CONFLICTING SETTINGS: Trouble Shooting Guide (Patreon)

This is a list of menu items, that if switched on or off, may disable or impact other settings or performance features in the camera. This is my first attempt to list these items so I will have missed a few.

AF-A

• Disables AF Tracking

AF-S

• Disables AF Tracking

Animal Eye AF

• Disables AF Tracking and Lock-on AF options
• Disables Touch Tracking

Anti-flicker Shoot.

• Lowers Resolution of Finder when switched to On

Note: Anti-Flicker Shooting may also lead to shutter lag and is not available in Silent Shooting or BULB mode.

Bluetooth Mode

• Disables Standby Mode

Buffer Clearing

• Disables many menu items including switching to APS-C mode.

Bright Monitoring

• Only available in Manual Focus

Bulb Mode

• Lowers Bit Depth to 12
• Disabled in Continuous Shooting
• Disabled in Silent Shooting

Ctrl w/Smartphone Disables

• Eye AF in 4K movies (but not HD)

e-Front Curtain Shutter

When switched to off it has the following effects:

• Slows Drive Mode speeds (frames per second)

When switched to On it may have the following effects:

• May adversely effect bokeh when used with very fast shutter speeds and a wide aperture lens
• May lead to uneven exposure with some non-Sony adapted lenses.
• Uneven exposure with very fast shutter speeds in some environments (non-daylight)

Exposure Step

0.5EV Setting removes increments that some may then look for, e.g. 1/50, 1/80 and 1/160 second.

Eye-AF in Movies

Only available on some, but not all, cameras released in 2019 or later. 

Disabled when the Subject is set to Animal.

Disabled when the frame rate is set to 100 or 120fps

Disabled when the output is set to Memory Card+HDMI

Finder Frame Rate: High (if available)

• Lowers resolution of Finder if set to Hi

Note: Can automatically switch back to Standard if the temperature of the camera body is high.

Focus Magnifier

Not available in AF-S, AF-A and AF-C Focus Modes. Switch to Manual Focus (MF) or DMF

Flash Comp.

Setting on camera will add/subtract from compensation setting made on flash unit 

Hi+

• The subject is not displayed in real-time on the monitor or viewfinder when shooting in Continuous Shooting: Hi+ mode

ISO Auto MIn SS

Not available in Auto, Manual and Shutter Priority Modes

Live View Display: Setting Effect switched to ON

• Aperture Preview - No Change
• Shot Result Preview - Minor Changes Only
• Cannot be switched to OFF if the camera is set to the Auto, Movie, S&Q or Scene Selection shoot Modes.

Note: If the Setting Effect is switch On and the camera is set up for studio flash the subject may be too dark to preview in the Finder or on The Monitor.

Live View Display: Setting Effect switched to OFF

• Disables Exposure and Depth of Field live previews* (use Aperture preview and Shot Result Preview to gain temporary access to these features).

*Note: The brightness and depth of field of the shot image will not be the same as that of the displayed Live View.

PAL Setting

Removes 24, 30, 60 and 120P options (replaced with 25, 50 and 100P options to remove the risk of flicker). Switching to NTSC will provide these options but the card will need to reboot and you will get ‘this camera is running on NTSC’ warnings unless you also change your region setting.

Phase Detect AF

Disabled after first image in Continuous Drive ‘Med’ and ‘Hi’ when aperture is smaller than f/8 on A7RIII and f/11 on A7III and f/16 on A9 cameras.

When the F-value is greater than F8 (A7RII and A7RIII), F11 (A7III) or F16 (A9 & A9II) in Continuous Shooting: Hi+, Continuous Shooting: Hi or Continuous Shooting: Mid mode, the focus is locked to the setting in the first shot. Using the teleconverters will lower the maximum aperture from f/5.6 on the FE 100-400 G Master lens to f/8 for the 1.4x Teleconverter or f/11 for the 2x teleconverter. Using the teleconverters will lower the maximum aperture from f/6.3 on the FE 200-600 G lens to f/9 for the 1.4x Teleconverter or f/13 for the 2x teleconverter.

Proxy Recording

• Disables Eye AF

Silent Shooting Disables…

• The option to select ISO 50, 64 and 80
• Flash Shooting
• BULB Mode
• Picture Profile
• Picture Effect
• e-Front curtain shutter
• Auto HDR

Note: Silent Shooting also drops bit depth from 14 Bits to 12 Bits. Silent shooting may also lead to shutter distortion (not recommended for quickly moving subjects) or some lighting situations, e.g. fluorescent lights.

SteadyShot

• Menu is Greyed out on the camera if there is a SteadyShot switch on the lens.

View Mode

• Folder View disables ‘Display as Group’ view. Switch to Calendar view to restore Group view.

Wireless Flash

When set to OFF will disable off-camera flash

Wi-Fi Connection Woes

If you are experiencing problems connecting your camera to your mobile device make sure you have the current version of the Imaging Edge App and are using the latest firmware version for your camera.

• Connect via the the camera menu ‘Network > Ctrl w/Smartphone > Connection’. Find the camera in the available Wi-Fi networks on your mobile device. Press the ‘Trashcan’ icon on the camera and enter the password in the Wi-Fi settings on your mobile device.
• Open the Imaging Edge app on the Mobile Device. Try connecting to the camera if it is listed. If this fails go to the next step.
• Switch Bluetooth to On in the Network menu. Send a photo from your camera to your phone by pressing the Playback button on the back of the camera and then press the Fn key (Transfer Image) on the back of the camera. Select ‘This Image’ and wait for the QR code to appear. Select the ‘+ Connect with a new camera’ in the Imaging Edge app and then select the Scan QR Code button. Scan the QR code by positioning the Cross Hair that appears on the phone’s camera over the QR card. The photo should transfer to the camera.
• Now try connecting to your camera in the Camera List if you want to use your mobile device to control the camera settings and see the live view.

Potential for confusion in Menus

• AF Micro Adjustment: For Adapted Lenses Only.
• Aperture Preview does not have a menu listing and has to be assigned to a Custom Key.
• Bright Monitoring does not have a menu listing and has to be assigned to a Custom Key.
• Creative Style Settings not greyed out (useful for adjusting Monitor and Finder view).
• DRO settings will not effect Raw files but it is not greyed out (useful for adjusting Monitor and Finder view).
• IPTC Information has to be added from a Memory Card.
• JPEG Image Size reduces when selecting an aspect ratio other than 3:2.
• Lock Operation Parts - Requires a long press of the Fn button to activate the setting.
• No AF option in Interval Timer menu.
• Pre AF (usually best left OFF unless doing selfies).
• Recall Greyed out when Shoot Mode dial not set to a Memory Shoot Mode.
• Reg. Custom Shoot Settings used to register Recall Custom Hold Settings.
• Shot Result Preview does not have a menu listing and has to be assigned to a Custom Key.

Possible menu item that would very be useful if added to MyMenu alongside the Touch Operation menu

• Function of Touch Operation and Touch Operation (On/Off) are separated in the menus.

Note: If you find a menu item that compromises another feature please add it to comments below. A comprehensive list will see a lot less Alpha photographers having to reset their camera to resolve an issue they have encountered.