Customizing Sony Cameras & Other Tips!

Sony cameras are highly customizable... which is good news, because the default settings don't work that well for us.
Here's how we setup ours for both stills and video. I've also included lots of tips, such as third-party batteries and USB charging, that have helped us through the years. Enjoy, share, and add your own suggestions in the comments!
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[@TonyAndChelsea]

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[@123brummer]

31:30 - "Screw advertising, right?" - Tony Northrup March 8th 2016

[@bcarr1009]

This video is one I have been searching for, for ages. Thank you very much for making this. I have been fumbling around with my A7RII for the last month now. I knew that I could customize it better, but never took the time. Thank you this has been a big help.

[@FlowmotionStudios]

Compliments to Tony. You are great on camera. Easy to follow, well spoken and very clear on your points. Great delivery.

[@Enrique-the-photographer]

Another great tutorial Tony, the A7-II (with the 55mm f/1.8) is my first digital camera, two weeks ago I got the 70-200 f/4 and I couldn’t be happier, I thought about getting the new 70-200 f/2.8 but the cost didn’t justify the results that I might get, especially since I’m not a professional, I just shoot for fun, you’ve made my transition from film to digital much easier than I expected. Thanks again and CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING THE LIST OF THE 13 BEST PHOTOGRAPHY CHANNELS ON YOU TUBE. Rick.

[@MarkDiamond]

Thanks for putting in the time and effort for the video Tony

[@MrCMHUDDY]

Thanks for the video, Tony. The A7RII is a great price now it's older, so this guide is still very helpful for me, as I'm taking the plunge this week for an upgrade. Cheers!

[@mikaelschulin4315]

Love your videos Tony. The best and most independent reviewer and tutor out there! Found your customized settings on the A7RII almost identical with mine. Btw speaking of apps, there's a focus brackining app which seems to work beautifully with e g macro.

[@GynEndoscopy]

Thank you very much. Very informative and well presented. I just bought your Stunning Digital Photography book and indeed I found it very useful.

[@TheJimmyiverson]

your tutorial is very thorough and helpful, thank you

[@DrErickLopez]

Thanks Tony! Just made the transition from canon to Sony and this video helped immensely.

[@Penny62Lee]

This was very helpful! I have the A7RII and I was able to follow and understand. Great job!

[@RobertJohnLora]

Fantastic video Tony! Thanks for the helpful tips.

[@lynneftw]

I found you informative and these tips useful for my a6300. And now I need to take a nap because your voice was butter.

[@danev1969]

Tony. As always, very informative and easy to listen to. My Sony A7 says thanks too.

[@MrPedalpaddle]

Just a note on EV Reset - Tony suggested it might be especially helpful on the a6000, but I was not able to find it as a menu option on either the a6000 or a6300; it is an option on the a7R2.

[@michaelcoode1689]

Ive just bought a a7ii I’m a novice but love your way of teaching thank you so much for your advice

[@RezaMolavi]

Tony, Thank you for the tips and for the video. I have been using the Commlite adapter ($70 Amazon) and have found it to be faster, more compatible, made of excellent quality, and all-around a fantastic adapter for Canon to Sony lenses. They are releasing a Nikon version soon as well. Metabones have priced themselves out of the market (as lensbaby has done). I thought to pass it along.

[@AntiStressKit]

This was super helpful - Thank you!

[@Ranblv]

This video is pure gold for me. helped a lot.

[@harveylouis445]

Very informative video. Thanks.

[@greengraycolor]

I use DSTE batteries bought from Amazon.co.uk. I use them for over a year. I did not notice any decrease in capacity. Regarding battery life, with my shooting, up to 300 shots a day, usually 50, batteries last between a day to week, pretty much what official battery life indicates. I shot DSLR long time ago so I don't have a habit of keeping my camera on when I don't shoot.

[@Kozitaju]

Still helpful video in 2021 ! Thanks Tony !!!

