You’re filming a wedding. Awesome.

But what shots do you actually need to capture to create an incredible wedding film?

That’s exactly what this guide is going to show you. This is the complete wedding videography shot list that I’ve refined over 15+ years of filming weddings.

Download your free shot list PDF here:
https://courses.whoismatt.com/weddingshotlist

Save it to your phone or print it out so you never miss a moment on a wedding day. And if you want to see the list actually being used, my behind the scenes films walk through real wedding days start to finish.

Why You Still Need a Shot List

You’ll hear people say that wedding films are art and shouldn’t be boxed into a checklist.

That sounds nice… but it’s not practical.

Every wedding has critical moments you cannot miss. You would never stop recording before the kiss, right?

This shot list is your foundation. It guarantees you capture everything essential. Then your creativity builds on top of it.

Think of this as the minimum coverage required for a great wedding film.

Download it here before we dive in:
https://courses.whoismatt.com/weddingshotlist

The Core Framework: Wide, Medium, Tight

This is the most important concept in this entire guide.

For everything you film, get:

• Wide shot
• Medium shot
• Tight shot

If you follow this rule, editing becomes dramatically easier because you always have variety.

1. Establishing Shots

Start every location with establishing shots.

These shots tell your audience where they are and provide context.

• Drone wide shots of venue
• Gimbal shots walking in
• Medium shots with foreground elements
• Tight shots of details like architecture

If you’re using a gimbal for these shots, this will help you get smoother footage:
how to use a gimbal

Speaking of which, The Antigravity A1 Gets Every Wedding Aerial Shot in Two Minutes and ALL The Audio Gear You Need To Film A Wedding are worth a look too.

If there are multiple locations, you need establishing shots for each one.

2. Groom Prep

Start by establishing the room using your wide, medium, tight framework.

Then capture:

• Groom interacting with groomsmen
• Laughing, talking, joking
• Putting on dress shirt (window light is best)
• Cufflinks
• Tie adjustments
• Jacket going on

Pro tip: Always get a mix of wide, medium, and tight for each action.

Moody Thoughtful Shots

This is one of the most powerful shots you can get.

Have the groom:

• Look out a window
• Look down
• Look at camera

These shots become emotional storytelling gold during editing.

If he wrote a letter or you want to do a quick interview, this is the perfect time.

3. Bride Prep

Same structure:

• Establish the room
• Show the bride early
• Capture interactions with bridesmaids

Hair & Makeup Rules

Only film the second half of the process.

Avoid:

• Hair extensions
• Fake eyelashes
• Contour application

Focus on:

• Hairspray
• Lipstick
• Final touch-ups

More Moody Shots

Before the dress goes on, get those same emotional shots of the bride.

This is also the best time for:

• Letter reading
• Interview

Dress Shots

• Zipper going up
• Mom or maid of honor helping
• Bridesmaids’ reactions to the dress

4. First Look

This is one of the most emotional parts of the day.

Capture:

• Groom waiting (moody shots)
• Bride walking up (gimbal works great)
• Reaction from both

Huge tip: You can ask the bride to pause so you can reposition. You are allowed to direct.

If possible, have:

• One camera on groom
• One camera on bride

Then let the moment breathe. Capture everything naturally.

5. Ceremony

Start with establishing shots:

• Empty ceremony space
• Guests arriving
• Hugs and greetings

Processional

• Front aisle angle
• 50mm lens works great
• Capture everyone walking in

Main Ceremony

• Two tripod cameras (both sides)
• Close-ups during vows
• Reaction shots of family

The Kiss & Exit

• Center aisle for the kiss
• Walk backward filming exit

Do not stop recording.

The celebration right after is one of the best moments of the entire day.

6. Portraits

Focus on movement, not just poses.

• Walking together
• Spinning
• Dipping
• Hands running along arms
• Kissing shoulder

You can get all of this in about 5 minutes.

7. Reception

Establishing + Details

• Wide of room
• Centerpieces
• Decor details

Grand Entrance

• Wedding party
• Couple entrance
• Wide + tight shots

Dances

• Wide for context
• Tight for emotion

Toasts

• Speaker close-up
• Guest reactions

Events

• Cake cutting
• Bouquet toss
• Garter toss

Dance Floor

Go handheld and keep moving.

• Medium and tight shots
• 20 to 30 seconds per group
• Work around the floor in a circle

Watch for:

• Important guests
• High energy moments
• Dance circles

8. Exit Shots

Could be:

• Sparklers
• Bubbles
• Glow sticks

Capture:

• Guests lined up
• Close-ups of props
• Couple walking through
• Wide shot of car leaving

Final Thoughts

If you capture everything on this list, you will have everything you need to create an incredible wedding film.

This shot list removes stress, gives you confidence, and lets you focus on being creative.

Download the full shot list here:
https://courses.whoismatt.com/weddingshotlist

Save it to your phone and use it at every wedding.

