I’ve been playing with my new camera, the Sony A7iii for about a month now, and I’ve really been impressed. It’s great for photo and video, but today, I’m taking a look at one of the video features my son loves. Holden is always wanting to do things in slow motion. Many of the phones these days can do slow motion videos where the video is automatically recorded in slow mo. Video cameras have had the ability to record at a higher frame rate for a while, but you had to slow it down on the computer. Now I can do it in camera with the Sony A7iii S&Q mode.
Sony A7iii S&Q Mode
My first thought when I found out about this mode was, When would I use this? For the most part, I film everything is 60 fps, so I have the option to slow down any footage later. When you use S&Q, it’s automatically recorded in slow motion and I lose the option of using it at regular speed. Yes, this allows me to skip the step of slowing it down in post, but losing the regular footage seems like a bad trade-off. The only time I would use this is if I needed the slow-motion video quickly, and I didn’t have time or access to my normal computer.
How to Use the Sony A7iii S&Q Mode
Using the Sony A7iii S&Q Mode does make shooting slow motion video relatively easy. The biggest step is the initial setup. In the _____ menu, you can find S&Q. You need to set the frame rate that it shoots in and the final output. I used 60 FPS and the final output at 24 FPS. After that, there is a setting for S&Q on the dial. Simply turn it to S&Q and it will shoot slow-motion video. The only other thing you’ll need to adjust is the general exposure settings.
Sony A7iii S&Q Mode Performance
I’ve tried out the Sony A7iii S&Q Mode a few times in different situations. Both times were outside. One time the kids were playing outside and the other time I had them running through water. I can’t recall what the focus mode was for the first time, but for the second time, I used the Center Lock-AF and it worked well for tracking the subjects. In the end, the final video looked smooth, and it was nice being able to see it in slow motion during playback. My only complaint is that I wanted to shoot in 120 FPS but Center Lock-AF doesn’t work in that mode for some reason. I just don’t think my manual focusing skills are there to track a fast-moving object.
Conclusion
The Sony A7iii S&Q Mode is a neat addition to have and I’m sure plenty of people will use it. I might play around with occasionally to make my son happy, but overall, I don’t think I’ll ever use it in my professional workflow.