[@mosheovadya]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[@lucascimino1821]

Very good breakdown, thank you!

[@eggbertsmith]

You can never have too much sweater Moire. It's just fabulous, delicious, and fun for the whole family.

[@danleal9711]

Thank you very much this was very helpful

[@Schmavie]

Thanks for making this. Very helpful. I also watched the Sony a6500 video since I just got one. Both of these are helping me get to know my new camera very well. :-)

[@vinozorolla7504]

Hi Tony! Thank you so much for all the great videos. I'm always looking forward to see your new videos. Couldn't seem to find your review on sigma 24-35. Are you going to review that lens? Thanks in advance!

[@mangoldm]

I've had my a6000 for a year and I still got a ton out of this video. Great advice.

[@JohnCBurzynski]

Thanks for the video. After seeing this I will definitely put off getting a Sony mirrorless. It seems to me to be not worth the hassle.

[@xnamkcor]

I like how whatever newer or more expensive Sony camera you have has an almost completely different software environment than mine even though all it would take is a software update to give my camera a lot of the options on yours.

[@ccbphoto]

I learn a ton from your videos! Thanks much!

[@vincei2006]

Great videos Tony. Thanks!

[@macaruchi276]

Great video. I have a comment regarding adapters. All my lenses are L series Canon. I tried two adapters on my A7 II: Metabones and Photodiox. Both do the job, almost identical. Since they aren't perfect, I would never, ever expend an extra $340 dollars for the Metabones. The only complaint about the $60 (when I bought it) Photodiox, is that there is a bit of wiggle movement on the lens side of the adapter. Nothing that I have find problematic, just a bit annoying. But thinking on the price difference, makes me feel better.

[@Diatonic5th]

Great video! Thanks for posting.

[@Noparticularcontext]

Tony the only problem I found with back button focusing on the a7rii is it will allow the shutter to fire when it hasn't got focus when set to release, when I don't use back button focus it always grabs focus before allowing the shutter to fire. Just a little observation I've had when using it.

[@KaoukabiJaouad]

looking forward to your review on the a6300 and the other lenses recently released by Sony , great video by the way ....

[@iamfrankstallone]

This is like the hidden manual for Sony's A7 line-up. They should be paying you to do this, if they don't already. =) FYI you may want to add the different Sony camera models that this tutorial covers. I'll tell you why. I remembered watching this video once before I bought my A7R II. When I bought the camera, came back to your KZbin channel and searched A7R II I couldn't find this video. I thought about what other keyword might work so I simply tried 'sony custom' and it showed up second in the list.

[@PaulHofreiter]

I appreciate the recessed movie button since the last time I used a Sony 6 years ago, the NEX5n, I hit the movie button alllll of the time. Now that I got an a7ii I love that they made it so you really have to mean to press the button.

[@cgsomafx]

Great video Tony... am seeing your most of video.... Can you please make an episode about how to sell photographs & where?? What is the best way to sell the images on-line..... If you want, you can reply my question....

[@lindamossberg3221]

I have to say, Tony, you're a hoot! I'll be checking out many more of your videos. I have a Sony DSC -H50, which I've been told is a dinosaur, but I love it. Keep up the great work!

[@abduld]

love this but really wish it had a table of contents in the description like the others

[@kokoyap]

thank you, very useful!

[@johnramos7024]

Thanks a lot for these very informative tutorials. I just converted my Sony A7M2 for back button focus. I also have the center button for Eye AF. Question - if I engaged the EyeAF and it acquired the subject, can I fire the shutter right there and then or do I need to release the EAF and focus the subject again with the BBF.

[@arrazi666]

There is also an AEL button on the A6k.. fyi Tony.. I also set that button for back button auto focus..

[@AngelWisper02]

Thank you Mr.Northrup

[@rafi6666g]

wow thanks great job

[@AhhTheBonnie]

Love your Vids mate!

