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Q&A forum: August 22 (Patreon)

Published:
2022-07-31 22:32:57
Imported:
2026-06
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Please ask all of your photography questions during the month of August 2022 using this forum. When replying to a post that is more than three days old it would help me enormously if you start a new discussion thread as it will be easier for me to find your question. Questions asked during the weekend may not be answered until Monday morning (Australian time zone). Thanks.

PLEASE NOTE > Questions asked via the Patreon Message service will only be answered by my Admin Staff. The current Q&A forum always appears directly below the banner image of the orange Tori Gates in Japan (when using a web browser on a computer).

If you are unsure where to locate the learning resources on this Patreon site you are advised to watch this video: https://youtu.be/DKDVAXNbPis
It is easier to navigate/find the Patron resources when using a web browswer rather than the Patreon app.
Note > This video will need updating as Patreon have recently changed the user interface, e.g. your user Avatar/ID will now be bottom left in the web browser instead of top right

Forum Image: Captured with the A1 + 100-400 F4.5-5.6 GM OSS
Profile: B&W 06

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Comments

Joel Bernstein

Hi Mark 1. Do you know anyone who has expertise with Lightroom Classic in Australia, as I have had a computer problem losing my Lightroom Classic but with external backups of images and catalogues. I have tried to restore the program but have run into problems and would be happy to contact an expert for assistance. I live in Sydney Australia. 2. In addition I have noted a firmware upgrade for the Sony ILCE-7M4 Ver. 1.10 however wondered if you are going to deal with this as articles on the web suggest problems with it. Thanks Joel

Mark Galer
>>90531140

Hi Joel - I was Australia's official Photoshop and Lightroom expert until around 2018. I had been Adobe's regional Imaging expert for 14 years until they closed their Ambassador program in the region. I taught digital imaging at RMIT University in Melbourne and had written many books on post production workflows. I am not aware of any Adobe experts in Sydney but you could try ringing Adobe in Sydney to locate someone. If you think an online session could resolve your issues I do offer an one-on-one consultancy service: https://www.markgaler.com/product/one-one-online-consultation The Firmware update for the A7IV has been suspended but I will install it when it has been made available and will advise accordingly. I may also need to update the CAMSET and the eBook.

mark

Nice video on the movie settings for the A7iv. One thing that was not clear to me was when using the touch screen to pull focus in movie mode with the camera set to AF-C, as soon as I touch the screen the camera goes into MF mode and so the only way I can tell what is in focus (other than looking at the screen) is using the focus peaking feature. Is there no way to keep the camera out of MF mode so I can see the square box to show me what's in focus? Thanks.

Mark Galer
>>90566390

Use the Touch Operation icon (visible when you can also see the recording levels or histogram) to switch between between Touch Focus and Focus Cancel (which unlocks the Spot focus and returns to AF-C), When you have canceled the Touch operation you can also use the Touch icon to cycle between -Touch Focus, Touch Tracking and Cancel Touch Operation. If you want to continually see the focus square then you would be wanting to use Touch tracking and not Touch Focus. You can use Magnify View and Focus Assist when filming to check the accuracy of your focus.

Aiden Hoang

Hi Mark, I have an a6000+sigma 16/1.4 and mainly shoot landscape, street life and portrait. I’m in the market for different focal length lens. I’m considering between the sigma 18-50/2.8 and sigma 56/1.4. I'm trying to be a bit wary of hoarding lenses that I won't really use. Will the zoom versatility beat the primes? And would it better off zooming with your feet with the primes for the focal length that I’m missing (from 18mm to 50mm)? Thanks for your help.

Mark Galer
>>90577543

My preference is for small wide-aperture primes as I like shallow depth of field for making the subject ‘pop’. This is especially useful when working with longer focal length lenses. You could look at the excellent 56mm f1.4 or one of the smaller f/1.8 full-frame primes if you think there is the possibility you may shoot with a full-frame camera at some point in the future. Options could also extend to the small Sigma 90mm f/2.8 prime. Although if has an f/2.8 aperture it’s longer focal length lends itself to producing lots of background bokeh. My extended lens choice video tutorial outlines the differences between choosing between zooms or primes and how zooming with your feet is often just the case of one of two steps forwards or backwards.

Steve Flynn

Hi Mark I have an issue with my A1, it has only recently started so I'm guessing I have changed something which has caused this without realising. When I pick the camera up and look through the viewfinder the screen is black and it take a second or two to come back to life, can you tell me what I may have changed that is causing this as it has only recently started, previously the camera was always "awake" and ready to fire. Thanks

John Bacon

Hi Mark, any insight on when a replacement for the RX100VII will come out? Thanks, John

Robert Westcott

Hi Mark. Building out my new Sony A7R4 outfit. The widest lens I have is the Sony 24G. I am looking at something in the 15-18mm range and quite drawn to the Zeiss Batis 18mm. I wondered if you have a view on that, and perhaps other possibilities? Coming from Leica M I have to say small and light is still high on my list of desirable features! Thanks

Craig Marvil

Mark, a couple of years ago you were testing / using the Freewell ND magnetic filters. Would they still be your preference for the Sony 16-35 f2.8 lens or are you using something else now? Thanks

Mark Galer
>>90628566

I still use the Freewell Filters on most of my lenses. I only use screw-on filters in the smaller 49mm and 55mm filter threads because Freewell don’t cater for these smaller diameter lenses. For most of my lenses I can stack an ND8 and an ND64 to get a darker ND 512 but this is not possible with the FE 16-35 F2.8 GM as you can only use one filter at a time (otherwise corner clipping occurs).