If you want to go deeper into editing your footage, check out my full guide:
Edit Videos Like A Pro

If you want your Instagram Reels to look as sharp and professional as possible in 2026, your export settings matter more than ever.

In this guide, I’ll walk you step-by-step through the best export settings in Adobe Premiere Pro, plus a few critical phone-side tweaks that most creators completely miss.

I’ve also created free custom sequence presets, export presets, and a safe zone template to make this process even easier.

Let’s jump in.

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Step 1: Set Up the Correct Sequence Settings

Before exporting, your sequence needs to be correct.

When creating a new sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro, use:

• Resolution: 1080 x 1920 (Vertical 9:16)
• Frame Rate :
  • 23.976 fps
  • 29.97 fps
  • 59.94 fps

Choose the frame rate that matches your footage.

As of mid-2025, Instagram supports native playback from 24fps up to 60fps, so you no longer have to worry about forced 24 → 30fps conversion.

For this example, we’ll assume 23.976fps.

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Step 2: Use a Safe Zone Template (Very Important)

Instagram overlays buttons and UI elements over your Reel. If your text or important visuals are too close to the edges, they will get covered.

That’s why I recommend using a safe zone overlay template.

Simply:

1. Place it on a layer above your edit.
2. Position your text and important elements inside the safe area.
3. Disable the overlay before exporting.

This alone will make your content look more professional.

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Step 3: Best Export Settings in Premiere Pro

To export:

• Go to Export
• Or press Command + M / Control + M

Format

Choose:

HEVC (H.265)

Why? Because most modern smartphones record in H.265, and Instagram expects this format.

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Basic Video Settings

Click Match Source to pull in:

• 1920 x 1080 (Full HD vertical)
• Correct frame rate
• Progressive
• Square pixels (1.0)

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Advanced Quality Settings

Click More…

Enable:

• ✅ Render at Maximum Depth
• ✅ Use Maximum Render Quality

These improve overall clarity.

For Performance, choose:

• Hardware Encoding (if available)

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Step 4: The Perfect Bitrate

This is critical.

You want:

• High enough bitrate for quality
• Low enough to avoid unnecessarily massive file sizes

Recommended Bitrates

• 24fps or 30fps: 30 Mbps
• 60fps: 50 Mbps

This matches or slightly exceeds what phones typically record at.

For Bitrate Encoding:

• Choose VBR, 1 Pass

Why not Constant Bitrate?

On Mac, Constant Bitrate can force software encoding, dramatically slowing export times.

While you’re here, take a look at How To Edit & Export High Quality Instagram Reels in Adobe Premiere Pro, How To Edit & Export High Quality Instagram Reels In DaVinci Resolve 18, and How to Export High Quality Instagram Stories in Premiere Pro (Vertical or Horizontal Video).

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Step 5: Transfer to Your Phone

After exporting:

• Use AirDrop (Mac)
• Or Dropbox (works on everything)

Now comes the part most people skip.

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The Secret to Even Higher Quality on Instagram

You should NOT upload your Reel directly through Instagram.

Instead, Instagram prioritizes uploads through their Edits app.

Step 1: Open the Edits App

Import your finished video.

You do NOT need to re-edit anything.

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Step 2: Export at 4K (Yes, Even Though It’s 1080p)

Inside the Edits app:

• Choose 4K at 30fps

Even if your video is 1080p.

Why?

Because exporting in 4K forces Instagram to allocate a higher bitrate when re-encoding your video, preserving more detail.

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Step 3: Send Directly to Instagram

This is crucial.

You must press:

Send to Instagram

If you export to camera roll and upload manually, you will not get the quality boost.

When done correctly, Instagram will automatically process your video at higher quality.

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Final Checklist for Maximum Reel Quality

✅ Sequence: 1080 x 1920
✅ Frame rate matches footage
✅ Export in HEVC (H.265)
✅ 30 Mbps (24/30fps) or 50 Mbps (60fps)
✅ VBR 1 Pass
✅ Maximum Depth + Maximum Render Quality
✅ Use Edits app
✅ Export as 4K
✅ Send directly to Instagram

Do all of this, and your Reels will look noticeably sharper than most creators on the platform.

If you want the free presets and safe zone template, grab them here.

And if you found this helpful, make sure you check out my other export guides!

Got a Panasonic camera? The DMW-DMS1 is the on-camera microphone you’ve always dreamed of!

With 32-bit float recording and six directional modes, this is easily one of the best and most versatile microphones I’ve ever used. In this review, I’m looking at it from two perspectives: a wedding filmmaker who needs high-quality scratch audio, and a YouTuber who occasionally vlogs.

If you want to record high-quality audio with your Panasonic camera and keep a very small footprint, this review is for you.

And for the sake of ethics, this is not a paid or sponsored review by Panasonic. They did send me this microphone so I could make this review, but everything you’re about to read is my honest opinion.

Let’s get into it.

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Build Quality and Design (Yes, It’s Weird)

I have to tell you… this is one of the weirdest looking microphones I may have ever used.