[@spytromics]

Hi, Tony. Thanks for the tips! I'm glad to see you're a fellow debadger. If I spend $$$ on a camera, I don't need to give free advertising. I've found that black gaffer tape works reasonably well. I cut it to size. I generally need to replace the tape every few months. It's not as semi-permanent as a Sharpie, but there's no clean-up. Thanks again. You do a great job.

[@donpedroelbuey8151]

I left the Zebra mode on for a few days and it does help identify overexposed areas in the real time image but sometimes (for whatever reason) no amount of adjustments will completely eliminate 100% of the stripes.

[@christopherlange4203]

Tony, thanks for the detail! Do you mind sharing what tv monitor you are using and how you set it up so you could film using the monitor and your power point looked great on it?

[@studio96vienna64]

Eye af works amazing in af-c, focus area wide, this is what sony says, and i have 100% keepers in studio work.

[@elvis_chen]

Super useful tips!

[@donpedroelbuey8151]

I don't have a DSLR, just a Sony RX100iii, but it seems to share many of the features you talk about here (like the Zebra thing, that was cool). I don't want to be a pro, I just want to be able to maximize the quality of my photos/videos, mostly on backpacking trips. Being able to whip out the camera, make needed adjustments and shoot an image all in a timely fashion would really be helpful. I am buying your "Stunning Digital" book in hopes some of basics will sink in and hopefully become second nature while out on the trail.

[@PavlosPapageorgiou]

Yup, very useful tips. You do need quick access to silent shutter on/off because it'll ruin shots on some kinds of fluorescent light and you have to chimp to verify that. The EVF won't tell you. As for front curtain shutter, you can probably leave it on. It should be possible to reset the sensor instantly as there's no data transfer. One thing I found missing is it's not easy to switch from RAW to small JPEG (it's two settings) or from 35mm to APS-C stills. There's also no "small raw" option. I'd like an easy way to switch between full-size RAW and some sort of small format for taking snapshots that I don't intend to edit.

[@nikanj]

I wish you could assign the "Live View Display" setting to a custom button. If you use manual flashes the live view with appear drastically underexposed because it isn't considering the flash so you want to turn Live View Display off when using manual flashes and turn it on when you're not. If your using TTL though the Live View Display shows the correct final exposure.

[@GregerBurman]

Thanks for covering the Metabones + Canon that I was wondering about after the other video. Bet you already had this one filmed. The moire shirt was mesmerizing. 8)

[@andresgarzonmediamanager2561]

tips usb charging, is perfect, muchas gracias

[@PhotoReddy]

Tony - a word of caution in regards to "topping off" the battery in the camera. If you are using the camera as a battery charger, you run the very real risk of burning out the charging circuit in the camera and you now have a HUGE repair bill - instead of using a $10-$20 external charger. speaking from experience, I had this happen to me on a trip and burned out a $400 camera that was going to cost $200 to repair. I ALWAYS recommend using an external charger. Just an FYI...

[@bt10ant]

Tony -- Once you get some good hands-on time with the A7Riii, we'd like to know if these customizations are still good for that camera body. Looking forward to hearing the full, detailed report on that one. I'm pre-ordered for it. Thanks.

[@Drvudoo]

Silent mode is a full electronic shutter, like video. Electronic front shutter will activate a mechanical rear shutter. Great tips Tony. That record button was a result of many people complain that the record button was easy to press. :-)

[@RobCollins2015]

Impressive stuff. Two points. 1) I think it is pretty crazy owning a Sony camera 'without' a dual battery charger. They are only made by third parties but I have never had a problem. For A/C charging I like the Blumax because it has an LCD readout - for usb charging I use the Kingma because it is incredibly small. 2) I think your setting for zebras showing something towards overexposure should be 100+ instead of 100. Incidentally by my reckoning the 100 zebras show up at least 1.5 stops before a raw still is actually blown. They are even more conservative than the histogram. I cant find anyone who knows what triggers a 100+ zebra (such as an RGB number.)

