APS-C Mode on Sony Alpha Full-Frame Cameras
In this movie tutorial I will show you the consequences of shooting in APS-C mode on a Sony full-frame camera and how to set up APS-C mode in the menus so that you can move between Full Frame and APS-C mode quickly.
This movie also addresses a problem that some users experience when the 1.5 x magnification does not appear to work after switching APS-C mode to On.
Mark Galer is a Sony Alpha Ambassador for Australia.
Join Mark Galer on Patreon for the best Alpha Support and Guidance. A single $10 Membership fee includes access to member-only Q&A Forums + Over twenty 1-hour member-only seminars, 'over 15 downloadable' eBooks + cameras settings files (there is no contract or commitment beyond the first month): / markgaler
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Join me on Patreon for the best Alpha Support and Guidance. A single $10 Membership fee includes access to my 500-page camera-specific eBooks, member-only Q&A Forums + Over twenty 1-hour member-only seminars + cameras settings files & access to the Raw files from the lens and camera reviews (there is no contract or commitment beyond the first month). www.patreon.com/markgaler
There are no videos on KZhead that come close to yours when it comes to material, clarity and comprehensiveness. Sony couldn't ask for a better ambassador.
Wow this was unbelievably helpful. You clearly explain the advantages with lots of examples. This was so refreshing instead of watching a dude sitting at a desk talking to the camera for 15 minutes without showing a single image.
You share one of my pet hates. So many reviewers don't place the product in context of what it is capable of by showing any photos. Another pet hate is lazy reviewers who don't take photos that will push the limits of the product. Pot plants, brick walls and and pet dogs sitting in their kitchen just don't cut it.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills 💯
And wearing a baseball cap that's on backwards.
I really appreciate your well thought out, clear, and low-key tutorials. Thanks!
Clears up a lot of misconceptions that I had, and explains very thoroughly questions that i couldn’t find an answer to. Thanks 🙏🏼
Mark don’t know what I’d do without you finally I can use this mode. Thank you Mark
Mark, thank you for being a Master Teacher. I ALWAYS learn something on every viewing.
This was one of the most helpful videos on this topic that I've seen so far and I have researched this all over the internet. Your way of explaining the content is exceptionally easy to follow and I can see why you are so well-regarded. Thank you!
Another well-put-together tutorial. Thanks, Mark.
EXCELLENT!!! Terrific, straight forward details on APS-C mode use and set-up! I'm researching a A7III camera for purchase and was curious about this factor. The simple set up descriptions you give are just TOP NOTCH!!!!! Many thanks!!!
Another fantastic, informative video. Thanks, Mark! I've actually been needing some proper info on this setting, since taking up bird photography.
Thank you, Mark! I couldn't get APS-C working on my A7III until I saw this. It works perfectly now!
Hi Mark. Thanks for enumerating the advantages of APS-C S35 mode. Now it's very clear in my mind.
Very informative, thanks Mark.
As a newbie this was very well explained and the examples assisted understanding tremendously. Thanks.
Thanks so much. Really helpful. Didn’t know how to set this until I watched this video.
As always Mark, incredibly useful video. I've always been of the opinion that one should gather as much data as possible in each image and to throw away so many pixels on a full-frame sensor is defeating the object. The freedom to subsequently add editorial text around the image is lost if tightly cropped in camera rather than in post. I think that I will always shoot in full-frame mode but an interesting point about buffering when shooting action subjects. This function may be of more use when shooting videos. You learn something every day!
You Sir, are the Gold standard of Sony tutorial videos!
Excellent video, very well explained, and the images shown as examples were also excellent. Thank you.
Mark I noticed that you commented on many questions below. You are truly a scholar and a gentleman. Mark I recently bought a Sony A7 and just watched somebody on KZhead explain the menu options and mentioned the APS-C option very briefly. I have the full frame 28-70 Sony kit lens and wanted clarity on using that APS-C setting with that lens. You just clarified it all beyond my wildest dreams. So now I can when needed get my zoom to go from 28 - 105. Now I don't necessary have to buy the 24-105 zoom, which I can't afford yet anyways. I'll play around with my free 105 lens now and with peace of mind doing so, with tremendous thanks to your superb skill and expertise.
Excellent information and well explained Mark!
Thank you for explaining in detail!!!
As a layman who has had a Sony a6400 for a few years and have just ordered a Sony A7c I have found this video to be most informative and educational - you are simply streaks better than any other presenter on KZhead. - Many many thanks
Been a loyal follower for 2 years and still amazed at your info and use many of your vLogs regularly. Many thanks to helping me in my profession.
