Sony focus settings for bird and wildlife photography with SONY A7RIV camera and 200-600 lens

My recommended focus settings and techniques for shooting pin sharp images of animals and birds with the Sony A7RIV paired with the 200-600 G lens from Sony with Ruan Davey.
.....and to avoid camera shake, remember to use a tripod when ever possible!!
This video is really aimed at newish birding enthusiasts who might be considering to upgrade to this more affordable and versatile combo, (as compared to say the A1 with a prime lens)….I discuss some my preferred focus settings, for shooting wildlife and birds on this combo but also common to most Sony Alpha full frame cameras. This is not a detailed technical review of the focus settings and not aimed at seasoned professionals.
I’ve shot on Sony cameras for many years but only recently purchased the A7RIV and 200-600 in May this year and love it so far!
I’ve included some wildlife and birding pics shot with the A7RIV in Etosha National Park towards the end of the video.
Hope you may find it interesting!
My Photo and Video Gear and where to buy them:
Sony A7RIV Camera. (Primary camera) amzn.to/3tm33Xn
Sony ZVE10 Camera. (B Roll and vlogging camera) amzn.to/3PC75oR
Sony vlogging handgrip and tripod. amzn.to/3HJgw3T
Sony FE 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G Lens amzn.to/3DYdYeM
Sony 11mm 1.8 Lens
Tamron F2.8/ 28-75 Lens. amzn.to/3A7v1d9
GoPro Hero 9 Camera. amzn.to/3fXgFFv
IPhone 11
DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone
GoPro the Handler Floating Handgrip
Gopro ACMPM-001 Crocodile Clip
Miliboo Tripod with Fluid head
Manfrotto Tripod
Joby GorillaPod
My Video Editing Tools:
Ipad Pro
MacBook M1 - Pro
My Video and Photo Editing Software:
LumaFusion 2.4 on IOS
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Adobe Photoshop
Canva
My Music:
StoryBlocks on LumaFusion 2.4
Epidemic Sound
My Studio Lighting:
Andoer Softbox light set

[@adelenell1411]

Jesse and I love your video, very interesting and beautiful photos!

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Thanks sus!

[@lydiad9658]

Thanks for keeping it simple. Very informative, especially, the second half and how to get sharp images at night. Stunning images!

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks Ma!

[@deniseockhuizen1517]

Wow Ruan!!...this is awesome...thank you for sharing the video!!..love the camera!!...enjoy the beautiful birds!!...really amazing!!

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks Denise!

[@arunhvk]

Great help ❤. Thank you from India.

[@isabelladavis1363]

Thank you for sharing this valuable information much appreciated

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Glad it was helpful!

[@KaustavMajumder]

It drives me nuts when I am trying to focus on a bird, and the camera just keeps focusing on the leaves. Lost quite a few good shots that way. I will try the expanded spot as you have pointed out. Thank you.

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Welcome, let me know how it goes

[@photographersfreedom]

I started watching this video, looking for info about autofocus settings for my Sony a6400. I thought....hey, this guy looks like Ruan! Great video buddy. Thanks for the tips. I just go my 200-600mm today. So far, I love it! Going out early tomorrow to put it through its paces again. Just trying to get my autofocus settings right so I can shoot birds in flight. The a6400 won't allow my to choose tracking flexible spot when i have Animal eye AF turned on. That sucks!

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Hey Barry, I find that focus area “wide” works well (without tracking -on) for BIF with the A7R4. Not sure about the A6400 though. I find tracking works better for bigger, slower moving animals, with the A7R4 specifically, but not so much for BIF. But the faster action cameras like A1 and A9 work well with tracking on I’ve been told. I think the A6400 is also good for faster action

[@suesokoloski6644]

I have the same camera that you do. We just got the big 200 to 600 MM and starting to learn how to use this. We are just beginners and yes watching KZbin videos helps a lot.

[@pawelmod3292]

Thank you for the video. It is always nice to hear about someone’s else experience. You have specifically mentioned that you are shooting in manual. I believe that you are shooting in manual + auto iso, correct? Have you ever tried to shot in aperture priority with auto iso min ss mode? If yes, why you still prefer to shot manual? Thx!

[@reggio565]

Thank you thank you

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Welcome!

[@migueltabora]

Great! Thankyou! 👏🏻

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

You're welcome 😊

[@philipgowdy]

Straight to the point...Brilliant.

[@90den90]

Thanks for the video it's so informative.. My question regarding which sd card i should use according to speed

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

thank you for the feedback! If you're looking for the fastest possible SD cards for your Sony A7r4 to take full advantage of the fast UHS-2 slots, then I would recommend the Sony SF-G Tough Series cards. They have write speeds of up to 299MB/s and read speeds of up to 300MB/s. Alternatively, I like using the SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-2 cards which can write at 260MB/s and read up tp 300MB/s and are more affordable than the Sony cards. Hope that helps!

[@EagleTastic]

Hi great video. I was wondering is that Miliboo tripod head you are using in this video any good? I've never heard of thhat brand before. I'd like to be able to track wildlife for photos but also video with this same camera and lens set up and am looking around for a decent video head that's also on the compact size for travel/ backpacking?

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Hi, yes I’m very happy with the miliboo tripod and head. I also sometimes place the head onto my beanbag using the head screw so that I can place the camera in the car door. Good for shooting animals and birds from inside the car. I’ve travelled with this kit to South Africa, Namibia, and the UAE and found it light and compact. Fits into my suitcase. Hope you find one you like!

[@OthmarsVlog]

excellent 👍🎉🎈

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Thank you!

[@medsahrawi5357]

شكرا لك

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Welcome!