Sony a7 III Video Settings: Photo/Video Switching and Frame Rates

On the Sony a7 III, you switch between photos and video by turning the mode dial to the Movie or S&Q position, and the camera can keep separate custom button settings for each. For 4K video, choose 24p, 25p or 30p, then set your shutter speed to about double that number as a starting point.

How photo and video switching works on the a7 III

Think of your camera as a house with two rooms: one for photos and one for video. The a7 III lets you set up each room a little differently, so you are not moving all the furniture every time you walk from one room to the other.

The mode dial is the door between rooms

The mode dial is the big round dial on top of the camera. Imaging Resource's A7 IV review explains that the newer camera's dial is similar to its predecessor's, except that Movie mode, S&Q and Scene modes were taken off the dial and moved to a separate switch. That tells you where those modes live on the a7 III: on the same dial as your photo modes, like P, A, S and M.

Videomaker's A7 IV review says that crowding all those modes onto a single dial made switching an annoying process, and that the A7 IV's separate photo/video/S&Q selector locks so you are less likely to switch by accident. On the a7 III, give the dial a quick glance before you press record. If you ever start a video and the camera takes a photo instead, that is not a mistake to feel bad about. It just means the dial was in the wrong room, and now you know to check it.

Separate custom buttons for stills and movies

PetaPixel's a7 III review lists separate custom key settings for video and stills as one of the camera's useful additions for video. A custom key is a button you can teach to do one job, like a light switch you wire to the lamp you use most. The reviewer described setting the custom keys to relevant functions for both stills and video.

Here is a simple way to use this. Pick one button. In photo mode, give it the setting you change most for photos, such as burst shooting. In movie mode, give that same button the setting you change most for video, such as focus peaking. Your thumb goes to the same place, and the camera knows which room you are in.

The Fn menu is shared

The Fn menu is the quick menu you open with the Fn button. In the same review, PetaPixel suggested Sony add two Fn menu settings, one for video and one for stills, just like the two separate custom key assignments. That suggestion means the Fn menu was one shared list when PetaPixel reviewed the camera.

So build your Fn menu as a mix. Put your most-used photo settings on the top row and your most-used video settings on the bottom row. Then you always know where to look.

Start video with the shutter button

PetaPixel highlights a menu item called Movie W/Shutter, which lets you use the shutter button as a start and stop button for video. The reviewer liked it because it lets you use the camera's still-camera grip when shooting video handheld. If the small record button feels awkward, turn this on.

Send photos and video to different cards

Photography Blog notes that the a7 III has two card slots, with one slot supporting UHS-II SD cards. The camera offers options including separate JPEG and RAW recording, separate still image and movie recording, and relay recording. Relay recording means that when one card fills up, the camera keeps going on the other card. Splitting photos onto one card and videos onto the other makes sorting your files at the computer much easier.

Frame rates on the a7 III

What a frame rate is

Video is really a stack of still pictures shown very fast, like a flipbook. The frame rate is how many pictures the camera records each second. For example, 24p means 24 pictures every second.

Your 4K choices

Photography Blog lists the a7 III's 4K video as 3840 x 2160 pixels at 30p, 24p and 25p. Digital Camera World describes the camera capturing 4K across the full sensor width before downsampling it to 4K. The same review also notes a small crop if you want to shoot 4K at 30p.

A crop means the camera uses only the middle part of its sensor, so your shot looks a little more zoomed in, like stepping one small step closer. If you need the widest view from your lens, for example in a small room, 24p is the safer pick.

Which one should you choose? If you are unsure, pick one frame rate and stay with it for the whole project. Clips that match are easier to edit together.

One more detail: Photography Blog says the a7 III records 4K at 4:2:0 to the memory card, and 4:2:2 over HDMI to compatible external recorders. Those numbers describe color sampling, which is how much color information the camera keeps. 4:2:2 keeps more than 4:2:0. For learning, the internal 4:2:0 recording is fine.

Slow motion with S&Q

S&Q stands for Slow & Quick. PetaPixel's review explains that the S&Q menu lets you set both the playback and capture frame rates, so you get slow-motion or high-speed video right out of the camera without needing to conform files in editing. Think of it this way: the camera records many pictures very fast, then plays them back slowly, so a splash or a jump stretches out on screen.

Proxy files for easier editing

PetaPixel points out that the a7 III can record 720p proxy files while you shoot 4K. A proxy file is a small copy of your clip that a slower computer can handle easily, like editing a rough draft before the final copy. If your computer stutters with 4K, turn proxies on.

