As I have written before the ergonomics of Sony camcorders fall short. After trying my AX-700 in the field for wildlife and travel with unchanged function buttons, I started to make a series of changes which have made life more convenient for my particular purposes.
An annoying feature is that some of the function buttons are labelled with their default function, so that their label remains when the button does something entirely different. If I do not use the camera for several months or hand it to somebody else, it helps to be reminded of what the new function is. Therefore I used to a labelling machine to mark new or changed functions. The labels, of course, can be removed if necessary.
Because I sometimes want to take a still photograph and on this model a visit to the menu system is needed to shift from video to still and vice versa, I assigned Button 3 to toggle between the two modes. Then Button 4 becomes the shutter release (as labelled) in Stills Mode.
The normal Menu button is inconveniently placed way along the side of the camcorder. In Video Mode, therefore, I assigned Menu to Button 4, which is convenient for the index finger of the right hand.
I am often using the camcorder to take birds in bushes or trees. To check quickly if the autofocus is on the bird or surrounding branches, I have Button 5 set for Focus Peaking—also convenient for a finger of the right hand. I can then quickly decide whether or not to switch to manual focus.
I found I needed the option to swap quickly between focus areas so I have assigned Button 6 to Focus Area.
Buttons 1 and 2 remain unchanged.
Thus far, I find the modified set-up works well for the kind of work I do. Here is a summary:
ASSIGN BUTTON 3 SHOOTING MODE toggles VIdeo—Stills
ASSIGN BUTTON 4 MENU (video mode only)
ASSIGN BUTTON 5 PEAKING
ASSIGN BUTTON 6 FOCUS AREA
And here is the AX-700 with the Function Buttons labelled:
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