Category: Photography

This seems to me to be the very best camera in the Sony lineup. Since I am a dedicated Sony user with several lenses for the camera, I will not be switching to a different brand.

The biggest deal about the A1ii is… everything. From photos to video, it just excels. No blackouts while shooting 30 frames per second bursts, no rolling shutter, 8K video at 30 fps and 4k video at 120 fps. Someday, this is the camera I want to obtain.

From the Sony website:

• A fusion of leading technologies delivers overwhelming performance
• Advanced AI processing unit achieves high-level subject recognition
• Human eye recognition improved by up to approximately 30%
• A wide variety of subjects accurately recognized
• AF tracking response settable to match subject speed changes
• Flexible focus area settings
• Selectable release time lag
• High-speed continuous shooting at full 50.1 MP resolution
• Pre-Capture and Continuous Shooting Speed Boost
• Stunning resolution with 50.1 megapixels
• Selectable RAW image size and quality
• High sensitivity, low noise, and wide dynamic range
• Consistently accurate exposure and color
• Optical 5-axis image stabilization achieves 8.5-step performance at the center
• Composite RAW modes for lower noise and higher resolution
• Real-time Recognition AF for movies
• High-resolution 8K /4K recording for impressive realism
• High frame rate recording at up to 120p
• Better S-Log matching with Cinema Line cameras
• Dynamic active Mode stabilization
• Auto Framing automatically adjusts composition for the subject
• Framing Stabilizer automatically maintains subject position
• Breathing compensation
• Features for smooth focusing
• Flexible LCD monitor positioning
• Advanced ergonomic grip
• High-performance electronic viewfinder
• Standard and deep viewfinder eyecups provided
• Supplied charger charges two NP-FZ100 batteries in 155 minutes
• Dual slots support CFexpress Type A memory cards
• Image playback functions that support immediate-delivery workflows
• Dedicated microphone for clear voice memos
• IPTC metadata embedding and presets
• Efficient data transfer by high-speed 2.5GBASE-T wired LAN and wireless LAN

Images below from the Sony website.

Tamron 50-400mm lens, f/4.5-6.3. Below was at 50mm. So far, shooting at 400mm is providing too much wobly in the stars. More testing needed. The red dots are a plane passing overhead.

It was painful to get to this point, because I had left the camera on Auto Focus mode. Of course it couldn’t focus looking at a dark sky, so the shutter wouldn’t release.

I finally figured it out and changed to Manual Focus, and low and behold, all systems are go.

Longer shutter time than 10 seconds creates star trails, or a smearing of the points of light. Trying to keep the ISO as low as possible to minimize noise.

I could turn the ISO down even more, and inscrease the exposure time to 15 seconds. It will be something I need to experiment with to get more of these details worked out.

I changed the identifier to “SON” for Sony, and added my domain name to identify my work.

Next, I need to shoot in RAW and develop these in Lightroom so I can pull out more detail from the night sky. It’s an ongoing, never ending learning experience for me, because…

“I’m not a smart man.” But I know what love is.

To capture the Milky Way or other star-studded field, set up the A7R5 as follows:

1. Shooting Mode: Manual
2. Aperture: Widest available. With Sigma 14mm that would be f/1.4.
3. ISO: Start with 3200 and increase if needed
4. Shutter speed: Start with 15 to 30 seconds and test for longest exposure possible without getting star trails. The key is to not get star trails while allowing sensor to pick up as much light as possible from the stars.
5. Focus: Manual or use live view with focus peaking to ensure sharpness.
6. White Balance: start around 3900K and experiment if needed.
7. Use a 2 second timer or a remote to stop camera shake.
8. Capture images in RAW for most data
9. Shoot in 3:2, not 16:9 aspect ratio to capture the most pixels

Picked up a Tamron 50-400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD today at OC Camera in Laguna Hills, CA.

Reviews are very good. Tamron has stepped up its lens game since my first lenses from the maker obtained 15 years ago.