Great to hear!
thank you for the video Mark, I often used this feature as well, for birding, excellent source for Sony A shooters, Cheers!
This was a good and clear explanations on how the APS-C mode on a Sony full-frame camera to be set up.
Super in-depth! Thanks so much for this.
super helpful and very well explained! Thanks Mark!
Thank you very much for your pedagogic presentation. Best wishes todo you from the Canary Islands in Spain.
As always very informative! Thanks a lot for your effort 🙏🏻
Super helpful video! All the info I need to get going! Thank you.
Thank you very much! Extremely helpful.
Thank You - this was unbelievably helpful.
This info was most helpful, I was simply highlighting the APSO auto mode.
Hi,it's a real luxury the information contained in this video.Thanks!
I am not one to leave many comments....but this was so informative and well done, that I felt compelled to not only comment, but like and subscribe. Thanks, and keep up the great content.
Thanks. Didn't know how few pixels we need to post to the web.
Cheers Mark, Was waiting for a new Aps-c from sony but wasn't really impressed with the new 61 or 66, and I can't wait another year for the A6700 only to be dissapointed again. So after watching this my idea of getting the 65 in in doubt. So I greatly appreciating your explaination and images, and the move to Full Frame is on. Thanks again Mr G.
Fantastic explanation of image resolution!
Thank You so much for this video Sir. I have been searching for the secret you revealed at 13:30 of this vid. Great job. As I migrate from Nikon to Sony, I will be referencing your videos. Thanks for what you do.
One of the best videos ever, thanks!
Very helpful and easy to understand as always. Excellent suggestion to put the option on the Fn menu! I had it on My Menu, but it’s so much more quickly accessible on Fn. Thank you for all you do!
Susan Scharenberg Is this possible in a7ii, couldnt do any shortcut?
@@eeeejcicjn Sorry, I don't have an a7ii, so can't answer the question.
Thank u so much for these insights!
Great Videos and very informative. I bought the A7rii so I can use crop mode to extend the range of my lenses. Thanks. An added benefit is your steady tone and level voice that cures my insomnia late at night.
I am a little more animated when presenting to a live audience but putting on a show to a camera with nobody in the room is a style of presentation I will leave to other presenters. 😀
@@AlphaCreativeSkills All kidding aside I'm learning many things from your videos, thank you! My wife laughs when she sees me taking notes from your videos like I'm in class again.
Excellent Video with good info for Crop mode
So helpful! Thank you so much!
I am trying out A7r iii. Would like to commend you for the clear and easy to understand its functions and operations. It is helping me decide if I should get this camera. Thanks.
I use this all the time and really love it, it gets me a bit closer and the quality is acceptable. My only issue is you can't swap modes while the buffer is active!
Thanks for the great video.
Thank you so much
Nice video. Also on the 7r the focus is spread all over the apsc area. Nice sometimes for shooting sports. One of the reasons I swapped from the A73 to the R version was that I want to use my apsc lenses. They are much cheaper at fast Fe lenses.
You're the best Mark....staightened me out on so many Alfa issues....including the APSC mode...thanks so much..
Glad to help
Thank you, Mark.
That was great. Thanks Mark.
Thank you so much!
Excellent Technical explanation with Creative Considerations. 🤓
Glad it was helpful!
as a matter of fact, going apsc mode on first generations (A7/A7II) amplify also the PDAF zone on the EVF, which in return facilitates the focus tracking of a moving subject.
Thanks for the info
so helpful, thanks!
Thank you!!!
Great video!
Thanks Mark for the nice and informative video. Maybe Sony could introduce the option of a further crop for the "r" 42mp cameras ? If I am not wrong leica has recently done this for one of its fixed lens cameras....
Hello Mark, I wish you a happy new year. Thank you for the very informative and great video. I have a Sony a7 iii and am a hobby photographer. I edit my pictures very, very seldom and I practically never shoot RaW. I would like to buy a zoom lens and fluctuate with the sigma 100-400 mm because it is light, cheaper and I can also use it in apcs mode. I also get my 600mm that way. As a beginner, I find the tamron 150-500 mm / sigma 150-600 mm / Sony 200-600 mm too expensive and too big / difficult to start with. Is the Sigma 100-400mm using APS-C mode the best choice for me?
Absolutely incredibly useful video, thank you for it 👍👍👍
Glad it was helpful!
