Conference Event Photography with the Sony A7iii
Delegate speaking at corporate conference event. Sony A7iii, ISO 400, 135mm, f/4, 1/50 sec
Last week I photographed this large scale conference at The Queens Hotel in Leeds.
I shot using the Sony A7iii, switching between the 24-70 f/2.8 GM and the 70-200 f/4 G. The focussing abilities and low light performance were excellent and I shot mostly without flash as a videographer was also recording the event.
When I did use flash I opted for manual exposure and TTL flash metering, which gave me consistent and accurate exposures throughout. I found it a lot easier to balance ambient and flash using the Sony A7iii and Godox TT685S than I previously did with my Nikon D800 and SB900. The majority of the time however I shot without flash and simply chose the aperture, letting the camera decide shutter speed and ISO up to a maximum of ISO 3200.
I was really happy with the performance and image quality from the 70-200 f/4.0 which I used for the vast majority of shots. Autofocus was fast, quiet and accurate and image stabilisation was superb. The maximum aperture on this lens of f/4 is enough to get decent subject isolation and nice background blur, especially at the longer focal lengths and getting closer to the subject. At approximately half the weight of the f/2.8 version, it is much easier to use as a walkabout lens although I would be surprised if I ever use any other aperture than f/4!
I took my D800 along as backup but didn't use it once and I'm now confident enough of the A7iii to leave the Nikon at home in future.