Leveling

[RHerr]

I have a A7 IV with a 200-600 Lens which i use for bird photographing only.

I have an issue with levelling the object. When i aim at the object i concentrate on getting the focus area on the bird's eye, i do not look at the levelling line. The result is the image does not come out level as can be seen in the example below.

The first image is full image including the background, notice the level of items in the background is not level.

The second image is cropped in, but notice the line on the water are not horizontal, not level.

My question is: Is there a setting to auto level the image instead of moving the body until the level line is green?

• ILCE-7M4
• Sony FE 200–600mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS (SEL200600G)
• 600.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/2000 sec
• ISO 500

• ILCE-7M4
• Sony FE 200–600mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS (SEL200600G)
• 600.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/2000 sec
• ISO 500

 

[Deleted Member 5003]

There is no auto level in camera, but for still images with the horizontal level line set to feature in the viewfinder
it should not be an issue. Maybe all what is needed is a degree of further concentration in framing/composing and
executing the shot.

 

[Brownie]

Practice. That may sound short, but it's the truth. This is all part of proper composition. Take your camera out and practice shooting horizons until it's second nature.

We all get it wrong one time or another. Adjustments to level can be made in post (even the cheesiest programs allow that function), but it also crops a lot off the shot. If your shot wasn't meant to be cropped it can ruin it.

Practice practice practice.

 

[Jeff A]

As mentioned before, leveling in Post is very easy. I use Lightroom and you can level an image manually, or 1 click on the "Auto" button will get the job done in a heartbeat.

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

That is a bloody long way off level though. I think it's far more important to relax and breathe when you're shooting and remember that the bird is only one part of the image. When you're in the moment you need to be calm enough to think about many things at once, otherwise you will never be happy with your results.

Auto corrections are handy for small issues, but as always, the less you need to do to an image the better. My opinion is if you are lining up every image in post production then you really need to think about applying yourself a little better behind the camera, you shouldn't be correcting horizons and shore lines often, I know I rarely do...

 

[AlphaWorld]

It’s easy to level images like that in Photoshop, too - I use “Straighten”, where I choose the command, then draw a line that should be horizontal (say, along the water line), and it gets rotated to suit.

Not saying you shouldn’t get it “right in camera” - just saying this is how you can fix it later if you need to. Also handy when the in-camera level is not quite right (sometimes I’ve had to rotate by 0.9 degrees!)

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Use the viewfinder level as Ray said. I do for landscapes and if I'm holding the camera portrait style, as I never get it straight without.