hi. I tried your setting. Love it. Thank you. But I have one question. How to remove the repeat shot. Always giving me 3 shots. Hope you get what I am saying
it always gives you three shots or it continues to shoot as long as you hold the shutter down. I set my cameras up to take continuous shots…as many as it can while I hold the stutter button down. In practice, in the field, I only shoot burst of 3-5 images of sitting birds or wildlife (to be safe and get the shot I want) but I might take more if the bird or critter is moving much…to try to catch a pose that i like. So having it on continuous shooting is intentional. You can turn that off by setting your camera to ‘single shot’ in menu. Then it will take just one shot each time you press the shutter, and you will have to fully release before the next shot. On the other hand you might have set the camera to HDR or to multi-frame-noise-reduction. The multi-frame-noise-reduction mistake is easy to make on the Sony RX10iv as it is the first “Auto” setting under ISO settings. You want the second Auto setting…that is the normal one. :)
Thanks a heap for the response and explanation. In fact I was still figuring how to get such focus and sharp pic till I saw your post. Now I am loving my bird watching. Appreciate. Will look for more of your tips. Amateur me working on it.
Can I use this camera with the Seek app in my phone to identify birds insects etc. in real time? Or do I have to manually take a shot and transfer the photo to the phone and then open it in the Seek app?
Hi Stephen. Thank you for this video and the details. I just brought this camera and while I was going through this video I do not see the setting Face/Eye AF Set. on Camera 1- Page 6. The last option that I see is Phase Detect Area. Not sure if i am missing anything here. Can you or anyone help me please with this. Thank you
@@Xpandableyouth First you need to check to see if the firmware is up to date in the menu system under settings. I am pretty sure if you google this there will be a video or written instructions. It was honestly so long ago that I did it that I do not remember. :)
hey i have a question and i am hoping someone can help me out here.. I have a sony rx10m4 and i was out shooting a band the other night and for some reason the digital screen says "turn power off and then back on".... I have done it 20 times and it continues to pop up and will not go away.. I have tried all the tips and reset help from the internet.... can anyone help me here and/or tell me why this is happening? I have never dropped this camera, it have never been exposed to any liquids... I would just like for it to work again so i can continue to use it.
Things to try: Remove the card you are using and replace it with a fresh one. Switch batteries. Remove the battery for at least an hour and then try. Make sure the flash is all the way down. Go outside where there is no wifi in reach and try. ??
I have reviewed your video for Setting Programs and followed the procedure again using the function button. The only problem is the fn button does not bring up the Drive Mode at all. Instead it shows Bracketing, Off, 2, 5, or 10 seconds. I can get the Drive Mode on the Menu, but when I select Continuous Lo, I get this message: "This operation or setting not available as follows -- ISO/Multi Frame NR. The remaining commands seem to work; however on your video, all the boxes are highlighted while on mine the Flash Mode, DRO/Auto DHR, and Program (Shoot Mode) are not. The remaining settings in your program seem to set correctly. But how can I get the Drive Mode on the screen and allowing me to work with Continuous Shooting? Do I need to clear all settings from my camera and start over? Please, no, but if so, I would appreciate your guidance. Ruth
Go back to the ISO settings. The top one Auto is Multi-frame noise reduction. The next Auto down is regular Auto. :) You want regular Auto. If that does not cure the problem let me know.
I have followed your program and now all 12 windows on the fn screen are highlighted. However, the final window says MR1 instead of P, and I still cannot get the first window (Drive Mode) to allow anything except 4 bracketing settings; It also says Self timing during Bracketing Off. When I work on the Program setting using the Menu, I did get the Program to set Continuous Lo. How can I get control of this setting using fn? And how can I get the choices to read the same using Menu or fn? Thanks again for your help. Progress is slow, I'm sorry.@@StephenIngraham
@@ruthcrews6308 Can you take a photo of your camera showing the back after pressing the Fn button and send it to me at lightshedder@gmail.com? Clearly there is still something miss set. :)
I forgot to ask you, you put the ISO to fast without saying, what that means! The rest of the ISOs I understand, but, I do not understand what FAST, SLOW or MEDIUM means, please, can you comments on this? Greetings from Germany! Alfredo
The ISO fast, slow, and medium set how quickly the camera increases ISO as the light level changes. Fast means that the camera will favor higher shutter speeds over keeping the ISO low…so in low light situations the ISO will increase rather than the shutter speed going down…which is what I want when shooting active birds. Slow would keep the ISO as low as possible while decreasing the shutter speed to compensate. Medium…well somewhere in the middle.
