Question about using focus magnifier on a7 IV?

[Mr. Lips]

I'm currently shooting in manual focus.

On my a7 II, if I press the C2 button, an orange square appears.  If I press it a second time, the area inside the square is magnified.

It is very helpful in achieving good focus.  I'd like to be able to do that on the a7 IV, but either the instructions aren't clear or it's  not as simple on the IV.

How do I do the same thing on the a7 IV that I do on the a7 II?

[XKAES]

Some cameras have the built-in magnifier and some don't.  Your user manual will tell you if yours does -- and how to use it.

My cameras don't -- so I use a magnifier that fits onto the viewfinder.

[Pieter]

https://helpguide.sony.net/ilc/2110/v1/en/contents/TP1000616684.html

[Mr. Lips]

26 minutes ago, Pieter said:

https://helpguide.sony.net/ilc/2110/v1/en/contents/TP1000616684.html

Yeah, I saw that, but it's confusing.  At least to me.  Do I have to go into the menu every time I want to magnify the viewfinder?

Doesn't sound like the a7 IV has the same feature as the a7 II, which is a shame.  I really liked that feature.

[Pieter]

I think you just have to press the center button while in MF mode, much like you did with C2 before. Maybe you can even map the function to a custom button.

Edited December 13, 2024 by Pieter

[Cameratose]

19 hours ago, Mr. Lips said:

Yeah, I saw that, but it's confusing.  At least to me.  Do I have to go into the menu every time I want to magnify the viewfinder?

Doesn't sound like the a7 IV has the same feature as the a7 II, which is a shame.  I really liked that feature.

Did you try it? Sometimes you just need to set it up to see how it works since many of us don't use that feature. We can get you close. As far as I know, once it's activated it will be on anytime the camera is set to Manual Focus.

[tadwil]

As @Cameratose has said you have to try because a lot of people probably shoot exclusively with AF lenses and do not use such feature.  Another is the camera is fairly new and there may not be many users in the forum with an A7IV.

I have my doubts that Sony would discard a feature set from an earlier A7xx model.  I have seen the menus system on an A7III on YouTube videos and they had more pages over the A7II and the menu system on an A7IV seem even more complex than an A7III.  Just browse through the menu system on your A7IV and look for what features can be assigned to Custom Buttons, I am sure that feature is still there (from an A7II user).
 

[Mr. Lips]

Yeah, I've tried.  And it seems like you need to go into the menu each time, but I need to play with it some more.  Isn't as hard as one might think, though.  Just not as easy ast the a7 II.

I want to look into the idea of charging one of the custom function buttons to the task.

One of my new prime lenses is a 21mm manual focus.  I shoot, mostly, landscapes and using the hyper focal distance eliminates the need for AF. or focusing manually, for that matter.  I set the aperture to f/11 and set the focus ring to the hyperfocal distance, using either the scales on the lens or the number I got from an online hyperfocal calculator.  Then everything from pretty darn close to infinity is in focus.  Pretty fast and easy way to shoot.

[CapeCodder]

I shoot A7iii and A7Riii, you should be able to set any of your custom buttons to focus magnify. I have C2 set for it. I don't get any orange square, so not sure about that?