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Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

RoamingScott
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p.4 #1 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

Nifty Fifty wrote:
It's a one-time setup, and that's it.

And if you have no clue what each item does, that first time setup will lead you down a road of confusing results.

It's always amazing how badly camera-illiterate users can manage to cock up their cameras. It's often faster to just factory reset the thing than figure out what boneheaded, conflicting settings someone has managed to drunkenly set.

Nov 30, 2025 at 01:52 PM

Nifty Fifty
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p.4 #2 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

RoamingScott wrote:
And if you have no clue what each item does, that first time setup will lead you down a road of confusing results.

That might be true for young people of the smartphone generation, who are used to figuring everything out by trial and error, or via YouTube, Google, or AI. Old fogies like me, the old-fashioned way, simply read the instruction manual.
https://helpguide.sony.net/ilc/2110/v1/de/index.html

And if a function isn't entirely clear to me, then I just try it out. But sure, sometimes outside help isn't a bad thing, or even necessary. But I'm thinking of clearly defined things, not things like "The menu is awful, the camera isn't working, what am I doing wrong?"

Edited on Nov 30, 2025 at 02:17 PM · View previous versions

Nov 30, 2025 at 02:13 PM

Imagemaster
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p.4 #3 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

On Nov. 28 the OP wrote Just got a new A7iv a couple of weeks ago, and I thought I did a pretty decent job of setting it up until I downloaded some images onto my computer.

Some of the images were outdoors of an Osprey in its nest, other images were indoors of a family gathering. The one thing both sets of images had in common were that they were lackluster, lacked detail, not one single image was sharp, and the noise from the indoor shots was extremely noticeable.

Then on Nov. 30 he says he is not rude, yet rudely calls me a Troll. He claims I provided no helpful feedback, when in fact myself and others asked him to post examples with EXIF included. Myself and others often give that advice so that we have more helpful information for feedback. As quoted above, the OP already had those images on his computer, yet replied Thank you! I'm working this weekend, so I won't be able to get out and take pics until Tuesday. He is too busy arguing here instead of just posting the examples already on his computer. Instead he posts a link to his galleries.

I wonder how he would like Tony the Troll to call him Sandy the Sniveler?

Nov 30, 2025 at 02:13 PM

bmike-vt
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p.4 #4 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

snegron7 wrote:
My current "settings" (as best as I can tell) are:

- Image Quality= JPEG/HEIF Switch, Slot 1 JPEG extra fine, 33m. (I tried RAW, and RAW + JPEG, but the results were even worse).

- High ISO NR= Low (I set it to Off at first, but the noise was ridiculously high, so I set it to Low).

- Color Space = SRGB

- Lens Compensation = Auto for all (using Tamron lenses).

- AF= Continuous, (Balanced Emphasis for both AF-S and AF-C), AF Tracking sensitivity to 1 (locked on), AF Illuminator to Auto, Aperture Drive in AF to standard, AFw/Shutter to On, Pre-AF to...Show more →

I'm going to suggest you do a reset...

But:

You should be shooting RAW or RAW + JPG

Turn NR off, unless you are only shooting JPG, or unless you know what you want it for. IIRC it delays your shot to shot speed as it captures a dark frame and subtracts the noise. Let your post processing software handle NR. If your noise was ridiculously high then you must be shooting Auto ISO? In the dark? That might explain a lot, but we have not seen any images or capture data (aperture, SS, ISO, focal length)

Focus - I seem to remember getting better performance on my Tamon 20-40 with AF-S, but I would have to check. It's been awhile since I shot that lens. I tend to use back button focus, so I'm locking focus when I let go. I can't speak to the other AF options as I primarily shoot landscape / city stuff and some macro, so I'm not familiar with the ins and out of tracking AF options.

I know you don't want to RTFM - but here it is, I found it very helpful the first few weeks when I switched from Canon 6kMk2 to the a7IV:

https://helpguide.sony.net/ilc/2110/v1/en/index.html

Nov 30, 2025 at 02:21 PM

snegron7
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p.4 #5 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

bmike-vt wrote:
I'm going to suggest you do a reset...