[@CoffeeD_1]

i like to have the backbutton af on the one side and eye af on the other really convenient and easy to remember

[@juliangang8690]

Hi Tony, thank you for your Sony tutorial! Most of the other camera gurus do tutorials that takes all cameras function as generally the same, except for you! I have a Sony Cybershot DSC-HX400v. If you do any tutorials specifically to this camera please let me know about it!... Julian

[@ericnicolas6961]

Hi Tony , many thanks for this video ! just a question , can we lock the aperture and shutter speed weels when shooting in manual mode because i often change it by accident when using my camera . thank you

[@antant06]

I highly recommend using your dials to move the AF focus point. It's way, way faster than just using the up/down/left/right buttons to move your AF points.

[@23wiski]

antant06 how do you set the dial to move focus point?

[@taodude4221]

as to debadging a very simple solution is to use gaffers tape. I use this & sometimes to guarantee my lens shade or cap doesn't get lost. Better than duct tape since it stays on really well but doesn't interfere or cause damage to the surface its on when you remove it.

[@dalibormrkic7808]

Tony did you try to use front and rear dial (aperture, shutter dials) to change focusing point? I see you have it set to C2 and then you have to change grip to use directional pad, to me is easier to use front and rear dial.

[@hunterm9]

Ha, the first thing I noticed when you opened the Fn menu was that it looked similiar to mine. I paused the video, and the only thing different between yours and mine is the different placement of face detect/drive mode.

[@jimbeam4736]

I don´t comment very often (because I am embarrased by my nick name) but I´d like to thank you for these VERY insightful videos. They are so interesting - the technical ones, the tutorials ones (especialle post processing) and the fun ones too :D Keep it up, Tony&Chelsea!

[@TonyAndChelsea]

+Jim Beam Thanks, Jim, if that is your real name :).

[@DavetheUberSlave]

Tony! Please tell me that you don't put your Peak design clips on to the original Sony triangles anymore.

[@longboardluv2]

Thanks tony!

[@beerg1]

Hey Tony! I see that you have some kind of extra button on top of the movie record button, what is that? Is it custom made or can u buy somewhere? I would love one on my a6000 :) Thanks!

[@khronokraze]

lots of great tips, not just for Sony, thanks. just felt like chiming on this as soon as you mentioned debadging.. some branding is too large and obnoxious..agreed.. I'd say if you had the $$ for a Leica SL.. some people are proud of the Leica badging and some others prefer to cover and keep subtle.. i think the latter cause they may not want somebody who recognizes the luxury brand to jump them for it... regardless.. I find it strange and silly they had to double badge/brand the front of the SL.. as if the iconic red dot wasn't enough.. they have an even larger LEICA spelled out across the top front of the camera.. it's like "Hey, Leica overhere..." .." ..oh, btw, in case you weren't sure, it's a LEICA..."... "... did I forget to mention this is LEICA? yeah, it's a LEICA... "...overkill.. debadging seriously needed in this particular case

[@section31]

Efront shutter really screws up my photos at high shutter speeds. I get that banding

[@ricardosoares5384]

I have an a7 mark ii, and I´m having a hard time trying to fine tuning it for video, specially the focus, any tips?

[@jacobkennerley123]

Hi. Sorry it's not about the video but is there any chance that you could do a review of the sigma 150-500 at an airport. Thanks!

[@taodude4221]

With BBF which btw is wonderful, can anyone tell me a workaround to lock exposure since the regular shutter button on top of the camera not only normally locks focus & shoots but also locks exposure when pressed 1/2 way down

Hey, I am trying to activate the manual EVF switching on my Sony a7II but I can not find the option in the button settings. Is this due to firmware or does it just not work on the a7II?

