Within the AF system with the a1 II, you might need to change the focus area depending on what you are trying to photograph. You can choose Stable (For static or slow-moving subjects), Standard (The default option), or Responsive (For rapid-moving subjects that are erratic in their behavior). For example, when I know I am trying to photograph a specific bird flying, I will use either 2 or 1 so my AF system feels more “sticky.” and sticks with my target subject more aggressively.
Changing the Color Space of your Sony a1 II
While Sony prides itself on its smaller and portable (but extremely powerful) mirrorless cameras, there are times when a vertical battery grip can make a big difference. While you can look to some more affordable 3rd party battery options, I don’t recommend them as you never know if they were built to the exact specifications that Sony lays out for its cameras. While customizing a camera is a very personal thing, I do understand just how time-consuming it can be.
Once you have done that, it will ask you to pair a new remote with the camera or select a list of remotes you have already paired with the a1 II. Talk about upping the quality of those work Zoom calls! You know you are good to go if you don’t see the “Dancing Ants” or Zebra lights flashing on any part of your frame. Because it is harder to recover blown-out highlights with video, Zebra can be a helpful tool. Your three options are Auto, Mechanical Shutter, or Electronic Shutter.
S&Q Rec Frame Rate – Here, you want to choose the frame rate at which the video will be recorded. It is important to remember that the larger the bitrate, color pallet, and quality, the larger the video file size. One of the most exciting new features of the Sony a1 II is the new dedicated AI/AF Processor that is designed explicitly for subject identification and AF acquisition. AF Tracking for Speed Change – When the AF system is locked onto a moving subject, you can set the speed of the AF Tracking system. If you never choose to take a photo, the Pre Capture image buffer will clear on its own, and no images will be saved. If you let go of the button, it returns to the 10fps you initially set it at.
Once you turn on this feature, it will turn off any Picture Profiles you have selected. PP Off – The default option with no Picture Profile selectedPP10 – HLG2 gamma and BT.2020 color mode PP11 – S-Cinetone gamma & color mode. While some photographers will never want to process their videos, others wish for more flexibility to push their editing and color grading as far as possible. One of the most essential choices when recording a video is to think about color grading. Creating a Proxy copy will make editing and processing that video much easier, especially with an older computer. While you can create Proxy versions of your video via your computer, for some, it can be handy to have them ready to go from the start.
S&Q Record Settings – Depending on the choices for the previous two settings, you will now have to choose the Bit Rate, quality, and color depth of the video, such as “50M. These settings are in the “Shooting” menu under “Image Quality/Rec.” and “Movie Settings. These settings are in the “Shooting” menu under “Image Quality/Rec. All of these settings can be found in the “Focus” menu under “Subject Recognition.”
- The device also supports Generative AI Portraits, which optimizes facial features, lighting, and background to create stunning, studio-like portraits with minimal effort.
- Turning this on will allow the a1 II to instantly start recording to the 2nd card in the camera once the first is full, providing fewer opportunities to miss the shot because you had to change cards in the moment.
- Not to be confused with Long Exposure Noise Reduction, the Sony a1 II will allow you to take multiple images of the same exact scene and stack them together to help eliminate any noise.
The following window that pops up automatically is a question asking you if you wish to adjust the Accessibility functions of the camera. Just like with every other digital camera, the first thing you need to do is choose the language in which you want the a1 II to operate. Now that you have opened the box that your Sony a1 II came in and charged the battery, it is time to turn it on for the first time. The a1 (Original A1 Setup Guide) was the first to offer a 50mp sensor and the ability to shoot at 30fps.
The three main ways you can customize your a1 II are through the custom buttons/dials, the Fn Menu, or the My Menu option. One of the best things you can do to get the most out of your Sony a1 II is to customize your camera fully. Lastly, if Touch Focus Tracking is turned on for your a1 II (See Touch Focus section), you can tap on your subject via the rear LCD screen to begin tracking your subject using the AF system. You CAN NOT use both stabilization and AF tracking at the same time. This highly requested feature is finally here, and it works very well with the a1 II. Auto Framing – Turning the feature On or Off.Framing Oper.
The Great Migration – Kenya Wildlife Photo Safari
Many wildlife photographers, especially my bird-focused photographers, can only live with a flexible gimbal head. With the a1 II having a nearly identical body to the Sony a9 III, you can pick up an L Bracket that fits either camera. The extended eye cup protrudes much further out from the camera itself, making it easier to block any light that might interfere with you looking through the viewfinder. A faulty 3rd party battery could damage your camera, so to me, it isn’t worth the risk, even if the risk is small. To combat this, I recommend carrying a few Sony z100 batteries with you at any time.
Customize The Continuous Shooting Speed Shift Button
Network StreamingNew to the a1 II is the ability to stream using the network/internet, although you must have your camera set up with Sony’s Creator App on your Android or Apple device. A lesser-known feature of the latest Sony mirrorless cameras is that they can easily be used as a webcam. Just so you know, this will only be viewable inside the camera in the Playback mode. This will keep the images you flagged as “Protected” and remove everything else from that burst.
