Sony calls the A7 V an all-around full-frame camera. Its 33MP partially stacked sensor shoots 30 fps with the electronic shutter and full-width 4K 60p, so its settings can switch from a portrait to a bird in flight to a vlog without a second body.
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Quick answer
| Situation | Mode | Aperture | Shutter | ISO | AF mode | Drive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everyday & travel | A | f/5.6-f/8 | Auto | Auto ISO | AF-C, Wide, Recognition Target: Auto | Single Shooting |
| Portraits | A | f/1.4-f/2.8 | 1/250s or faster | 100-800 | AF-C, Subject Recog in AF On, Recognition Target: Human | Single Shooting |
| Wildlife, pets & sport | S | f/2.8-f/5.6 | 1/2000s or faster, Electronic Shutter | Auto ISO | AF-C, Tracking: Zone, Recognition Target: Animal/Bird | Continuous Shooting: Hi+ (30 fps) + Pre-Capture |
| Indoor events | A | f/2.8 | ISO AUTO Min. SS: Faster | Auto ISO | AF-C, Recognition Target: Human | Single Shooting |
| Landscapes (tripod) | A | f/8 | As metered | 100 | AF-S, Spot: S | Self-timer |
| Setting | What to set | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Focus Mode | Continuous AF (AF-C) for anything that moves; Single-shot AF (AF-S) for still subjects; DMF to fine-tune by hand | Movies allow only Continuous AF and Manual Focus. |
| Focus Area | Tracking: Zone or Tracking: Expand Spot for action; Spot: S or Spot: XS for precise still subjects; Wide for snapshots | Tracking works in Continuous AF, for stills. |
| Subject Recog in AF / Recognition Target | On; Recognition Target set to Human, Animal/Bird, Animal, Bird, Insect, Car/Train or Airplane, or Auto for mixed scenes | |
| Recognition Part | Eye/Head/Body for wildlife and sport; Eye for portraits | |
| Pre-Capture Settings | Pre-Capture On, Pre-Capture Rec Time up to 1.0 second | Needs the Electronic Shutter and Cont. Shooting. |
| Setting | What to set | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 4K angle of view Priority | On for full-width 4K 60p | Sony says 4K 60p is oversampled from 7K across the full frame with this On; Off narrows the angle of view. |
| Record Setting | XAVC HS 4K 4:2:2 10bit for efficient files; XAVC S-I 4K (All-Intra, 4:2:2 10bit) for the easiest editing | 4K 120p/100p records 4:2:2 10bit too, but always in APS-C/Super 35mm. |
| Log Shooting Setting | Log Shooting: On (Flexible ISO) with S-Log3 if you'll grade; S-Cinetone (PP11) for footage that looks finished out of camera | |
| Shutter speed | 1/50s at 24p/25p, 1/60s at 30p, 1/100s or 1/125s at 50p/60p | About double the frame rate keeps natural motion blur. |
| SteadyShot (movie) | Active or Dynamic active handheld; Off on a tripod | Sony gives Dynamic active a maximum of ISO 25600. |
Wildlife and pets: 30 fps plus Pre-Capture
Continuous Shooting: Hi+ reaches 30 fps with the Electronic Shutter (10 fps mechanical). Pre-Capture keeps up to 1 second from before the full press; at 30 fps the slowest shutter speed is 1/30s, so action shots at 1/2000s are unaffected.
Best for: Birds, dogs, kids, sport
Card slots: CFexpress in Slot 1
Only Slot 1 takes CFexpress Type A; Slot 2 is SD only. Put the faster card in Slot 1 for long 30 fps bursts and high-bitrate 4K, and use Slot 2 for a backup copy.
Best for: Long bursts, 4K 120p, paid jobs
Events: Auto ISO with a faster minimum shutter speed
Set ISO AUTO Min. SS to Fast or Faster so Auto ISO raises the ISO before the shutter drops low enough to blur moving guests.
Best for: Receptions, parties, indoor sport
Colour for creators: Creative Look
Creative Look has ST, PT, FL (Film), IN (Instant), SH (Soft Highkey) and more, each adjustable, plus six Custom Look slots. Pick one for stills and S-Cinetone for video so photos and clips from the same day match.
Best for: Social posts and vlogs shot on one body
Landscape: f/8, ISO 100, self-timer
A dependable tripod baseline. Use the Mechanical Shutter here: Sony quotes the A7 V's 16 stops of dynamic range for mechanical shutter mode only.
Best for: Scenic, tripod-based work
Positions 1, 2 and 3 on the mode dial recall setups saved with Camera Set. Memory, and M1–M4 can be stored on the memory card.
1: Wildlife & pets
S mode, 1/2000s, Auto ISO, AF-C with Tracking: Zone, Recognition Target Animal/Bird, Electronic Shutter, Continuous Shooting: Hi+, Pre-Capture On.
2: Portraits & events
A mode, f/1.4-f/2.8, Auto ISO with ISO AUTO Min. SS Faster, AF-C, Recognition Target Human, Single Shooting.
3: Video
4K 25p or 30p, 4K angle of view Priority On, 1/50s or 1/60s, S-Cinetone, SteadyShot (movie) Active.
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