ok guys whats your go to settings for your camera and subject ?

[spudhead]

Ok all can we have opinions on memory cards, how important is the quality and speed and cost to you guys, what do you buy and trust

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Ok all can we have opinions on memory cards, how important is the quality and speed and cost to you guys, what do you buy and trust

I bought Sony Tough, but only because there was a deal on. I would definitely recommend getting the fastest possible if you are shooting full frame files on the A7RIV, as it still buffers in burst on a 277 card, and you can't swap settings. I know that's not an issue on other cameras though. All of my other cards are fast Lexar cards. Super reliable cards. I will not use Sandisk, ever. They are the only card brand that I have had fail, and so have friends. I just don't trust them.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I bought Sony Tough, but only because there was a deal on. I would definitely recommend getting the fastest possible if you are shooting full frame files on the A7RIV, as it still buffers in burst on a 277 card, and you can't swap settings. I know that's not an issue on other cameras though. All of my other cards are fast Lexar cards. Super reliable cards. I will not use Sandisk, ever. They are the only card brand that I have had fail, and so have friends. I just don't trust them.

I have never had a Sandisk fail on me; not in my Sony, nor in my GoPros. But I'm not here to defend them, they just happened to be the brand that suited my needs in the past.
However, I'm currently using a Lexar "professional" UHS1. Since my camera doesn't truly benefit from a UHS2, I went with a 95mb/s which is more than fast enough for photography and fast enough for the 4k video capabilities of my camera (though I only record in 1080p).

 

[pointreyes]

Well, guess I'm the unlucky one and got a bad batch. I will never trust Lexar in my Sony cameras ever again.

Type used: Lexar Professional 128 GB v60 UHS-II

Started with the classic, update to the file database upon turning on the camera. But then later is when I experienced that dreadful, "Did my camera turn into a brick?" feeling. Turned on camera to have blank LCD, no EVF, no indication of life. And then finally after taking out the battery (I only use Sony batteries) and inserting it back in did the camera do a happy dance of on and off multiple times but still I did not have a camera. Replaced the cards and camera was back to normal operation again.

Even after doing a low level format did not fix the random update the file database situation.

UHS-II or Express A cards are important for me. I need that buffer cleared as fast as possible to retain operation of the camera and know that the shots are stored on two drives. Normally use Delkin and Sony cards.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Interesting how it's different for us all with Sandisk. I've also had their flash drives fail twice.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I can only surmise that my camera isn't advanced enough to stress the file system on the memory cards

 

[Matthias]

Interesting topic!

For me, I usually shoot in A-mode and sometimes in S-mode. The main reason I bought a A6300 was to have a decent camera with the option to change lenses (the previous camera was a Powershot that I had for over 10 years).

I took the A6300 (with 18-105 F4) on a trip to Costa Rica and that really triggered my interest in photography. I looked at some youtube video's explaining the different settings and I saved some settings in the memory slots. I switch to those depending on what I photograph. I shoot in extra fine JPEG and do some minor color adjustments and/or cropping in Lightroom afterwards.

I plan on taking a short course somewhere here in Toronto (whenever it is a bit warmer outside) to learn more about photography and about my camera.

It's nice to read all your go-to settings, thanks!

 

[spudhead]

I bought Sony Tough, but only because there was a deal on. I would definitely recommend getting the fastest possible if you are shooting full frame files on the A7RIV, as it still buffers in burst on a 277 card, and you can't swap settings. I know that's not an issue on other cameras though. All of my other cards are fast Lexar cards. Super reliable cards. I will not use Sandisk, ever. They are the only card brand that I have had fail, and so have friends. I just don't trust them.

I have had scandisk cards with issues, ie not writing properly and not allowing shots to be deleted, I have some sony cards but not the tough cards. Problem for me is I like to fill a card and lock it after as second back up to my other options.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

I have had scandisk cards with issues, ie not writing properly and not allowing shots to be deleted, I have some sony cards but not the tough cards. Problem for me is I like to fill a card and lock it after as second back up to my other options.

The Tough are no different internally than the lesser cards, very reliable so far.

 

[spudhead]

I can only surmise that my camera isn't advanced enough to stress the file system on the memory cards

I dont think its that your camera is not advanced enough to stress the cards I think its just that if you use enough odds dictate that an issue will a raise at some point , its only recently that I have had any issues with scandisk .

 

[spudhead]

I dont think its that your camera is not advanced enough to stress the cards I think its just that if you use enough odds dictate that an issue will a raise at some point , its only recently that I have had any issues with scandisk .

