- Yo, yo Josh Yeo.
So, for the last month
I've been secretly shooting
primetime television with this camera.
And, the video quality is amazing.
In some cases it's actually better than
the industry standard,
the Cannon C300 Mark II.
Today we're doing a detour from my normal
creative projects and
we're taking a crash course
on the Sony A7 III the
menu, the hidden features
and assigning custom buttons
to the most helpful tools
that I use on set.
I feel like I'm forgetting
something. Oh yeah.
(funky music)
If I go a little fast or you get lost
I left step-by-step instructions
in the description below
along with a timestamp.
Okay, so fresh out of
the box switch the dial
into movie mode.
Most of the changes that
we make are only going to
be in effect when the
dial is in movie mode.
We hit menu, scroll over to Exposure Mode.
Change this to manual exposure.
This is gonna give you full
control over your aperture,
iso, and shutter speed.
Then, we're going to initiate XAVC 4K, 24P
at 100 megabits per second.
This is going to be the
highest quality 4K you can get.
Next, we're gonna go down to SQ settings.
This is your slow-mo.
This can shoot 120
frames per second slow-mo
and stretch it out and conform
it into your 24p timeline.
We're gonna change this to 24p.
Next, we're gonna go to auto focus drive.
We're gonna change this to fast.
The auto focus is blazing
fast on this thing.
And, we're gonna do the
auto focus track sensor
we're gonna put that to responsive.
Next, we're going to go
to audio recording levels.
Set this down around seven.
I shoot on one of these.
This is a Rode Video Mic Pro.
Use the power of the mic
to do the lifting for you.
That's generally how you
get the cleanest sound.
We're gonna set it to zero.
Our audio levels will be at seven.
Movie with shutter we're
going to turn that on.
Enables recording with
your trigger finger.
That will also enable it
to be triggered by remote
or shutter release.
All right, next we're going to go over to
Finder, Monitor Display.
Right now it's set on auto
and this is a very annoying
thing that, stop it, stop
whatever you're doing, stop it.
Pick a spot, good boy.
Almost as annoying as my dog.
When you put your finger up
it shuts off the monitor.
So, we're gonna change
this to monitor manual.
That way it doesn't do it.
Custom keys, this camera
does not come alive
without all these custom keys.
You've got c1, c2, c3, c4.
Then, these can be
programmed, the side buttons
can be programmed.
There's a lot of stuff that you can do.
We're only customizing
this for video mode.
So, we're gonna go ahead and go here.
Control wheel, we're
gonna put that not set.
The control wheel is this dial right here.
You'll bump it all the time.
Custom button one, which
is up here is gonna be
our Picture Profile.
Here we go.
So, if you wanna maximize
this camera's dynamic range
you're gonna go to Picture
Profile seven and this
is gonna give you 15
stops of dynamic range
if you expose it correctly.
Next, we're gonna go Custom button two.
We're gonna change this to white balance.
Very important to nail your white balance.
Custom button three,
we're gonna change this to
APC Super 35 crop mode.
This is a great little hack,
keep it as a toggle switch.
If I need to zoom in
on something I can just
do that real quick.
Custom button four, this
little trash can down here
we're gonna set this to Focus Mode.
I shoot a lot of
different types of lenses.
Some of them have switches here to turn
the focus mode on and off.
Some of 'em don't.
So, this is a very helpful
tool for me to quickly
change it from auto focus
continuous to manual focus.
Next, multi select center
button this is gonna be
our audio levels that we set.
Feel this button right
here, it's kind of prickly
so it kind of reminds
me of like the spikes
in audio levels.
That's how I always remember.
If I'm not shooting with
the mic I can just kind of
crank that back up to
26 and boom we're done.
One of the benefits of
keeping it in movie mode
is you got the levels all the time.
So, that actually looks about right.
Center button we're gonna
change this to focus magnifier.
This has got a four times focus magnifier.
This is super helpful
when you're shooting on
a manual lens and you're
not sure if you're
in focus or not.
