Sony 6000 (series) Focus Guide

[rpcrowe]

I placed this post in a separate string because I made the decision that IMO it is important enough for both present owners of the Sony 6000, 6300, and 6500 APSC mirrorless cameras and for folks considering the purchase of one of these cameras that I did not want it to get lost by being buried in another string.

Sony has a great 35 page PDF guide to focusing with the 6000 (series) cameras.

Google: ILCE 6000 4D Focus Guide

Although this Guide was written for the A6000, it pertains as well to the A6300 and A6500 cameras and it unlocked (for me) the focus capabilities of my new (for me) A6500; some of which are buried in the extensive menu of the camera.

[dje]

Hi Richard

Thanks for that. It certainly looks like a very comprehensive guide. Will work my way through it.

Dave

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks, Richard. I've got an A6000 so will check it out. Although typically I only use it for landscape/travel photos.

[dje]

One feature explained in this document is Eye AF which I was completely unaware of. It is a pretty neat feature which seems to work well at ensuring sharp focus on the subject's eye. It can only be used by customising one of the camera buttons (AEL is a good one to use). It can't be used with continuous AF on the a6000 but apparently it can on the a6300 and a6500. This together with IBIS is just about all the justification I need for an upgrade from my a6000 to an a6500! But I just need to convince the boss.

Dave

[Hanginon]

I sometimes use a Canon XSI (450D) for macro shots. If I switch to LiveView for manual focusing, I have to set the aperture and shutter to a setting that is based on the ambient light to get a decent image on the screen. Then, switch the aperture and shutter back to the setting I need before exposure, since I'm using flash - a really PIA process. Understand? I know sometimes people use really bright flashlights as a work-around for this.

So my question - Do the Sony's have a setting that overrides WYSIWYG when using flash? A setting that simply amplifies the available light (thus a good image on the screen for focusing) regardless of the shutter/aperture settings?

[rpcrowe]

Eye AF is one of the features that I really like about the A6500. IMO, by letting the camera concentrate on maintaining eye focus, I can fully concentrate on the subject.

A opposed to many photographers, anything that the camera does well automatically, I let it do. I don't think there would be any great advantage of keeping a focus point locked on the subject's eye/eyes manually or letting the camera do it for me.

My Canon 6D2 does a great job of locking in focus on the subject's eye/eyes using its great dual pixel CMOS AF in Face Detect mode but, this is only possible using live view. I like using an eye level viewfinder, especially in relatively bright conditions.

I think that the Canon M-50 would work well if its EVF is capable of Face Detect. However, IMO, the A6500 is a generally more sophisticated (and capable) camera than the M-50.

Both these cameras have the capability of viewing the image using the EVF while selecting the focus points by using the thumb of your shooting hand on the LCD. Although this is not needed when shooting portraits using Eye AF, it is nice for other focus selections and a heck of a lot faster than using a joystick to move the focus selection points around.

I have viewed multiple videos on using the A6500, both before I purchased it and since I have owned it. One neat trick I learned is that when you are in manual focus mode, double clicking on a point of the LCD will zoom in and magnify that point. This is great for using manual focus lenses. I can focus a lot easier with a manual focus lens with eye level AF than reading off the EVF. This may not be true for everyone by it is definitely true for my eyes. Anyway viewing through the EVF and clicking on the LCD with my shooting hand thumb allows me to focus the lens with my left hand. Single clicking the screen will then bring you back to normal view.

Lots of folks bash the A6500 touchscreen because you cannot navigate around the menu using it. Well, I am of a generation that has not evolved using touch screens. I don't even like inputting data into my cell phone which is why I use text messaging only when I absolutely have to. I have not used either the A6000 or the A6300 but, apparently, the menu selections cannot be customized quite as well as on the 6500. I can assign many operations to the various buttons and also set up the menu so that certain selections are quite quick to use.

[Hanginon]

So my question - Do the Sony's have a setting that overrides WYSIWYG when using flash? A setting that simply amplifies the available light (thus a good image on the screen for focusing) regardless of the shutter/aperture settings?

Never mind - found the answer (at least for Sony's).

"This is when you want your mirrorless camera to behave more like a DSLR and just show you a bright image in your viewfinder, regardless of the ambient light and the exposure settings you have chosen for the flash. This is when you want to go to Live View Display > Setting Effect OFF."

[rpcrowe]

Never mind - found the answer (at least for Sony's).

"This is when you want your mirrorless camera to behave more like a DSLR and just show you a bright image in your viewfinder, regardless of the ambient light and the exposure settings you have chosen for the flash. This is when you want to go to Live View Display > Setting Effect OFF."

Good information... Thanks!

Now, I have to get my Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens working (as well as possible) with the MC-11 adapter on my A6500... If I can't get the AF working AOK, I will try to master it using manual focus.

I have to get up to speed on MF anyway because I own a Rusian made Helios 58mm f/2 lens which, of curse, is MF only!

[Hanginon]

Good information... Thanks!

No, Thank You! I've been seriously thinking of grabbing a used A6xxx, and using it almost exactly like what you are doing.