Mastering Focus Bracketing with the Sony A7 R5: A Comprehensive Guide

Hello, fellow photography enthusiasts! Welcome back to my blog. Today, I’m thrilled to share some insights on how to use focus bracketing with the Sony A7 R5. Let’s dive right in and explore the setup process.

Setting Up Focus Bracketing

To start, you’ll need to navigate to the drive mode. The easiest way to do this is by pressing the 9 o’ clock position on the command wheel located at the back of the camera. This will bring up the focus bracketing option.

To adjust the parameters, press the command wheel to the right (the 3 o’clock position). This will bring up a menu where you can adjust the distances between the shots in your scene. For instance, scrolling up and down will allow you to select between a narrow and wide setting.

The narrow setting will result in more shots, while the wide setting will yield fewer shots. I typically set it to wide, as I find it does a pretty good job with that setting.

Adjusting the Number of Shots

As you scroll across, you’ll encounter an option to adjust the number of shots. I usually set this to a high number (like 50) because the camera will take as many shots as it needs to get a completely focused stacked image. Typically, it ends up taking between ten and twenty shots.

Focus Bracket Order

The next menu item is the focus bracket order, which gives you two choices. The first option focuses on the point you selected that is nearest to the camera and then takes more shots, focusing further and further until it reaches infinity. The second option takes three shots, starting with the point you’ve selected, then the closest focus it can do, and finally around infinity.

Exposure Smoothing and Shooting Interval

The next item on the menu is exposure smoothing. If you set this to on, the camera will adjust the exposure with each shot it takes. I generally leave it off, as I don’t expect the lighting conditions to change in the few seconds that the camera takes the shots.

The shooting interval option allows you to choose whether you want a gap between your shots or not. If you set it to the shortest, the camera will take the shots as fast as it can, according to the shutter speed you need.

Storing Your Files

The final option on the menu is where you want to store those files. I find it useful to store them in a separate folder for easy identification later, especially when I’m doing something like exposure bracketing as well.

Post-Processing Your Images

Once you’ve taken your focus bracketed images, you can process them in Lightroom and Photoshop. In Lightroom, select all your images, go to photo, and then the edit in menu, and open as layers in Photoshop.

In Photoshop, select all the layers and choose auto align layers from the edit menu. Then, choose auto blend layers and select the option that says stack images. The final result is a stack image that should have everything perfectly in focus.

When to Use Focus Bracketing

Typically, focus bracketing is used when you’re using a wide-angle lens for landscape photography and you have something close to you in the foreground. It’s also useful in macro photography when you want the whole scene to be perfectly sharp.

I hope you found this guide helpful. If you’re interested in learning more about focus stacking, I have a separate video that explains how to do focus stacking manually. So, go out, have some fun with your camera, and I look forward to seeing you next time!