You just hit center button now twice.
It gives you a little extra reach.
And then, you hit it one
more time to cancel it out.
The left button we're gonna
do Peaking Display Select
letting you know if it's in focus.
And now, you see those things
in white, super helpful.
We're gonna go to Peaking
Color change that to red.
It is red.
Back to custom keys we're
gonna go to the right button.
It says follow custom,
whatever the picture custom
settings are it's gonna follow that.
I'm actually gonna change
this to what it normally is
which is iso.
So, if I ever go in and change
it in the photo settings
that it doesn't also
automatically change it
in the video for me.
Down button we are going to
change this to monitor brightness.
So, from regular mode
to sunny weather mode.
The only thing is that it
drains a lot of battery.
So, for the regular mode I'm
actually going to keep it
at negative two.
I can quickly just toggle
it on and off if I want.
AEL button we are going to
change this to center lock
on auto focus.
This is one of the coolest
functions that this camera has.
Now is a good time to
enable the touch screen.
We have that, so lets skip
ahead to Touch Operation.
Turn that on.
Now, when we go into this
center lock on we can actually
just select wherever we want
and it'll track it, see?
Such a frickin' game changer.
Next, we're gonna go down
to Focus Area and change
to Expand Flexible Spot.
Next, Auto Focus on change this to
Gamma Display Assist.
When you're shooting S-log2
everything's very flat,
there's no contrast.
It's hard to find focus,
it's hard to see if
your exposure is correct.
Gamma Display will actually
imitate Rec 709 Gamma
and give you a correct
exposure reading contrast
if you're shooting
without a monitor that has
these kind of LUTs that
are programmed in there.
All right, next Focus Hold button.
This is only available
if you have a button
on the side of your lens.
Not all lenses have this.
This one I'm actually
going to set as Center Lock
on Auto Focus as well.
And, that's gonna free
up this button for me
to program something else like Zebras.
And, there we go.
So, now we've got Zebras,
it's pretty damn good.
All right, next Function menu setup.
The Function button right
here holds a bunch of stuff
you don't really use and it's confusing.
So, we're gonna get rid
of all of that stuff.
So, we're gonna go ahead
and set this to not set.
We are gonna set the middle ones.
Function Lower three, let's change that to
our S and Q frame rate.
This is a super fast
way to switch from our
120 frames per second
slow-mo to time lapse.
Flip the dial to S and Q
then hit your function,
120 frames per second, go
to four frames per second
and boom there you go.
All right, and Function
Lower four we're gonna
change this to Marker Display.
So, if you want a super
cinematic Aspect Ratio
or center cross hairs then you
can toggle the guide frames
on or off.
Find all the other aspect
ratio and options in
Marker Display Settings.
All right, and the last
one Lower Function five
we're gonna change this to
Prioritize Record Media.
This is a really quick was
to switch from card one
to card two.
I shoot a lot of interviews
and B-roll and this is
a way for me to keep things
separate and organized.
Okay, Dial Setup we're
actually going to switch this
reversing this top two dials
right here and it's making
this one your aperture,
which you're gonna use
a lot more than shutter speed.
Power Saver Start Time,
we're gonna set this
to five minutes.
Time code settings, I already
set this up for time code.
If you guys wanna see
how to do this exactly
I did a video just on time
code alone and it's linked in
at the end.
Record Media Settings,
we're gonna change this
to Auto Switch On.
If it fills up it'll
automatically switch from
card number one to card number two.
Last one on here is My Menu.
There really is only one item on here that
you're gonna need and that's format.
Everything else I have
assigned a button for it.
Boom, this thing is ready to go.
These custom buttons work for me,
strongly encourage you guys
to test it out, experiment.
The only way you're gonna
get good at something
is by trying things out
and failing miserably.
If you guys find this
helpful blow me up on
that little like button
right there or jump on
the bandwagon if you
haven't done so already.
Anyway, this is Josh Yeo
saying thank you very much.
Stay creative, now go make some art.
(funky music)