The large capacity card scare me because having had an issue with 64 gb card you can loose a lot of images, I guess backing up to the second slot is a way round it

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I was going to invest in a larger card, but 64gb is already more space than I have free on my laptop! Most of my picture and video files are living on an external hard drive now, so I think going up to a 128gb SD card is pointless for me

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

The large capacity card scare me because having had an issue with 64 gb card you can loose a lot of images, I guess backing up to the second slot is a way round it

It used to worry me, but 64 is fine for a days shooting for me (over 1500 images ), I don't back up as there are plenty of free recovery programmes that work if it should happen, provided you don't format. My second slot has another 64 in it, but I've never needed it so far.

 

[spudhead]

It used to worry me, but 64 is fine for a days shooting for me (over 1500 images ), I don't back up as there are plenty of free recovery programmes that work if it should happen, provided you don't format. My second slot has another 64 in it, but I've never needed it so far.

Have you used a recovery programme for sony cameras because I read a while ago that sony bodies are one of the hardest makes to recover lost images from and that was a comment from the former ceo of lexar I think, it was something to do with the way sony cameras format in body, anyway after re- formating 2 64 gb cards in my a7iii by accident on a european cruise 2019 I exercise caution now as my wife was furious when she worked out what I had done. Thank goodness I had down loaded a copy to my laptop

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Have you used a recovery programme for sony cameras because I read a while ago that sony bodies are one of the hardest makes to recover lost images from and that was a comment from the former ceo of lexar I think, it was something to do with the way sony cameras format in body, anyway after re- formating 2 64 gb cards in my a7iii by accident on a european cruise 2019 I exercise caution now as my wife was furious when she worked out what I had done. Thank goodness I had down loaded a copy to my laptop

No, thankfully not had to, but that's interesting to know. Kind of makes sense too, as Sony are the only brand I've used that basically force you to format to mass delete images

 

[Clix Pix]

I use Sony Tough cards all the way -- in the A7R IV, the SD ones, and in the A1, the CFexpress Type A ones.... So far, no problems (knock-on-wood!). I always use a card reader to transfer image files that I've just shot to the computer. I use the Mac's Finder to copy from the reader to a new folder on the desktop and then after that I can decide how I want to handle the image files. I shoot RAW only and the second card slot is used for continuing the shooting session rather than backing up what the card in Slot 1 is taking in. After I've checked to be sure that everything is OK in the folder(s) on the desktop I then put the card(s) back into the camera and format them immediately so that when I'm ready for the next shooting session the camera will be as well.

 

[cjskyler]

Interesting question.

So for all of my still (or relatively still as animals aren't models) wildlife shots I always shoot full manual with Auto ISO, but always with single centre point focus and AFC with back button focus. I will start with a shutter speed of 1/800th and always at f8 (the 200 600 is at it's best here) and I don't like losing edges to DOF, especially at 600mm. I will then adjust shutter speed down if ISO is too high, and also go to f6.3 for birds if needed. I have shot as low at 1/40th handheld and stayed sharp, but that takes some practice. I have found no use for any other focus mode in this situation BTW, they are all too erratic.

For Birds in Flight I have a custom set programmed to recall on my AEL button. This is set at 1/3200th, f6.3, +1.7 Compensation, Expanded Flexible Spot with Tracking (the A7RIV is set to Human Eye to allow me to use tracking modes, I'm not fussed about eye tracking). Using the AEL button moves the back button focus onto that button, which is very handy to say the least, so all I have to remember is to click OSS off on the lens when I need a quick swap to BIF. I turn OSS off over 1/1600th to avoid it compromising shots. I also have Auto ISO in this mode. I can't add or minus compensation in this mode, so I settled on +1.7 being a good average.

For Landscapes I have user mode 1 programmed to a specific set. ISO set at 100, Aperture Priority set at f20, Single Centre Focus again. I can adjust compensation in this mode, and often do on sunsets and sunrises.

For all set ups I use Pattern Metering. The RIV meter is very very good, way better than my old Nikon, and pattern gives perfectly excellent results most of the time, though it does blow highlights a bit. I have tried other modes and none are better IMO. I can deal with highlights in post processing. Spot makes no difference and highlight metering underexposes everything else by a stop, unsurprisingly.

That sounds like a very good set up idea I am still trying to find that magic mix of settings to go from one type of shooting to another as well. Thanks for sharing