Mark Galer
>>90608673

Sony work on a need to know basis and they figure I don’t need to know. On the rare occasion they do tell me they make me sign a legal non-disclosure agreement. We have seen seven RX100 models released in as many years, but now we haven’t seen a new model in 3 years (except for the ZV1 Vlogging camera). We could speculate as to whether Sony are not seeing sufficient sales in this market sector to justify a new camera or whether they are struggling to think what they can add or change to make the RX100Vll any better (they threw everything at the Vll) The RX100Vll uses the same stacked sensor as we see in the A1 and it has a super-fast processor. A new camera would most likely benefit from the new menus and some of the more recent movie recording features, such as Active SteadyShot. More AI features may be the most compelling reason some would want to upgrade to a new version but Sony have been dragging their heels in this area. What feature are you hoping to see in the next new model? With the world shortage of silicon chips I would expect to see more Alpha cameras before new RX cameras, but I have been wrong before.

Mark Galer
>>90609221

I like the Batis 18mm a lot and I own one. It’s hard to justify the much higher price when compared to the Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G which has an aperture 1.3 stops wider and is possibly just as sharp - plus the Sony has an aperture ring, focus hold button and AF/MF switch. 20mm has a much wider angle of view than 24mm so you shouldn’t rule this lens out if you are also considering an 18mm focal length. The primary reason I have a soft spot for the Batis 18mm is it’s LED readout on the barrel of the lens which makes setting the hyperfocal distance α breeze. Choosing a lens wider than 18mm brings with it compromises, e.g., often no AF or the need to use filter cages due to the bulbous front element. The NiSi 15mm is one MF option that is very sharp (corner to corner), accepts screw-on filters but only has a maximum aperture of F4.

Mark Galer
>>90599012

Go to Setup > Power Setting Option and make sure your Auto Monitor OFF is set to 'Does not turn OFF'. Next go to Power Saver Start Time and make sure you have set an appropriate time for your needs, e.g. I find 10 Sec, 1 min and 2 min too short for my needs so I would choose 5 Min or 30 Min. Waking a camera up will be accelerated by half-pressing the shutter release. If Auto Monitor OFF is engaged it should be just a fraction of a second delay after half-pressing the shutter release.

mark

Hi mark. Is there a way to turn the “creative look” feature on while shooting jpeg to one memory card and raw to the other? Thanks.

Mark Galer
>>90661822

Yes - The Creative Look will be applied to the JPEGs and the Finder/Monitor view but will not be applied to the Raw files.

Billy Yarosh

Hi Mark, editing question. I have two photos I shot on a tripod. One long exposure and one portrait. I plan to take the portrait shot through DxO Pure Raw 2 to remove noise. I aim to use the long exposure and merge myself into that photo from the portrait. I was curious if any lightroom or Photoshop tools would do this. I've added a link to the photos for reference (I know I went a little crazy stopping down) https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjA5hqy

Ken Walkerdine

Hi Mark, looking for some lens advice. I have Sony A1, Sony 100-400, Sony 200-600 & Sony 24-70 lenses. I shoot mainly wildlife & landscape & use the 2 longer zooms most of the time. I'm finding I rarely use the 24-70. My thought is to sell the 24-70 & replace it with a Sony 16-35 & a Sony 24-105. Will that combination still be suitable for the odd portrait work?

Mark Galer
>>90702410

I rarely use mid-range zoom lenses, preferring to use a couple of primes instead. My favourite focal length is a short telephoto such as an 85mm f/1.8. Sigma have an even smaller and lighter 90mm F/2.8. If it was a weight saving exercise the 24-70 will be a bit lighter but I would miss the f/1.8 aperture for creating figure/ground separation or background blur when shooting portraits with an 85mm focal length. In my extended Lens choice video I outline a workflow of using two wide aperture primes instead of a zoom and walking forwards or backwards one or two places (to essentially zoom with your feet). The 16-35 is perhaps the favourite tool of the landscape photographer but again I now prefer to use primes, e.g. the FE 20mm f/1.8. If you didn't need the ultra-wide aperture of a prime for landscape or astro then the new 16-35 Powerzoom is a tiny lens. There is no one correct choice, just the most appropriate decisions based on your priorities.

Mark Galer
>>90688698

Photoshop is the appropriate tool for compositing or combining elements from more than one photo. Here is a tutorial that outlines the workflow. Something I call a 'fixed position composite': https://youtu.be/rS-RfkIq5oA If the camera has moved slightly between frames you can automatically align the images in Photoshop.