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Today is supposed to be opening day at Milan Dragway. Nothing super exciting, Junior Drag Racing points race. Kind of cute, the drivers are as young as 6 years old. They run three age groups from 6-18 with speeds in each group topping out 35MPH for the youngest and 95MPH for the oldest. I figured since I haven't shot Sony in this setting yet it would be a good chance to practice under slower than normal conditions.
Anyway, last night I set up a custom shooting mode at #1 on the dial for both the A7-IV and the A7R-III. The A7-IV was pretty easy, having messed with it when I first got the camera. I'm using settings from past experience on other cameras, like AF-C, Tracking, Large Spot, ISO 100, Weighted Metering, etc. And while I usually use M almost exclusively, I programmed P so I can mess with the shutter speeds and let the camera worry about aperture. Any of these settings are subject to change after I see results, but this is a starting point.
Then came the A7R-III. What a nightmare! I hadn't done much with this camera other than walk around and take some shots, a few bird pics, etc. I knew the menus were different, but my Lord, the naming conventions and everything else changed. Just finding the menu to set the programming was a pain. And Tracking was called 'Lock'? After several attempts I finally succumbed to frustration and went to @Timothy Mayo's excellent blog section for a link to the owner's manual. Done and done. Thanks Tim!
Now that I'm familiar, future changes will be easy. But for God's sake, Sony, if you're listening, please standardize your menus going forward and STOP changing things. I have/had 5 Sony cameras, an A700, SLT-A65, A6000, A7R-III, and A7-IV. I know of at least three different menus from the DSLRs to the R III to the 7 IV. Not sure about the A6000, I'm kind of afraid to check!
And after all of that it looks like rain is going to cancel tonight's event. But the batteries are charged and everything is ready to go. The next time I'm available will be Sunday, so I'm hoping to go then.
A coupe of shots of Junior Dragsters for reference. They use snowmobile and motorcycle engines, some of the young ones may use large chain saw engines. The first one looks to be the youngest or middle class, photo from Milan Dragway in 2019. The second one is the older class, photo from Detroit Autorama 2022.
P1000743a by Shotglass Photo, on Flickr
DSC00893 by Shotglass Photo, on Flickr
Anyway, last night I set up a custom shooting mode at #1 on the dial for both the A7-IV and the A7R-III. The A7-IV was pretty easy, having messed with it when I first got the camera. I'm using settings from past experience on other cameras, like AF-C, Tracking, Large Spot, ISO 100, Weighted Metering, etc. And while I usually use M almost exclusively, I programmed P so I can mess with the shutter speeds and let the camera worry about aperture. Any of these settings are subject to change after I see results, but this is a starting point.
Then came the A7R-III. What a nightmare! I hadn't done much with this camera other than walk around and take some shots, a few bird pics, etc. I knew the menus were different, but my Lord, the naming conventions and everything else changed. Just finding the menu to set the programming was a pain. And Tracking was called 'Lock'? After several attempts I finally succumbed to frustration and went to @Timothy Mayo's excellent blog section for a link to the owner's manual. Done and done. Thanks Tim!
Now that I'm familiar, future changes will be easy. But for God's sake, Sony, if you're listening, please standardize your menus going forward and STOP changing things. I have/had 5 Sony cameras, an A700, SLT-A65, A6000, A7R-III, and A7-IV. I know of at least three different menus from the DSLRs to the R III to the 7 IV. Not sure about the A6000, I'm kind of afraid to check!
And after all of that it looks like rain is going to cancel tonight's event. But the batteries are charged and everything is ready to go. The next time I'm available will be Sunday, so I'm hoping to go then.
A coupe of shots of Junior Dragsters for reference. They use snowmobile and motorcycle engines, some of the young ones may use large chain saw engines. The first one looks to be the youngest or middle class, photo from Milan Dragway in 2019. The second one is the older class, photo from Detroit Autorama 2022.
P1000743a by Shotglass Photo, on Flickr
DSC00893 by Shotglass Photo, on Flickr