Lessons
Class Introduction
05:40 2Sony A7 Mark II: Overview
15:53 3Photography Basics
07:36 4Basic Controls
08:12 5Panorama Controls
04:44 6Mode Dial and Exposure Compensation
10:47 7Custom Key Settings
06:27 8Focus Area
08:45Multi Interface Shoe
02:31 10Back Side: Navigation
11:02 11Function Button: Modes
22:40 12Display Options
10:18 13Left and Right Side: Navigation
15:26 14Bottom and Front: Navigation
03:45 15Sony Lens Options
15:37 16Camera Menu: 1
09:29 17Camera Menu: 2
06:01 18Camera Menu: 3
02:42 19Camera Menu: 4
05:02 20Camera Menu: 5
08:31 21Camera Menu: 6
08:46 22Camera Menu: 7
11:32 23Camera Menu: 8
05:39 24Camera Menu: 9
07:16 25Custom Set-Up: 1
04:42 26Custom Set-Up: 2
05:33 27Custom Set-Up: 3
09:19 28Custom Set-Up: 4
04:24 29Custom Set-Up: 5
09:35 30Custom Set-Up: 6
03:53 31Custom Set-Up: 7
07:12 32Custom Set-Up: 8
02:41 33Wireless Options
03:44 34Application and Play Menus
17:42 35Set-Up Menu: 1-6
16:01 36Camera Operation
09:21Lesson Info
Custom Key Settings
On top we have a couple of custom buttons and throughout the camera we have a serious of custom buttons that we're going to be able to re program and I highly encourage you to go re program these buttons to make him work for whatever it is that you want to do, but as we go through this class, I'm going to work with the camera as if it just came out of the camera box from the factory, so if you want to go in and re program them custom key settings page seven in the setup menu will allow you to go in there and let's take a look and discuss in length at every one of these details. Just kidding folks were not kind of kind every one of these, but these air the different things that you can set the buttons to now different buttons will have different limitations on which ones they can go to, and I'm going to really simplify this and we're going to talk about one feature now there's this one feature called I a f that is kind of unusual and it doesn't have a place in the menu if you go look fo...
r I a f and the menu it's not there, but you can program a button to use with it and we put together a little video to show you how this works so let's go ahead and take a look at that. All right? Another very unique feature on this camera is the ability for this camera to discern just the eye in a photograph. So right now you can see caitlin has her body turned ninety degrees to the camera and we have wide area focusing set, and the camera always wants to focus on the first thing that it reaches. And in this case, that is caitlin's right shoulder. And if we take the photo, her eyes and her face is going to be a little out of focus, we want to focus on her eye for the sharpest focus. So what we need to do is we need to turn on I a f and this is a custom function that we're gonna program to one of the buttons in the camera, so I need to go program this in my custom key settings, and what I'm going to do is I'm gonna program this a f m f button by going to the custom key settings, coming down to the imf button, and then I'm gonna look for the I a f, which is right there, and I'm gonna turn that feature on state says I a f now, when I press down on the shutter release, it still does the same thing and it's going to focus on her shoulder. But if I press down on the a m a f m f button you can see that it's picked her eye out and so kaitlin when you just kind of turn your body around a little bit and turn your head a little bit from side to side and let's see if we can track the I and so it's picking one eye and yeah that's good picking the other eye now go ahead and walk backwards a little bit and we'll see how far back we can track her eyes and so she's back good uh ten twelve fifteen feet another few steps keep going I think we've lost her now so go ahead and come on back towards the camera and there it's picked up the eye and so now we can shoot a picture any time we want and it's really focusing on her I go ahead and give us like a forty five degree turn just turn a little bit and it's still picking up her nearest I and so very good feature for portrait photography because the eyes what's most important and what you want and focus so very good feature. So here is the photo that I just snapped in that little video and in case you're wondering well john how technically sharpe is her eye well let's go in and take a look and see how sharp that is can you pick out the eyelashes so it does a really good job at picking out the eye so for sharpness of the eye it's really nice now if you want it focus on something other than the eye it's nice to have that custom button so that you can quickly jump off of that if it's not what you want but it does work and this is one of those new pieces of technology that very few other cameras have it's not exclusive to sony by any means but it's something that a lot of cameras don't have but a very good way of getting portrait's in there and that's one of the things that you can program to many of the different custom buttons on the camera. All right, so let's talk about what these buttons do inherently as you get the camera out of the box custom one is set to do white balance and to be honest with you I think this is not a bad choice for this