Sony a7R III Training Tutorial by Tony Northrup

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:34 A7RIII Manual 00:48 USB Charging 01:18 Battery 01:43 Memory Card Configuration 05:08 Choosing Memory Cards 05:57 You Saved My Butt 06:00 Buy Cheap SD Cards 06:44 Ports 07:39 Taking a Picture 09:02 Diopter 09:44 Raw Compressed 11:18 Back-Button Focus 14:06 APS-C Super 35 17:10 Focus Magnifier 18:12 Reviewing A Picture 19:25 Auto Review 19:52 Rate Pictures 21:01 Modes 21:45 Bulb Mode 22:36 Remote Shutter Trigger 22:56 DOF Preview 23:54 Books! 25:18 Shutter Modes 26:25 Continuous Shooting Length 27:20 Focusing Modes 28:24 Focus Points 31:26 Manual Focus 31:56 Changing ISO 33:26 Exposure Compensation 33:55 Bracketing 35:07 Bracketing 36:15 Self-Timer 37:09 Timelapse 40:00 Interval Timer 40:28 e-Front Curtain Shutter 42:02 Adapted Lenses 43:26 Adapted Lens Recommendations 44:23 Silent Shooting 45:20 Copyright Info 46:28 Format Card 47:05 My Menu 47:46 Video 48:45 File Format 50:00 Dual Cards 50:28 Slow Motion 51:08 Audio Levels 51:52 Peaking Levels 53:19 Zebras 53:58 White Balance 54:27 Metering Modes 54:52 Custom Settings 56:59 Pixel Shift 59:14 Wi-Fi 1:05:37 Bluetooth 1:07:21 Recommended Settings 1:07:27 No Beeps 1:07:49 AF Illuminator 1:08:23 Enable Monitor 1:09:28 Function Menu 1:10:18 Lens Suggestions 1:12:17 Flash Suggestion 1:14:15 Tripods 1:14:41 Mobile

How to shoot continuous frames with the A9 and external flash, my findings (by Alin Popescu)

How to shoot continuous frames with the A9 and external flash, my findings
by Alin Popescu – Sony Image Ambassador, Romania

My very first frustrations with the A9 and event photography was the use of flash in different situations. This was actually my only complain about this magnificent camera.

What bothered me most, except the lag before the shot was taken, was that it was almost impossible for me to take continuous sequences with flash, without getting a miss or two, and by that I mean a flash-missfire or out-of-sync during the continuous shoot. I knew Sony cameras can do it, since the launch of the A7R III back in London when we shoot at 10fps with Profoto gear.

So today I tried everything I could, with every setting I imagined it might have a “saying” in this situation and I’ve finally found the “perfect” solution. I’m not saying I’ve discovered the wheel, maybe I was too stupid and did something wrong before, but trust me, I’m no beginner at this.

What I did?

First of all, I’ve upgraded all my equipment to the latest firmware. So this is what I’ve used:

Sony A9 – v. 2.0
Sony Zeiss Distagon 35mm f 1.4 – v. 02
Godox Wistro AD600B – v. 2.5
Godox X1T S – v. 16

Even if the Godox is the TTL version, for consistency between frames, I prefer to go full manual and set the trigger accordingly to shoot at 1/32 power.

A9 was on continuous M and Mechanical Shutter (the only way you can use flash on the A9), at 1/125s and F4, with an ambient value at -2.0 EV so I could clearly see if a no-flash shot happened during my sequence. ISO was set to 100 for no variation either and focus was AF-C.

I’ve filmed this with my iPhone on Slow-Mo at 240 fps, just to be able to “see” if flash popped at every shutter opening.

What I’ve discovered?

The lag we all noticed before is still present, but only at the first frame of the sequence. You can see in slow-mo, the complete black-out of the LCD, just before the first flash was fired, and then no black-out or any other lag. I’ve tested also afterwards if focus is working accordingly and it did, moving the camera to close and distant objects, did the trick.

What is to be solved? This mysterious blackout at the initial start of shooting. I have no explanation for this, since it wasn’t a TTL sequence I could blame on, as the flash/camera needed to perform pre-ttl flash to measure everything. Hope Sony will give us a no-lag system soon, but until then I’m happy I can shoot sequences without missed frames.

Please let me know of your findings!
aLLin