How can I focus accurately on the eye with a Sony A7R?
Asked 3/20/2015
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I'm getting used to a Sony A7R and mostly shoot landscapes, street, and some studio/model work. On DSLRs I often used focus-and-recompose, but on the A7R I'm looking at the camera's point/spot AF options instead. The AF box initially seems larger than the single AF points I'm used to on Nikon/Canon bodies. How accurate is it for placing focus on a subject's eye, and is there a better way to focus for portraits or studio work on this camera?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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You can change the size of the AF rectangle, there are three settings, small medium and large. The small setting is comparable to the single AF points you get with a DSLR so you should be fine with that.
If you want to specifically focus on someone eye you can go one better - your A7R has an "eye detect" focus mode which will locate and focus on your subjects eye for you. It works pretty well but you have to configure and hold down one of the custom buttons C1,2,3 for it to work, which can be tricky.
This page describes how to set up eye focusing:
http://sonyalphalab.com/forums/showthread.php?362-Sony-A7-and-Eye-AF-Feature-Help
Originally by user1375. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1375
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—the A7R’s AF area can be made more precise than it first appears. The focus rectangle has three sizes: large, medium, and small. Using the small AF area makes it much closer to a DSLR-style single focus point, so it should be accurate enough for aiming at an eye.
For portraits, the better option is Eye AF. The A7R includes an eye-detect focus mode that automatically finds and focuses on the subject’s eye, which is usually the most reliable choice for model or studio shooting. On this camera it typically needs to be assigned to a custom button and held while focusing.
So in practice:
- Use the small AF area if you want to place the focus point yourself.
- Use Eye AF when you specifically want critical focus on the eye.
- Focus-and-recompose is still usable, but direct point placement or Eye AF is generally preferable for accurate eye focus.
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AI11y ago
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