The Sony A7 II: The Unofficial Quintessential Guide

If you have used either the [Hand-held Twilight] or the [Anti Motion Blur] SCN mode, you may have already used this function. The factory default is for Multi Frame NR to automatically set the ISO from 100 to 51200, and you won’t know which value will be used until you take a photograph. In P, A, S, or M mode, we prefer to set the ISO manually.

We have found that the best way to determine if the viewfinder is focused for our eyesight is to look at a number or letter that is displayed in the viewfinder and adjust the dial until it is sharp.

A useful command called Zebra will help you avoid blowing out the highlights in your pictures. When Zebra is active, it generates a moving set of diagonal black lines across areas in which a certain light intensity is reached. Videographers commonly use this command, and still photographers can use it too: MENU > Custom Settings (1) > Zebra &

As with DRO, you can use Auto HDR with a Creative Style but not a Picture Effect. When Auto HDR is active and you select a Picture Effect option, the Auto HDR value will change to [D-R Off].

The selected shooting mode will determine whether you are focusing with the open aperture or the working aperture. When you use Sony FE lenses in P and S mode, they are set to their maximum aperture during live preview. As mentioned in chapter 5, these shooting modes use open-aperture metering. FE lenses maintain the widest aperture opening while y

For this feature to work, you must use a Sony Autofocus lens: an FE-mount, E-mount, or A-mount. If you use a legacy lens made by Nikon or Canon, turning the focusing ring won’t activate MF Assist. For these lenses, you need to press the C2 button to increase the magnification.

To avoid this problem, navigate to the High ISO NR command and switch it from the default of [Normal] to either [Low] or [Off]. We use [Off], and if the noise is too annoying, we reduce it with third-party noise reduction software, like Noise Ninja. The command path for controlling in-camera noise reduction is as follows: MENU > Camera Settings

We have used the Hand-held Twilight and Anti Motion Blur predefined scene modes to reduce image noise in dim lighting while doing handheld photography. Our concern about these modes is that they both capture only JPEG files. We recommend that you try both modes to see which suits you best in various scenarios. Although these modes are valuable feat

For one thing, you can see finer details on the viewfinder screen because it has almost double the pixel count. Also, the diopter-adjustment dial on the viewfinder is a boon for people who are nearsighted or farsighted.