Sony A7 IV Assigning spot metering override to a camera button?

cjsmall

Active Member
Followers
0
Following
0
Joined
Feb 15, 2023
Posts
27
Likes Received
23
Name
Jeffery Small
Country
United States
CC Welcome
  1. Yes
On my A77, I had a button that, when pressed, would use spot metering and hold that metering while the scene was recomposed. Once the shot was taken the metering reverted to the default selected mode. I can see how to assign the entire metering mode menu to a button (say C1) on the A7M4, but I have not yet been able to figure out how to implement the temporary spot override function. Any tips or tricks? Thanks.
 
Jeffrey
Check out this tutorial on Recall Custom Hold
Watch the whole thing if you're not familiar with this capability. You'll see you can change the metering mode at around 7:09.


On my A77, I had a button that, when pressed, would use spot metering and hold that metering while the scene was recomposed. Once the shot was taken the metering reverted to the default selected mode. I can see how to assign the entire metering mode menu to a button (say C1) on the A7M4, but I have not yet been able to figure out how to implement the temporary spot override function. Any tips or tricks? Thanks.
 
I do not think you can overide a button function in the way you suggest.

If key to your shooting process you may be limited to mapping metering
selection to a single toggle button/include in fn or alternatively mapping
the 2nd required metering mode to an individual button which will overide
your default selection.
 
ST, thanks for the pointer to the video. This is exactly what I wanted to do. The options for this camera are many and thus somewhat confusing when reading the manual and trying to absorb it all, but there is usually a way! Just to summarize for others reading this thread:

First you need to define a set of registered override setting in one of three registers. Go to:

Shooting → [4] Shooting Mode → Reg. Custom Shoot Set

Then select the desired register and enter the menu:
  • Recall Custom hold [123]
Turn on/off all desired items to override and adjust the remainder to the desired settings. Then press Register

Now, assign this to the desired button:

Setup → [3] Operation Customize → Custom Key/Dial Set →

Select the desired button and then navigate back to Recall Custom hold [123] to assign it to that button.

Works great. I now have a spot-metering button that overrides the current setting but only while it is being held.

Thanks for the responses. Much appreciated.

P.S.: Just for further clarification, the Custom Shot Settings 1, 2 & 3 have nothing to do with the custom camera settings 1, 2 & 3 that you access from the top mode dial. I wish Sony had labeled these something else to avoid that confusion.
 
Last edited:
Hey, Jeffery.
I'm glad the worked out for you. That was really considerate of you to document this feature for others.
ST, thanks for the pointer to the video. This is exactly what I wanted to do. The options for this camera are many and thus somewhat confusing when reading the manual and trying to absorb it all, but there is usually a way! Just to summarize for others reading this thread:

First you need to define a set of registered override setting in one of three registers. Go to:

Shooting → [4] Shooting Mode → Reg. Custom Shoot Set

Then select the desired register and enter the menu:
  • Recall Custom hold [123]
Turn on/off all desired items to override and adjust the remainder to the desired settings. Then press Register

Now, assign this to the desired button:

Setup → [3] Operation Customize → Custom Key/Dial Set →

Select the desired button and then navigate back to Recall Custom hold [123] to assign it to that button.

Works great. I now have a spot-metering button that overrides the current setting but only while it is being held.

Thanks for the responses. Much appreciated.
 
Back
Top