[@phil8957]

1. Does the a6500 have the reset EV Comp setting? I cant find it.... 2. At 18:40 you talk about a shortcut key for moving the flexible focus point. What is that shortcut option called? Thank you

[@paulmoss4199]

Hi Tony, I cannot find the "Reset EV Comp" setting on my A6000, does it have this option?

[@ktran137]

Is the EVF setting on the A7ii? I can’t find it

[@fotojaap]

I wonder, can the Sony A6000 use the OSS from a Canon lens connected with a metabones adapter?

[@bhaskarpatel7233]

Nice

[@VernalFilm]

Tony, can you please let us know which camera you used for shooting this video so we can avoid purchasing that moire-machine please? It reminds about my Canon 70D on 720p 60fps mode.

[@jaisbr]

It looks like Tony has magical power coming from his chest like a care bear

[@greysuit17]

Moiré Power!!!!

[@reddawn87]

+Jai Seeber Dang I didn't notice until you mentioned it. Now can't unsee it.. =\

[@jaisbr]

+reddawn87 the only people who notice are those that spend hours watching camera review videos :/

[@TheMichael408]

Stamina

[@Palshoej]

Great to se that you are testing a camera from the new brand, is it called Sony? How can it be that I have never heard of the camera brand before?

[@babthooka]

Liked and commented. Well deserved.

[@dgrano20]

How do I set the manual switch for From Live view to EVF on Sony A7II. The sensor is quite annoying and simply making the LCD go black isnt a solution.

[@phillalonde1509]

I think you are mistaken At 26:32 you mention that the sony A6000 has feature "reset ev comp" I have an A6000 and I do not see this feature anywhere no big deal just a heads up.

[@stanislavvartanyan9430]

Why program drive mode to an item in the FN menu, if it is readily available as the LEFT press on the rear dial?

[@kamczak89]

Because you can change the left button to something else.

[@VictorGonzalez-gv1mn]

I was trying to assign a custom button on the a6000 to turn on/off on the viewfinder but it wasn't an option. I even switched it from auto to monitor. Still nothing! How can I do this?

[@JamesHan81]

Tony... i'm sure you know, but just in case... when i move focus points, i use the 2 scroll wheels (shutter and aperture) to move the AF area vertically and horizontally. once you are used to it, can absolutely be worked into your workflow.

[@TonyAndChelsea]

+James Han OK, I'll try switching to that method. I can see that it might be faster.

[@JamesHan81]

+Tony Northrup following the rule of thirds, i can switch from left third to right third faster than the joysticks on my 1d which always takes a lot of clicks.

[@josecerino8330]

no manual EVF switching with custom button on a6000

[@DirkMoeller]

I shoot full time and only use the two original batteries that came with my A7R and A7II - all other batteries (a dozen) are third party and they work flawlessly for almost two years now. That's all.

[@kylewolfe_]

+Dirk Moeller Which brand?

[@DirkMoeller]

Kyle Wolfe They're labeled "Patona" - For NP-FW50 1080mAh 7.8Wh - bought them on amazon

[@cloggedaorta]

As of firmware 4.01 my A7II doesn't have the option to shortcut the Viewfinder/Monitor toggle. Can anyone assist me on that?

[@Heli4213]

Tony, quick question which focus point would you use for shooting airshows and like the Blue Angels which focus point is best having trouble having trouble figuring that out?? Sony A77 Mii body

[@TonyAndChelsea]

If they're flying, i would leave on all AF points.

[@levarirene]

Super

[@thesteveprichard]

Bought the "Stunning Digital Photography" book on Kindle, learning a lot from it, thanks, did NOT purchase the musky smelling T-Shirt from your website, sorry, may in the future when t-shirts are washed(he, he), bought the FE 7200 f4 lens for my a6300, thanks so much for the reviews! -love your youtube-ish ness! Question: what's the next youtube? God bless Chelsea. And Tony.

[@kcoleinvelos]

For proper USB batteries, check out Anker.