But:

You should be shooting RAW or RAW + JPG

Turn NR off, unless you are only shooting JPG, or unless you know what you want it for. IIRC it delays your shot to shot speed as it captures a dark frame and subtracts the noise. Let your post processing software handle NR. If your noise was ridiculously high then you must be shooting Auto ISO? In the dark? That might explain a lot, but we have not seen any images or capture data (aperture, SS, ISO, focal length)

Focus - I seem to remember...Show more →

Thanks! You are correct tegarding my use of Auto ISO indoors! Funny thing is that I usually shoot Auto ISO indoors with my other cameras and never noticed so much noise (except for my older m4/3 Panasonic cameras and my older APS-C Nikon bodies like my D200). For the initial setup on my A7iv, I turned the NR off (I usually keep it off on all my cameras). But when I saw the results, I set it it to Low thinking it might be a quirk particular to this camera.

Regarding the Tamron 20-40mm f2.8, it performs flawlessly on my A7c. Same with my other two Tamron lenses.

What I'll do for this upcoming Tuesday is I'll shoot with the Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 and the Tamron 20-40mm f2.8 on both my A7c and A7iv at f5.6 to f8 to be able to compare both cameras equally (discarding any possibility of any lens contrast/softness issues at f2.8 or difraction issues at f16 although both these lenses are super sharp at f4).

Nov 30, 2025 at 02:48 PM

j4nu
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p.4 #6 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

snegron7 wrote:
Thanks! You are correct tegarding my use of Auto ISO indoors! Funny thing is that I usually shoot Auto ISO indoors with my other cameras and never noticed so much noise (except for my older m4/3 Panasonic cameras and my older APS-C Nikon bodies like my D200). For the initial setup on my A7iv, I turned the NR off (I usually keep it off on all my cameras). But when I saw the results, I set it it to Low thinking it might be a quirk particular to this camera.

Regarding the Tamron 20-40mm f2.8, it performs flawlessly on my...Show more →

Just be sure to check the resulting ISO when you're shooting at f5.6 and f8. You might be better off shooting wide open if the ISO is in the higher regions (especially 12800+). Or use a tripod

...

Nov 30, 2025 at 02:58 PM

snegron7
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p.4 #7 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

Update: (links to test albums attached as promised)

1. Ok, so I stand corrected regarding the sharpness of my A7iv. After a bit of tweaking and following suggestions from several folks here who kindly shared tips with me (not the uselss troll who I won't bother to mention), I was able to get some sharp results.

2. I still believe the menu system on the A7iv is unnecessarily complicated.

3. The A7iv actually surprised me as the images are sharper than the ones I shot with my Canon R6II! I wasn't expecting that! Still going to keep all three cameras (my A7iv, A7c and my R6II) though. Also keeping my OM-5.

4. The Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 is way better than my Canon RF 16-28mm f2.8 STM. The RAW images show the distortion and extreme vignetting on the Canon RF 16-28mm f2.8 STM, however the RAW images taken with the Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 (with A7iv and A7c) are almost identical to the JPEG; almost no distortion or vignetting!

Anyway, here are three links to the test shots I took today (a day earlier than promised, so hopefully Tony can shut his useless piehole). One album is for test shots with the A7iv, the other with the A7c, and the other with the R6II.

For the A7iv:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/195506119@N07/a760NBgw3z

For the A7c:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/195506119@N07/K1Z9yg6nd6

For the R6II:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/195506119@N07/VzE89gu1N8

The RAW files are huge. Although I have a monthly subscription to Adobe, I only use Photoshop, not Lightroom. Flickr won't accept RAW files.

Here's a link to the RAW files.

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/ap/od-59584e83/?url=https%3A%2F%2F1drv.ms%2Ff%2Fc%2F3a409759d55a21a3%2FEoo4TuVyhP5BlT-rOAwrilkBe9_QQ_091wlpv5ZJRNWplg%3Fe%3DkVhR3z&data=05%7C02%7C%7C109c52ea29d946150de108de31196105%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639002182232805753%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ER8y1IbHMILih8eDI7mRJnIpGYaBw%2BcncszYvyN4u5w%3D&reserved=0

Dec 01, 2025 at 04:22 PM

duncangr
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p.4 #8 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

snegron7 wrote:
Update: (links to test albums attached as promised)

1. Ok, so I stand corrected regarding the sharpness of my A7iv. After a bit of tweaking and following suggestions from several folks here who kindly shared tips with me (not the uselss troll who I won't bother to mention), I was able to get some sharp results.

