Sony SEL70350G 70-350mm - manual lens aperture control?

[mrandle]

I’m using the Sony SEL70350G 70-350mm Zoom Lens with an A6700 Camera.

 

the lens doesn’t have a manual aperture adjustment, so how do I control/adjust aperture settings

when operating in manual mode? (i.e., camera mode set to manual , lens set to manual focus)?

Is the lens aperture still controllable via the camera?

the lens specification is F4.5-6.3 but when using the Camera (in manual mode) it can be set to & displays f-stop settings outside that range - e.g., f8.0  
should i stop trying to control aperture with the Camera (and ignore the f-stop settings being displayed by the Camera?) 

and if so, how do i know what f-stop is being applied to the image?
 

[Pieter]

The aperture range designated on the lens is the maximum aperture at the minimum and maximum focal length, so f/4.5 at 70 mm and f/6.3 at 350 mm. You can choose any aperture value between the maximum value (f/4.5 - f/6.3) and the minimum value (f/22 - f/32). If you're at 70 mm focal length and manually set the aperture to f/4.5 (by turning the default or self-assigned aperture dial), then zoom to 360 mm, the aperture will automatically change to f/6.3.

[mrandle]

Thank-you Pieter for your response, that is very helpful.
So that does that mean the minimum aperture values are;

@ 70mm, min f/22 ?

@ 350mm, min f/32 ?

How do you determine minimum aperture values?

[Pieter]

 

Correct.

The only way to know the min aperture at each focal length is to zoom to 350mm, set the aperture to f/32, then slowly zoom out to 70mm and watch the aperture value change in the display. For the maximum aperture values, zoom all the way out to 70mm and set aperture to f/4.5, then slowly zoom towards 350mm as you watch the aperture change. I happen to own the lens and the maximum aperture values are:

4.5 --> 70-81mm

5.0 --> 82-113mm

5.6 --> 114-199mm

6.3 --> 200-350mm

Minimum aperture:

22 --> 70-86mm

25 --> 87-145mm

29 --> 146-213mm

32 --> 214-350mm

Do bear in mind that the aperture changes are not as discrete as presented here but are in fact gradual. The camera only shows 1/3rd stop aperture values, not intermediate ones.

Edited November 11 by Pieter

[mrandle]

Thanks again Pieter,

do you generally get better results in manual or auto-focus mode?

sometimes the auto-focus selects the wrong object to focus on , so i've been experimenting
with manual focus but finding it difficult to rely on the camera's focus-peaking indicator.

i.e., i've taken shots where the focus-peaking indicates an object is in-focus but in review it's not, 
i'm not sure if the problem is depth of field /aperture setting , camera shake or focal length setting  (or a
combination of these)... 
do you have a preferred method of ensuring the correct subject/object is in focus?

[Pieter]

8 hours ago, mrandle said:

do you generally get better results in manual or auto-focus mode?

Totally depends on subject matter. For general use I find AF to be much more reliable than my poorly developed MF skills. For macro work or other use cases with still subjects where precise focussing is critical, I use MF. If you're struggling with the default focus area (wide), try spot focussing to put the focus point precisely over your subject. Your A6700 has a touchscreen so you can also select the subject by tapping the screen.

8 hours ago, mrandle said:

i.e., i've taken shots where the focus-peaking indicates an object is in-focus but in review it's not, 
i'm not sure if the problem is depth of field /aperture setting , camera shake or focal length setting  (or a
combination of these)... 
do you have a preferred method of ensuring the correct subject/object is in focus?

When manually focussing, I use focus peaking to get a rough estimate of where to focus. Then I use focus magnification to fine-tune the focus plane on my subject. What helps with focus peaking is to use the largest aperture possible so depth of field is very thin. This narrows down the focus peaking zone so it becomes more precise. Focus peaking is also much more precise when using focus magnification. Once focus is spot-on, you can stop down the aperture to your desired working value.

I don't use the MF assist option as I find it very frustrating that the camera magnifies some random area in my composition whenever I turn the focus ring. Instead, I've assigned a custom button for focus magnification. So in general, my MF procedure is like:

Select MF, select max aperture, get rough focus estimate with focus peaking, press magnify button, move zone to be magnified over my subject, press magnify again so subject is magnified, get precise focus with focus peaking, select working aperture, shoot.

Edited November 12 by Pieter

[mrandle]

Thanks Pieter,
i'll do some more experimentation and try out your suggestions.

thank-you

[XKAES]

If you don't have a user manual for your camera, you can get one from the SONY website.  I know it's a nuisance to read, but it will answer your questions on camera operation.  Unlike older lenses, the aperture is controlled by the camera.  You can choose the f-stop when using MANUAL or APERTURE exposure modes.  In the other modes, the camera selects the f-stop for you.