Displaying The AF Point On Images Already Captured
The more movement you are experiencing in the video, the more aggressive the crop/video stabilization you will need. No Color – Represents what is in focus.Blue/Light Blue – What is behind the focal plane (behind the focal point)Red/Orange – What is the front of the focal plane (foreground) They can be used temporarily to give you a feel for the look of a video, or you can embed them into the file itself.
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With so much uncertainty in the US/Cuban relationship, NOW is the time to go! February 1st – 8th, 2026 With this adventure, our focus will be on capturing the beauty of the Cuban people, culture, and architecture throughout the Island of Cuba. My favorite travel HD is the Sandisk Professional G40, which comes in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB options.
- Another often overlooked feature found on Sony’s mirrorless cameras is Pixel Shift.
- Once you choose to take an image by fully pressing the shutter release button, the camera will also officially store all of the photos in the “Pre-Capture” image buffer.
- AF Level for Crossing – Adjust the sensitivity for when something crosses in front of the subject you are tracking.
How the AI AF Subject Recognition System Works (New with the Sony a1 II)
However, if you want to change the time-lapse video settings, you will go to the “Shooting” menu and find “Image Quality/Rec.” There, “Time-lapse Settings” appear if you are already in the video or S&Q camera modes. If you have ever wanted to get into shooting video with the Sony a1 II, here is a breakdown of most of the settings tied to the video camera mode on this camera. So, no matter if this is your first Sony camera or if you have been shooting with the Sony mirrorless system for as long as I have, there are plenty of new features, settings, and menus to learn. These settings can be found in the “Shooting” menu under “Image Stabilization” when in video mode.
Vastly Improved Steadyshot/Stabilization (New to the Sony a1 II)
These settings are in the “Focus” menu under “Focus Area”. But if you want to get a head start on this process, I love turning on the “Display as Group” setting, which allows all of the images from vegas casino download a burst to be grouped together in Playback mode. Because it is that JPEG thumbnail that you look at on the back of your camera when you check out your images, even if you are shooting in the RAW file format.
With the a1 II, you have three preset LUTs (S-Log3, s709, and 709(800%), but you also can import your LUTs into the a1 II and apply them to your videos. To access this feature, you must move the camera function dial to S&Q. Another new feature of the a1 II is the ability to shoot Time-Lapse movies. See the previous setting in this guide for more explanation. S&Q Frame Rate – Here, you choose how many frames are shot per second, determining how much the video can be slowed down.
You will find the “Focus Area” and “Focus Area Limit” menu items there. You can remove them from your choosable list of options (by unchecking the box) so that you have fewer choices when looking for the right AF area to select. But when you find yourself in the AF Area selector, it can feel overwhelming with so many options to cycle through. With the Sony a1 II, you have a lot of options at your disposal when it comes to all of the AF Areas we just covered. Please note that the XS, L and Custom AF options are all new to the Sony a1 II.
Like all digital mirrorless cameras, the Sony a1 II, if used extensively (or left on), will drain its battery reasonably quickly compared to the older DSLRs. You can see how I customize my camera and why I made those choices there. That is why I have written a second blog post, Customizing Your Sony a1 II, which solely focuses on how I have personally customized my Sony a1 IIs (I own two of them).
Either way, it is nice that Sony has this feature built into their latest cameras. This is a common method for astrophotographers to help remove noise from a photo of the night sky, although historically, they have used 3rd party software to combine the images. Not to be confused with Long Exposure Noise Reduction, the Sony a1 II will allow you to take multiple images of the same exact scene and stack them together to help eliminate any noise. Another often overlooked feature found on Sony’s mirrorless cameras is Pixel Shift. If you are interested in shooting Timelapses with your Sony a1 II, you will want to poke around the “Interval Shoot Func. This is commonly requested by landscape and macro photographers, who often struggle to have the foreground, midground, and background of an image all in focus.
That said, we have just begun to set up your Sony a1 II. – By default Sony has the heat warning and shutdown temperature set pretty conservatively. Device Name – By default, this will be set at “ILCE-1M2,” but if you have more than one a1 II, you will want to give it a unique name to be able to identify them from one another from within the Creators App. From there, you will head back to the Creators App and choose if you want to connect to the camera at 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz connection. On the next screen, you need to once again select “ILCE-1m2 – Pairing” to begin the pairing process with your camera.
There, you can see how I set up my a1 II and even download my settings file so that you can quickly get your camera set up exactly like mine. I will help you walk through each menu setting from the moment you first turn on your camera. Whether you are shooting portraits, landscapes, or casual moments, the TECNO CAMON 30S ensures that every image stands out with impeccable quality and clarity, delivering results comparable to professional photography tools.
Framing StabilizerThis feature automatically keeps the subject in the same portion of the frame (either the center or a custom set location). Another new feature to the a1 II is the Focus Map for shooting video. Settings up the S&Q feature is pretty straightforward if you have any experience shooting video, but we can review things just in case. Here, you get to pick the quality, bitrate, and color options for any videos you shoot. Another setting worth looking at is if you want the a1 II to put a frame around any subject it identifies within your composition.