Most excellent video! Thank you for taking the time to explain thoroughly. I've created a Custom Key for my a7riii and look forward to using some lighter lenses from time to time. 👍
Glad it helped! - Just get into the habit of checking whether you are shooting in APS-C or Full frame mode. It is often easy to overlook this when using zoom lens. Sony have added the crop or APS-C icon to the finder in in its latest Alpha cameras, e.g., A1 and A7IV. If you find you are accidentally pressing your Custom key you may choose to move the APS-C/S35 option to the Fn menu instead.
APS-C mode halves your file size. Not a single one of the other videos I watched mentioned this...though, I guess it's implied? I'd rather shoot RAW and crop later. Wish I watched this video before an important shoot with only 2 days of hands on learning. Thank you for the info.
Very well reasoned, thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Superb content Mark.
Glad you think so!
THX so much! you have a new Abo!
🎉 Now I get when to use it. Very clear! 🎉
Glad it was helpful!
This is unbelievably useful. I have started using the aps-c mode on my Batis 18mm to make a 27mm width. It has made this lens more versatile as I can use it for wide angle portraits now and a smaller 35mm like width for landscapes where the 18mm is too wide. 😀
Especially useful with high resolution sensors
Thanks a lot for sharing your profound knowledge via very informative and perfectly made videos. I’m a so called enthusiast using the Sony A6500. Except street photography (legal issue in Germany), I’m not specified in a photographical genre. I have fun shooting fast moving subjects (grand-children), shooting in low light situations (indoors [with-without flash] / blue hour, night / long exposures) and macro/close-up photography (no videos at all; prints are mostly photobooks and up to A3-format-prints respectively; furthermore photos are sold on mircostock agencies). Right now I’m considering an upgrade to „whatsoever“. There are many interesting camera options as Sony A7Cii, A7CR, A6700 (the newer models), A7iv, A7Riii (…) which are great and still „payable“. You showed the pros and cons incorporating the crop-mode in a full-frame camera, which is pretty advantageous because I could still use all my APS-C lenses. Are there any recommandations or thoughts you can give? File-size in crop-mode differs a lot from 14,7 MP (A7Cii, A7iv) to 26 MP (A7CR => which is than the A6700, two cameras in one), with different pixelpitch and DR (=> low light). The newer models are not in the stores right now, so have no chance to see and feel the cameras in respect of handling, EVF, display, touch-functionality and the like. Is the IQ between FF and APS-C cameras still an issue or more or less neglectable? It would be great to receive some hints to support my decision-process. Many thanks in advance, greetings from Germany.
Thanks for the positive feedback- I offer individual support and guidance on my Patreon.com/markgaler support channel
Awesome video ! Golden info
Glad it was helpful!
Good explanation Mark. If I can just mention that 1.5 over 1.5 is actually ONE.
Yep I wrote the equation out incorrectly because I couldn’t find the equation written down at all when I researched this topic x the answer I gave is however correct.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills Apparently : 24÷1.5^2
Many thanks.
Yeah agree. Many dont realise how far you can crop. For someone like me who is running with just 1 lens (35mm/55mm) it would mean i can easily crop into 2:1 and still have enough MP... so im actually running with a 50-100mm zoom. Same goes for 4K video, the standard consumer doesnt need it, but it makes life so much easier for crop, to stabilise footage etc ... Still going for the a7III with 24mp should be enough for me :-)
I really liked the explanation, the most simplified I’ve come across. That poor bull though 😞. The eyes look terrified.
Probably explains why I am a vegetarian.
Very Informative Mark. Thank you ! Is there any major difference in low light photography music event using super 35mm ?
No - cropping in camera does not effect low light performance
I like to assign the aps-c mode to the lense focus hold button.
Great video! I would advise not to leave that option in auto. I experienced a strange glitch where my a9 stayed in aps-c mode even after I put a full frame lens on. No more auto after that.
scary... thanks for mentioning
Goddamn this was a the best tutorial ive seen ive watching like 20 and this is the best one thank you
Very good tutorial Mark. Thanks for that. I was wondering about any difference in IQ between FF and apsc but there doesn't seem to be any (perhaps focusing in apsc mode could be more precise than FF making the resulting image a bit sharper in the intended places, perhaps). Just wish that the full-frame/aps-c switch could be assigned to a button on my A7Rii.
No difference in AF performance as the A7RII has the PDAF points only in the APS-C area of the sensor.