2. I still believe the menu system on the A7iv is unnecessarily complicated.

3. The A7iv actually surprised me as the images are sharper than the ones I shot with my Canon R6II! I wasn't expecting that! Still going to keep all three cameras (my...Show more →

A7iv is 33mp vs 24mp from the R6ii so you shouldn't be surprised the A7iv images appear sharper - they capture quite a lot more detail.

For a real surprise try out the A7rv or A7cr... but you might need a 5K or 6K retina display for best viewing results.

Oh and your RAW files link doesn't seem to work.

Dec 01, 2025 at 05:21 PM

snegron7
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p.4 #9 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

duncangr wrote:
A7iv is 33mp vs 24mp from the R6ii so you shouldn't be surprised the A7iv images appear sharper - they capture quite a lot more detail.

For a real surprise try out the A7rv or A7cr... but you might need a 5K or 6K retina display for best viewing results.

Oh and your RAW files link doesn't seem to work.

Thanks! I uploaded the RAW files to Adobe Cloud. Not sure why it's not working. I'm open to any suggestions for another way of sharing my RAW files. I know that Flickr definitely won't accept them.

Dec 01, 2025 at 05:48 PM

Choderboy
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p.4 #10 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

Remove this from the begining of the url : https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/link.php?url=

Leaving a working link:

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/ap/od-59584e83/?url=https%3A%2F%2F1drv.ms%2Ff%2Fc%2F3a409759d55a21a3%2FEoo4TuVyhP5BlT-rOAwrilkBe9_QQ_091wlpv5ZJRNWplg%3Fe%3DkVhR3z&data=05%7C02%7C%7C109c52ea29d946150de108de31196105%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639002182232805753%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ER8y1IbHMILih8eDI7mRJnIpGYaBw%2BcncszYvyN4u5w%3D&reserved=0

Dec 01, 2025 at 09:05 PM

Choderboy
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p.4 #11 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

16 x 187 MB images xxx.psd

Dec 01, 2025 at 09:06 PM

Choderboy
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p.4 #12 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

So, they are not RAW files. They are Photoshop files. I don't use Lightroom so don't know if they can be opened in Lightroom.
CoPilot says: Yes, Lightroom can open PSD files, but they must be saved with the "Maximize PSD and PSB File Compatibility" option enabled in Photoshop."

Actual RAW files would be much better. Also, they'd be much smaller file size.
It's a Sony Forum. Almost anyone reading will be able to use RAW files, using their normal method / software.

Dec 01, 2025 at 09:17 PM

snegron7
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p.4 #13 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

Choderboy wrote:
So, they are not RAW files. They are Photoshop files. I don't use Lightroom so don't know if they can be opened in Lightroom.
CoPilot says: Yes, Lightroom can open PSD files, but they must be saved with the "Maximize PSD and PSB File Compatibility" option enabled in Photoshop."

Actual RAW files would be much better. Also, they'd be much smaller file size.
It's a Sony Forum. Almost anyone reading will be able to use RAW files, using their normal method / software.

I don't think I saw that option when I saved them on the Adobe cloud.

Is there any other method of sharing the original RAW files? I'm thinking that any other program will probably convert the RAW files to their proprietary system in order to send/open them.

Dec 01, 2025 at 09:28 PM

ruthenium
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p.4 #14 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

Other methods: Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive

Dec 01, 2025 at 10:50 PM

shadow9d9
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p.4 #15 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

You use a file hosting site, which would never autoconvert anything. Alternatively, a photo hosting site like smugmug would allow downloads of the file itself.

snegron7 wrote:
I don't think I saw that option when I saved them on the Adobe cloud.

Is there any other method of sharing the original RAW files? I'm thinking that any other program will probably convert the RAW files to their proprietary system in order to send/open them.

Dec 02, 2025 at 04:23 AM

duncangr
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p.4 #16 · Why is my A7iv so Complicated to Set Up?

RoamingScott wrote:
And if you have no clue what each item does, that first time setup will lead you down a road of confusing results.

It's always amazing how badly camera-illiterate users can manage to cock up their cameras. It's often faster to just factory reset the thing than figure out what boneheaded, conflicting settings someone has managed to drunkenly set.

"camera-illiterate"
"cock-up"
"bonehead"
"drunkenly"

Please go back to the Nikon forum unless you have something constructive to add.

Dec 02, 2025 at 04:57 AM

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