Shutter speed for video and for photos

How shutter speed works

Shutter speed is how long the camera lets light in for each picture. Picture a door opening and closing. A fast door, like 1/1000 of a second, freezes motion. A slow door, like 1/30 of a second, lets moving things smear a little.

Video: start at double your frame rate

For video, a simple starting point is a shutter speed about double your frame rate:

• 24p: use 1/50
• 25p: use 1/50
• 30p: use 1/60

This gives each frame a little softness when things move, which tends to look smooth and natural. A very fast shutter in video can make movement look choppy, like a flipbook with missing pages. There is nothing wrong with trying it on purpose later, as a creative look.

Too bright outside? Keep the shutter, change something else

On a sunny day, 1/50 may let in too much light. Instead of speeding up the shutter, try these, one at a time:

• Lower your ISO, which is like turning down the camera's volume for light.
• Use a smaller aperture. The aperture works like the pupil of your eye, getting smaller in bright light.
• Add an ND filter, which works like sunglasses for your lens.

Photos: use shutter speed to freeze or blur

For photos, you are free to change shutter speed for every shot. Photography Blog says the a7 III's in-body stabilization corrects five kinds of movement and offers 5 stops of compensation for both stills and movies. In-body stabilization is like a tiny helper inside the camera that steadies your shaky hands. It helps with your hand shake, but it cannot stop a running child, so use a faster shutter for moving subjects.

Photography Blog also lists a flash sync speed of 1/250 of a second. That means when you use a flash, keep your shutter at 1/250 or slower. The camera shoots bursts at 10 frames per second with either the mechanical shutter or a silent electronic shutter. If your photos come out blurry, a faster shutter speed is the first thing to try.

Picture profiles for video

Digital Camera World notes that the a7 III offers an HLG profile for instant 4K HDR playback on compatible devices, and S-Log3 for increased dynamic range of up to 14EV for grading later. S-Log3 looks gray and flat straight out of the camera, like a coloring book page you fill in later. That is normal, not a mistake.

If you are new to video, start with a standard profile so your clips look good right away. Try S-Log3 when you are ready to learn color grading. PetaPixel's reviewer wrote that for video, the a7 III had the best color for skin tones they had seen in any camera they owned under tricky light sources like fluorescents.

Focus when you switch between photo and video

PetaPixel's reviewer described the a7 III's autofocus as fast and accurate for both stills and video. Photography Blog notes the camera added a joystick for moving the focus point and an AF-On button for focusing with your thumb. Photography Blog's review points out that the earlier model's AF/MF switch is gone, so you switch between autofocus and manual focus in the Function menu or with a switch on the lens, if it has one.

If you use manual focus for video, focus peaking draws colored outlines on the sharpest parts of the picture. PetaPixel found peaking easier to use and more accurate than on earlier models, but noted it is spread across three menus: one for the level, one for the color and one to turn it on or off. A custom key in movie mode is a good home for the on and off switch.

Imaging Resource notes that the a7 III's subject tracking is called Lock-on AF, and that it is not as capable as the Real-time Tracking AF in the A7 IV.

A simple setup order

1. Choose your 4K frame rate and stick with it for each project.
2. Set your video shutter speed to about double that frame rate.
3. Assign custom keys separately in photo mode and movie mode.
4. Build your Fn menu with a photo row and a video row.
5. Turn on Movie W/Shutter if you want the shutter button to start recording.
6. Set the card slots to separate photos and video.
7. Turn on proxies if your computer struggles with 4K.

Change one thing, shoot a few test clips, and look at them. Small steps like this are how you leave auto mode behind for good.

a7 III or A7 IV for photo and video work

If you are choosing between the two, here is how the reviews compare their hybrid features.

Feature	Sony a7 III	Sony A7 IV
Photo/video switching	Movie and S&Q on the main mode dial	Separate locking Photo/Movie/S&Q switch
Separate controls per mode	Separate custom keys for stills and video	Nearly all buttons and dials customizable per mode
4K frame rates	30p, 24p, 25p	Up to 60p
4K 30p crop	Small crop	No crop
Internal color	4:2:0, with 4:2:2 over HDMI	4:2:2 10-bit
Stabilization	5 stops	Up to 5.5 stops
Screen	Two-way tilting	Vari-angle
Battery	NP-FZ100	Same FZ100 battery

Imaging Resource notes the a7 III launched in 2018, and it is still easy to find used.

If the separate photo/video switch and 4K at 60p matter more to you than price, the A7 IV is the step up. The a7 IV video settings guide walks through that camera's setup.

If you have a Sony a7 V instead, the a7 V settings guide covers what to change first.