Coming from the bigger brother, the Sony a7IV, the first thing you notice when using the a7CII is that there is less custom buttons available and more importantly the joystick is gone. There is still enough buttons available and Sony lets you customize very freely to achieve the best and most ergonomic shooting experience.

I want my camera to be possible to operate using only one hand and realistically there is 3 buttons (maybe 4 with the center button) that are easy to access without any risk of loosing the grip on the camera. Those are the Movie Button, AF-ON Button and the Center Wheel Left Button. So it is crucial for me to assign the most important and most frequently used settings to them. Less frequently modified settings will be assigned to the other buttons not totally randomly but the order or placement is not crucial I would say.

Really quick mention about my typical shooting and focus mode. I use Aperture Priority with Auto ISO up the 6400 and my Minimum Shutter Speed varies depending on the lighting and the lens I use. My focus is set to autofocus continuous and my focus area to Zone. OK let’s dive into the custom buttons (and sorry Japanese camera = menus are only in Japanese so I did not take in-menu pictures)

Movie Button: AEL Toggle

For photography I use the Movie button to lock exposure. You can always change the metering mode or play with the exposure compensation dial but still, the quickest way to find the good exposure is pointing the camera somewhere you want the metering to be done, locking exposure and recompose.

AF-ON button: Tracking (Center Fix) + AF-ON

The a7CII has the AI chip that further improves the autofocus over the a7IV. I am finding myself not needing to use the AF-ON button while disabling the focus on the shutter technique. I trust the autofocus and usually have the focus area in Zone but my AF-ON button serves as an alternative way to focus. It focuses in the center and enable tracking. Works well on moving subject, you place it in the center of your frame. Press + hold the AF-ON button and then you are free to recompose or waiting the perfect moment to release the shutter while your subject being tracked. Also works well as a simple focus and recompose technique

Center Wheel Left Button: AF/MF Selector Toggle

I use this to ‘lock’ my focus point. 99% of the time my autofocus settings are doing the job perfectly but when in a tricky situation, maybe shooting a reflection, or when I am using the fishing technique waiting for a subject to come in the frame, I just have to press this button once to switch to MF. I can focus with the autofocus first and then switch to MF to ‘lock’ my focus point. To go back to autofocus I just have to press the button once more. I prefer this solution so I don’t have to keep my button pressed on any button reducing the stress if I have to wait for a long time.

Control Wheel: Move AF Frame ←→ Std.

Here is one my solution to deal with the absence of Joystick on the a7CII. As I mentioned before the Focus Area Zone is very satisfactory me and I like it because it covers a big area of the frame while still focusing ,most of the time, on what I want the camera to focus on. With this custom settings you just have to spin the wheel left or right to make the focus area move accordingly. You have to choose either vertical or horizontal movement and I find the horizontal movement a lot more useful than vertical movement when shooting photos.

Center Wheel Right Button: ISO AUTO Min. SS

Aperture priority mode with AUTO ISO has been my go-to shooting mode for years. Depending on the light available or the lens I am using I adjust my minimum shutter speed. Also on the fly, rather than switching to manual mode when I know I can reduce my shutter speed because I am standing still for instance, I have quick access to this setting. I can reduce the minimum shutter speed limiting the bump in ISO for cleaner files. Or in the opposite scenario when I know I will shoot fast paced, maybe people coming towards me, I can bump that up to freeze the action embracing a bit more ISO noise.

Center Wheel Down Button: Switch Silent Mode

Slient mode has its limitation, it’s terrible in artificial light and makes horrendous jello effect if shooting on the move when camera is not still, but can come in handy when you don’t want to be noticed or don’t want to break a genuine moment. One press to activate the silent mode and one more to get out of it.

Center Wheel Center Button: APS-C S35/Full Frame

I wish that using this mode was not definitive, giving you the possibility to use the full sensor crop when editing the RAW file but I still use it frequently. I know I could shoot in Full Frame and crop in post but sometimes I need to see the crop in camera to see if the cropped in composition really works. 33mpx is a lot so the files you get taken with the crop mode are totally usable and it really helps me compose better shots.

Custom Button 1: Metering Mode

The custom buttons are not easy to access when shooting one handed with the a7CII so I assign settings that I know I change a lot less frequently than the ones mentioned before. The Metering Mode is one of them. I have other technique to achieve the optimal exposure explained briefly before, but I still like having quick access to the Metering Modes. A good example is when shooting highlight and shadow kind of scene. I can very easy switch to the highlight metering mode using the custom button 1

Custom Button 2: Drive Mode

The Drive Mode is another setting that I very rarely change. Most of the time I am in continuous shooting Mid. It’s a good balance that let me take only one picture when I am quick on the shutter or a series of picture when letting my finger pressed. I like to have access to the drive mode if I am in a situation where I want to increase the speed and maximize the chances to have one frame taken at the right timing.

Touch Screen: Touch Focus AE OFF

That’s my last resort when none of the autofocusing solution aforementioned are working. I like using my cameras like cameras, not like smartphones, so I avoid touching the screen as much as possible. But still, I have to admit that it comes in handy sometimes and definitely on this camera without the joystick I find myself touching the screen to create a new, smaller focus area. I use it especially when I want to focus on a small detail in any of the corners of the frame.