I did it backwards. Bought the lens, then studied the reviews. I’m glad I made the right choice. It’s good to be lucky, like the surgeon says.

This photo is from a group of 928 shot to test the timelapse function of the lens. See Timelapse post.

The time was 8:37 PM. Fog rolling in again. 400mm, f/6.3, 4 second exposure, aperture priority. ISO-640.

It’s hard to see the detail and clarity of these photos on a small device. On a large screen , the detail becomes evident.

Sony A7R 5 with Tamron 50-400 lens

Without looking through the EVF, use the following to make the camera focus and follow a subject by touching the LCD:

MENU → → Touch Operation → Touch Operation → On

2. MENU → → Touch Operation → Touch Func. In Shooting → Touch Focus
3. MENU → → Touch Operation → Touch Panel/Pad → Both Valid
4. MENU → → Touch Operation → Touch Pad Settings → Operation in Vertical Orientation → On
5. MENU → → Touch Operation → Touch Pad Settings → Touch Position Mode → Absolute Position
6. MENU → → Touch Operation → Touch pad Settings → Operation Area → Whole Screen
7. Fn → Focus Area → Wide (that’s my preferred default most of the time)
8. Now that it’s primed, just touch the rear LCD screen where you want the camera to focus. You’ll see a white square (or a red square if you have MENU → → Focus Area → Focus Area Color set to Red) around where you touched, along with a new “Cancel Focus” icon near the upper-right-hand corner

For an interesting twist, try setting MENU → → Touch Operation → Touch Func. In Shooting → Touch Tracking. Now when you touch your subject you’ll see a small square with two vertical lines on either side AND the camera’s AF will kick in. Move the camera around so your subject travels to all corners of the frame, and notice how the camera tries to track your subject. This feature works when taking videos, too, although you won’t see the white confirmation square.

Cancel the Touch Tracking by either touching the “Cancel Touch Tracking” icon () near the upper-right corner, or press the center button of the control wheel.

The above was set up on the camera June 11, 2025 and works wonderfully well.

Yesterday, June 7, we took the pups to Dana Point for the afternoon. Baby Beach was hopping with people and the breakwater was busy as well.

I took my A7 R5 with the Sigma 14mm F1.4 lens and went to town shooting stuff. It was a fun event, and I learned some new stuff, like, you can get cool starburst effects at F16 using Aperture Priority. Probably with Shutter Priority or even Auto… it’s the F stop that counts here. But I digress…

The dogs did great, pretty much ignoring the activity for the most part, with a little excitement coming from other dogs they saw along the way.

Here’s a great picture of Seven showing alligator teeth to the lady taking her picture.

Seven and Worf below, enjoying the coastal breeze while eyeing something in the distance. This was their 10 month birthday outing.

Below is a lantern with that cool sunburst I mentioned above.

And below is the feature Dana Point is known for… the amazing Dana POINT itself, with sunburst feature. Ok, enough with the sunbursts already. And wow, that rock is old and crusty.

Documenting various sunburst photos here. This one is by Mel Moncrieff, shot from his deck in Running Springs, CA.

The lens is a Canon 16 – 35 L. I hope that someday I’ll be able to capture this kind of beauty. Thanks Mel, for the inspiration you provide.

Note to self… use a tripod to get better quality sunbursts. This burst below was shot holding the camera in my hand… not the best, but it’s what we get without stabilization.

Lens is Sigma 14mm F1.4, shot at F16 with Sony A7 R5. Dana Point harbor area.

Below is one more of the Point part of Dana Point. Same camera, same lens, also hand held.

My purchase of a new A7 R5 requires a new learning curve with respect to the Menu. It has been completely revamped, and is much better. That said, it does require some getting used to.

I created a document in Excel that catalogs all Menu items. The document is easily searched using the native Excel Find function.

The document allows you to see all the Menu items in one place on your computer or device.

You can have the document free of charge or any other constraint. If you find it useful, please share the information with others.

Download the file here.