This is my detailed guide to all the settings relating to autofocus on the Sony a7R II, for both stills and video:
Notes:
Phase Detection AF doesn’t work for f/9.0 and beyond. The area isn’t displayed for APS-C mode and Video mode, though it works for both.
I missed Eye AF. This works similar to face detection but it automatically focuses on the eyes while you keep the shutter pressed. There is no direct setting on the menu. You need to go to B7 > Custom Key Settings and set one of the Custom buttons to Eye AF.
The cool thing about this is, if the camera doesn’t detect an eye, it will detect a face and focus on the face. This doesn’t work well if the person is wearing glasses or in low light situations, or if they are moving a lot; or even if the subject closes their eyes. I don’t find it very useful, but test it and see for yourself.
While editing, I think my pronunciation for phase detection and face detection might sound the same. Earlier in the video, I’m talking about phase detection vs contrast detection. While towards the end, we’re discussing face detection.
Takeaways
For generic stills (quick and easy):
| AF STILLS (EASY) | |||
| Menu No. | Setting | Options | Which to pick |
| A2 | Drive Mode | Single/Continuous Hi/Continuous Lo | Depends, it doesn’t matter much |
| A3 | Focus Mode | AF-S, AF-A, AF-C, DMF, MF | AF-A with Sony lenses, AF-S for everything else* AF-C if you want to track a subject |
| A3 | Focus Area | Wide, Zone, Center, Flexible Spot (L,M,S) Expand Flexible Spot | Flexible Spot M or Expand Flexible Spot |
| Lock on AF Flexible Spot (with all the above options) | Same as above, if you want to track | ||
| A4 | Focus Settings | Move Focus Area and choose between them | Customize to one of the buttons |
| A4 | AF Illuminator | On/Off | On |
| A7 | Center Lock-on AF | On/Off | Off |
| A7 | Smile/Face Detect. | Off/Registered On/ Face Detect On/Smiley | Face Detection On |
| B1 | MF Assist | On/Off | Off |
| B3 | Disp. cont. AF area | On/Off | On |
| B3 | Phase Detect. Area | On/Off | On for starters, Off as soon as you get used to it |
| B3 | Pre-AF | On/Off | On |
| B3 | Zoom Setting | Optical, ClearImage Zoom, Digital | ClearImage Zoom |
| B4 | Eye-Start AF | On/Off | Off^ |
| B4 | Priority Set in AF-S | AF/Release/Balanced | Release |
| B4 | Priority Set in AF-C | AF/Release/Balanced | Release |
| B5 | AF w/ shutter | On/Off | On |
| B6 | Face Registration | Register/Organize/Delete | Nothing to do here. Ignore. |
| B6 | AF Micro Adj. | On/Off, Amount | Off^ |
| B7 | AF System | Phase Detect/Contrast Detect | Greyed out^ |
*Some adapters promise to support phase detection AF, so if you have these, you can select AF-A as well.
^Only works if you have Sony A-mount lenses with the compatible adapter.
In addition, you could also customize for Eye AF if you like.
For demanding pros needing to shoot action and sports, etc.:
Warning: I am not a professional sports photographer by any stretch, so you might ultimately find better ways to do the same thing. Use this only as a starting point.
| AF STILLS (FAST SPORTS/ACTION) | |||
| Menu No. | Setting | Options | Which to pick |
| A2 | Drive Mode | Single/Continuous Hi/Continuous Lo | Continuous Hi |
| A3 | Focus Mode | AF-S, AF-A, AF-C, DMF, MF | AF-A with Sony lenses, AF-C for everything else |
| A3 | Focus Area | Wide, Zone, Center, Flexible Spot (L,M,S) Expand Flexible Spot | None |
| Lock on AF Flexible Spot (with all the above options) | Zone or Expand Flexible Spot* | ||
| A4 | Focus Settings | Move Focus Area and choose between them | Customize to one of the buttons |
| A4 | AF Illuminator | On/Off | On |
| A7 | Center Lock-on AF | On/Off | Off |
| A7 | Smile/Face Detect. | Off/Registered On/ Face Detect On/Smiley | Face Detection On, customize if you shoot faces |
| B1 | MF Assist | On/Off | Off |
| B3 | Disp. cont. AF area | On/Off | On |
| B3 | Phase Detect. Area | On/Off | Off |
| B3 | Pre-AF | On/Off | On |
| B3 | Zoom Setting | Optical, ClearImage Zoom, Digital | Optical or Clearimage Zoom |
| B4 | Eye-Start AF | On/Off | Off^ |
| B4 | Priority Set in AF-S | AF/Release/Balanced | Release |
| B4 | Priority Set in AF-C | AF/Release/Balanced | Release |
| B5 | AF w/ shutter | On/Off | On |
| B6 | Face Registration | Register/Organize/Delete | Nothing to do here. Ignore. |
| B6 | AF Micro Adj. | On/Off, Amount | Off^ |
| B7 | AF System | Phase Detect/Contrast Detect | Greyed out^ |
*This totally depends on the type of action/sport you are shooting, and how well you can anticipate action. This is what takes years to master.
^Only works if you have Sony A-mount lenses with the compatible adapter.
In addition, you could also customize for Eye AF if you like.
For video:
| AF FOR VIDEO | |||
| Menu No. | Setting | Options | Which to pick |
| A3 | Focus Mode | AF-S, AF-A, AF-C, DMF, MF | AF-C |
| A3 | Focus Area | Wide, Zone, Center, Flexible Spot (L,M,S) Expand Flexible Spot | Flexible Spot M |
| Lock on AF Flexible Spot (with all the above options) | Doesn’t work | ||
| A4 | Focus Settings | Move Focus Area and choose between them | Customize to one of the buttons |
| A4 | AF drive speed | Fast/Medium/Slow | Fast* |
| A4 | AF Track Sens | High/Normal | High* |
| A7 | Center Lock-on AF | On/Off | On |
| A7 | Smile/Face Detect. | Off/Registered Face/Face/Smiley | Face Detection On |
| B3 | Disp. cont. AF area | On/Off | Yes |
| B6 | Face Registration | Register/Organize/Delete | Ignore |
*Experiment with this and see what works for you.
For video shooters, keep the following in mind:
- AF-C only works if you can continuously half-press the shutter. Most of us can’t shoot video this way.
- Center Lock-on AF is hit and miss, so you can’t rely on it 100% even if both subject and camera are still.
- Face Detection works well for faces (but only if there’s one face). However, if the subject moves forward or backward, the camera might lose focus. If your subject is stationary (interview setup), it’s much more useful to just manually focus and use DOF. This is the only AF option worth seriously using.
- Overall, I see no point in using AF for video, unless you have specific situations that require it, and nothing else will do.