Thanks Mark. Really helpful. I have been thinking getting 24mm 1.4 and use it as both 24 and a 35 mm equivalent in APS-C mode because all the 35mm 1.4 lenses are too big.
Just remember that you have to apply the crop factor to the aperture to work out the equivalent depth of field.
Very helpful 👌
Glad to hear that
@12.20 Physical set up for APS -C begins....Thanks Mark
Hey man Great videos as usual. I heard something that shooting in crop mode increases noise and decreases dynamic range. Firstly, can you confirm that? & as a follow up, would you therefore advise against crop mode (or even apsc lenses on full frame bodies) in lowlight situations?
It is no different to cropping in camera. Dynamic range is therefore exactly the same. Images appear noisier the more you zoom or crop into the image. Again it is no different to cropping in post. If you don't use APS-C in low ambient light then you have to choose a wider angle of view or reject the idea of cropping in post.
Great video, 💯💯💯
Thanks for watching
I have mine set to the C1 button so I can quickly toggle between the two.
Dh Viramati Is this possible in a7ii, couldnt do any shortcut?
Doesn't work with my a7r mk1. It is not a function to add to the Fn menu either.
about to do this. good idea
Thanks for doing this explanation. There is another 'bonus' with this ability to shoot in crop mode which affects the amount of Lenses we need. Having a prime lens like a 85mm will also then become a 'virtual' 125.5mm and a 35mm Prime will take the place of a 52.5mm lens thus being 4 prime lenses. Less travel weight is becoming more and more valuable as airlines are constantly reducing weight limits. Plus: The crop mode is, for the same reason a very real way for weight reduction whilst hiking.
A suggestion for another video that could also have been included in this video, is that the real advantage with crop mode is the ability to use it when shooting video. Then you really have a virtual telephoto option with all your lenses.
You make an interesting point. Hopefully Mark Galer would be kind enough to comment in full. Thanks again.
usefull and clear
Mark Galer's, really much helps your content. I'm migrating from canon to sony recently, and I'm with an a7iii and would like to buy the 18-135mm lens, for the qualities you present in a video of yours on this lens, at the moment I'm not being able to invest in multiple lenses and this with this mode that you presented would be a good alternative.
The 18-135 in APS-C mode will give you image files that are 10 Megapixels
Great video. I have a question. I am using an a7RV. If I go into APS-C mode for capturing an image with a Full frame lens is there a way to keep the view finder in Full frame mode. This could help to frame the image. i.e. birds in flight. So I get the smaller file by cropping in camera, but still have a Full frame view for framing the moving subject. Thanks
Unfortunately this is not an option.
Thanks you for your reply.
Great video Mark! Thanks! So, your talk seems to say that you're not really loosing that much by shooting with your ASP-C lens in ASP-C mode on the full frame camera (in my case, the a7RIII). How does this image or resolution compare to that taken on an ASP-C camera, such as the a6500?
I discuss in the tutorial that you sacrifice some resolution- but in many instances not more than is necessary to use on a 4K Monitor. The resolution of the A7Rlll drops to 18 Megapixels. 4K is 8.3
Thank you so much!! This is very helpful. Now I have to go and buy full frame lens =(
Thanks for all the great info! Is cropping in postproduction better for the image quality compared to cropping using the APS-C mode? Does it make any difference both for photo and video? Thanks so much!
It makes no difference for stills. It does make a difference on some full frame cameras that pixel bin in full frame only when shooting in 4K. This makes APSC-C / Super 35 higher quality in ‘some’ full frame cameras when shooting movies.
much appreciated!
Thanks so much
No problem
Another great video! I didn’t realize I needed to turn off APS-C shooting to use it manually or that it only appears in the full info screen, THANK YOU!! I also put it on the function menu rather C3 button like you suggested. Would shooting in RAW enhance the ability to sharpen photos taken in crop with my 16-35 Sigma Art lense?
They have just started adding an APS-C crop icon in the viewfinder for the A1, A7IV and A7RV cameras
Your question about Raw requires a complex answer that would require a response of several pages. I often provide this level of support on my Patreon.com/markgaler support channel.
Ciao Mark ma questi tutorial in generale c'è la possibilità di averli in Italiano per una comprensione migliore durante la spiegazione?
Hi Mark, if you make a Video about the new Animal-Eye-Af, try it also with the Aps-C Mode. The Animal-Eye-AF shows much more Activity in Aps-C mode and find much more Animals, Reptiles, Birds etc :-)