Sony Autofocus Settings for Sports Videography (How to NAIL THE SHOT)

Learn how to never miss the shot by using these focus settings on your Sony A7iii or other Sony mirrorless camera when filming sports videos

In this sports videography tutorial, we go over my Sony autofocus settings that I use with my Sony A7iii when filming sports videos (these settings can also apply to other Sony mirrorless cameras like the a6500, a6400, and a6300 as well as newer cameras like the A7Siii and FX3). We talk about the pros and cons of autofocus and manual focus as well as the focus mode and focus area or focus zone that is best to use when filming sports videos. After this video you should know what focus settings to use with your Sony mirrorless camera to get the best results for sports videography!

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[Phungtastic]

Bless whoever programmed the Sony Autofocus it makes filming so easy.

[markymark]

So as for auto focus we all know now is preferred, the main info i think we all need is response time settings and actual MENU settings, take us into your menu settings and let's see those, that's most important to a lot of us.

[clutchtimeproductions]

I also use center AF because i usually crop for IG anyway.
I prefer center because I know I’m not missing focus if I’m tracking ball and player well and key-framing to keep them centered for IG reels or social is minimal
Great video as always thanks man!

[tylerrover]

Thanks for the vid, Peter. Good to reaffirm my current process and always helps we run the exact same camera/lens combo 👊🏼

[sebastianmoreno]

Your videos literally answer all of my questions I’ve ever had. Preciate your content man keep it up‼️

[noiz.i]

you are helping my choices on what i need to do for me starting sports videography. thank you bro. keep posting please

[KFilms]

Thanks Peter, that is very Helpful and confirms my settings of my A6400

[kdkinetics]

Exactly what I was wondering yesterday lol this was great

[KonnorsCaptures]

No way, I was just looking on YouTube for a video just like this!! thank you Peter!

[erinwelregent]

Loved the video. Would love to hear any additional thoughts you have when it comes to newbie videography mistakes or best tips when filming action like basketball.

[tituskao]

This was helpful and thanks for taking the time to make this video. I have a Sony A7iii and Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5 and sometimes autofocus misses some of my shots when I shoot Hi+ continuous photos. I'm mainly shooting track and field so the action is similar to basketball. I'll play around the wide/zone/center focus area more. Thanks again!

[Jsutty]

Peter, I got my new Sony 2.8 70-200 and filmed with the a6400 and I continued to miss focus tracking the ball in the air after a shot attempt and I don’t know what the issue is. I used center zone as well

[Poilimjoco]

I just bought my A7iii camera and also still learning how to use it. I just want to know if you are in the manual mode and also what settings do use. Thanks

[alexgoriatchenkov]

Yes center for moving in Actions subjects and lots of choices for stills (my practice ). Thank you, nice talking.

[HiFocusedCinematography]

So are you tapping on the subject to enable the tracking that player?

[cretivity]

You didn’t mention it, but I’m guessing you set your AF drive speed to Fast and AF track sensor to responsive for fast moving sports?

[ethankim]

Wow this video is what I was looking for. What aperature do you recommend for basketball f/4 or higher depending on the situation

[ethankim]

Amazing video, quick question what if I have like a older model camera but I’m not recording anything crazy like the 70d, should I do face auto tracking or area auto focus

[DLow-denp]

Videos are always helpful! Is there a certain picture profile or recording format like cine4 you used on the a7iii? I see a lot of people recommend shooting in cine4 cause the a7iii can’t handle slog 3.

[dyk]

Hello, I am having an issue with autofocus in one of the gyms I frequently film basketball games where there is a scoreboard on the side of the court by half line. As I move my camera across from one side of the court to the other following the game, my A73 tries to focus on this scoreboard and things go blur. This keeps happening until that scoreboard moves out of the frame. I use Sony FE4/24-105 G OSS, with continuous autofocus and Wide, 1/250 F4.0. Any suggestion to fix this issue?