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Author Topic: a7R focusing and framing with flash  (Read 2328 times)

Jim Kasson

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a7R focusing and framing with flash
« on: December 09, 2013, 12:21:41 pm »

I'm sure there's an easy answer to this, and I'm sure I'll feel really dumb when it's pointed out to me, but how do you frame and focus the a7R when you're using studio flash?

I set up to make some tests of corner smearing and color shift for my ongoing a7R testing, set the shutter speed to 1/125, the f-stop to f/16, looked through the finder, and couldn't see a darned thing! I had to open up the lens, change the shutter speed to a much lower setting so that the modeling lights provided enough illumination for the EVF image, frame and focus, then stop down and change the shutter speed back to 1/125 for the shot.

This was hugely cumbersome, and wouldn't work with a moving subject. What's the right technique?

Jim

Manoli

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Re: a7R focusing and framing with flash
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2013, 12:37:28 pm »

... how do you frame and focus the a7R when you're using studio flash?

Have you checked the EVF brightness setting in the menu - is it set to auto or manual ?
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ErikKaffehr

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Re: a7R focusing and framing with flash
« Reply #2 on: December 09, 2013, 12:49:03 pm »

I don't have an A7r. On my A77 and A99 there is a menu choice: Live View Display Setting Effect On/Off. Setting effect Off is what I use with electronic flash.

Best regards
Erik

I'm sure there's an easy answer to this, and I'm sure I'll feel really dumb when it's pointed out to me, but how do you frame and focus the a7R when you're using studio flash?

I set up to make some tests of corner smearing and color shift for my ongoing a7R testing, set the shutter speed to 1/125, the f-stop to f/16, looked through the finder, and couldn't see a darned thing! I had to open up the lens, change the shutter speed to a much lower setting so that the modeling lights provided enough illumination for the EVF image, frame and focus, then stop down and change the shutter speed back to 1/125 for the shot.

This was hugely cumbersome, and wouldn't work with a moving subject. What's the right technique?

Jim
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Erik Kaffehr
 

Jim Kasson

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Re: Re: a7R focusing and framing with flash
« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2013, 12:50:18 pm »

Thanks.  I'll do that when I get home.

Jim

Jim Kasson

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Re: a7R focusing and framing with flash
« Reply #4 on: December 09, 2013, 03:10:37 pm »

Setting effect Off is what I use with electronic flash.

I set it that way, and it works great. Thanks!

Jim

Jim Kasson

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Re: a7R focusing and framing with flash
« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2013, 12:52:20 pm »

Setting effect Off is what I use with electronic flash.

One bit of Sony strangeness occurs once you invoke setting effect off. The live histogram stays in the EVF, but what it's reporting is not the histogram of the about-to-be-captured image, but the histogram of the automatic-gain-controlled image in the EVF. This behavior obeys a certain perverse engineering logic, but is of no use whatsoever to a photographer. Indeed it is deleterious. If you, as I just did, forget that you turned the setting effect to off and believe the pre-exposure histogram in the EVF you'll get mis-exposed pictures.

Jim
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