button you might want to move it around a little bit depends on how often you change your white balance. White balance is really important because it is the color that our cameras are set to record in at least a zafar is the type of light that it thinks that it's working with and so there are various types of natural light. For instance, daylight cloudy and shade are all slightly different color tones the most unusual one that we deal with on a regular basis is the incandescent light. We also have fluorescent lights which have a different color to them and flash which is of course very clean and perfect. And so if you were getting unusual colors, then this would be a great place to go to adjust for those colors because of the different lighting situations. Now there are a couple of other mohr custom modes that you can put the camera on. One is an underwater one. If you are going to be putting this camera in an underwater housing using it in that environment, we have a color temperature filter where you can actually dial in the exact number on the kelvin scale. So for instance, if you were working with multiple photographers on a project and you needed to have exact color, you could set that number two sixty, two hundred if you needed it set there we have a custom mode which allows us to photograph a white sheet of paper or something neutral in color and have the camera figure out what the color issue is and fix it right there in the camera. So there's, just a little bit of calibration that you need to do in that regard. And then there is auto white balance where the camera is looking at the scene in its entirety, trying to figure out what color light sources illuminating the seen and to be honest with you, auto white balance does a pretty good job most of the time. So it's my default position in most situations, but I will go in and change it from time to time, depending on the needs and so that's. One of those things that it depends on how far off you are as to whether you want to change it. Now. The other factor I do have to throw in here is it does make a difference if you are shooting j peg or raw. If you are a raw shooter, white balance is not as important, because you can adjust it later with no damage for the final image. If you shoot j pegs, you need to be a little bit more up on your game on keeping it set properly.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Diane Schulman
INCREDIBLE Class! I couldn't find anything on the internet that truly explained this camera, explained what it can and can't do and what accessories would work with it. I have had my Sony A7II for awhile now, but was so overwhelmed by it, I rarely even took it out of its case. It was just easier to use my Canon 5D III. After this class, I am so excited to finally practice with and use my Sony. John is an incredible teacher. He is thorough, professional, fun and knowledgeable! Buying this class was the best investment!!! I feel like I just got the gift of a new camera because I can finally use my Sony!!! Thanks John and Thanks Creative Live!!!
Enrique Vega es
I stored my Sony A7II for more than a year since I've been Canon's user for 7 years and I felt unsure of taking this new camera which implied a different menu system, different functions, a little bit intimidating. Finally, I took a bit of valor, put my camera next to the computer monitor for then start watching this guide and I spent a great time actually. I'm amazed at how helpful and clear is the sequence of the chapters. It was enough to get to chapter ten to know all the basic controls and start taking pictures with an equivalent confidence of my good old Canon, or even better since in the chapter 8th I learned how accurate and easy to use is the focusing system, either, manual or auto (For stills I've always used manual focusing). Very informative, enjoyable and now I became a new fan of the mirrorless cameras, at the point that I'm considering to buy another two :D
VeraInAlbania
John is an excellent teacher! In fact his Fundamentals of Digital Photography 2014 was the first ever class I watched on CreativeLive, and since then I'm in love with his teaching style as well as with CreativeLive! I bought my Sony A7II in March 2015 and when I found out that John is giving a class on it I was very excited! As I expected I learnt many secrets about my camera which I had been using for 9 months already. For example about the option of focusing on the eyes, setting the buttons, making panoramas etc. The camera is still smarter than me I must admit. I am enjoying my Sony even more now since after the class I feel much more confident. Thank you John and CreativeLive for such an opportunity! I would recommend to everyone who has a Sony a7II camera and the other cameras in this line to watch this class. It's a concentrate of useful information, very detailed and to the point. I spent two days just watching the class and practicing new knowledge with my camera straight away. I had to postpone all the other life chores. And I would be ready to watch the class again after some time as it's a professional camera which needs a lot of practice!
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