It genuinely looks like Panasonic took their larger Panasonic DMW-XLR2 unit, removed the XLR ports, slapped a spaceship-shaped mic capsule on top, and hit it with a shrink ray.

But as weird as it looks, the mic capsule design actually makes a lot of sense.

The circular portion houses the omnidirectional microphones. Below that, where the capsule connects to the body, is a built-in shock mount that flexes and moves to eliminate mic noise caused by movement or impact.

And I actually like this shock mount design better than how Sony handles many of their on-camera mics, where the entire mic sits in a suspension system that can sometimes bump against itself if you move the camera too aggressively.

Also, this thing is tiny! Seriously tiny. But Panasonic packed a ton of features into it.

Another thing you might not notice until you mount it: the improved hot shoe locking mechanism. Panasonic reworked it from the DMW-XLR2, and it’s significantly better. Less wobble. More stable. It feels solid.

I’m hoping they retrofit this locking system into future versions of the XLR2.

---

32-Bit Float: Why This Is a Big Deal

Before we talk about all the buttons and switches, we need to talk about audio quality.

This is a 32-bit float capable microphone system.

If you pair it with a Panasonic camera that supports 32-bit float, like the Panasonic Lumix GH7 or the S1 II series — you basically never have to worry about your audio being too quiet or too loud.

If it’s too quiet, you can raise the levels dramatically in post without introducing hiss or buzzing.
If it peaks, you can usually recover it.

Your limitations aren’t really about digital clipping anymore, they’re about the physical sound pressure level the capsule can handle.

And Panasonic is using high-quality capsules rated up to 120 dB SPL before peaking.

That’s loud. Like, “put it inside a jet engine” loud (not that you should).

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Controls, Gain, and Limiter

On the side, you’ll find:

• Gain switch
• Gain knob
• Limiter switch

If you’re recording in 32-bit float, these don’t matter. The camera handles levels automatically.

That’s one less thing to think about.

If you’re using an older Panasonic body like the S5 II or S5 IIX (which don’t support 32-bit float internally), then you’ll use the gain knob like a traditional mic.

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Wind Cut (And Why It’s Actually Good)

There’s a wind cut switch with Standard and High settings.

Normally, I don’t recommend using wind cut features on most microphones because they just chop out a big chunk of frequencies in a blunt way. You can usually do better in post.

But this is where 32-bit float changes things.

Because of the wider dynamic range, Panasonic was able to make the wind reduction dramatically more effective while preserving more usable audio.

In my testing using the included wind muff (which is designed to stay on permanently) and even blasting the mic with an air blower, the wind reduction was genuinely impressive.

It removes significantly more wind noise than most on-camera microphones I’ve used.

There’s also a noise cut feature that works similarly in loud environments. It helps reduce background noise while keeping voices clear, and it also benefits from the 32-bit float processing.

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The Star of the Show: Six Directional Modes

Now we get to the best part.

This mic has six directional beamforming modes.

On the back, instead of a dial like the Sony ECM-M1, the DMW-DMS1 uses soft-touch buttons. That means you can change directionality mid-recording without physically twisting anything and shaking the mic.

You can choose:

• Narrow front pickup
• Wider front pickup
• 180° front
• Rear only
• Front and rear simultaneously
• And more nuanced variations

The buttons light up to indicate the active mode (and yes, you can dim them in the camera menu).

For vlogging, this is incredible. But it gets better!

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The Hidden Feature That Makes This Mic Unreal

Because this microphone supports four-channel 32-bit float recording through the hot shoe, Panasonic unlocked something special.

There are two backup recording modes.

The first mode records:

• Channels 1 & 2: normal stereo
• Channels 3 & 4: the same signal at -20 dB

Cool. Safety tracks are always nice.

But the second mode?

Channel 1: Left
Channel 2: Right
Channel 3: Omnidirectional (all directions)
Channel 4: Omnidirectional at -20 dB

This is the mode I would use almost all the time.

You can set the mic to directional mode for yourself, but simultaneously record an omni backup. That means if you forget to switch directions mid-shoot (which I’ve done more times than I can count) you’re covered.

With my Sony mics, once you pick a direction, you’re locked in. If you forget to flip it when something important happens off-axis, you’re stuck fixing bad audio in post.

Not here.

You always have options in editing.

For wedding filmmaking or documentary work, this is huge. Imagine filming someone speaking to camera and another person steps in from the side and says something important. If your mic was too directional, you’d miss it.

But with this backup mode, you just switch to the omni track in post.

That flexibility alone makes this one of the most versatile on-camera microphones available today, especially when you combine it with 32-bit float recording, which Sony still doesn’t offer in this form factor.

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Final Thoughts: Is It Worth It?

If you own a Panasonic camera and you’ve been looking for a shotgun mic that mounts directly to the hot shoe, this is easily the one to buy.

Yes, it looks weird.

But the Panasonic DMW-DMS1 packs more functionality than any shotgun mic I’ve ever used.

For wedding filmmakers, YouTubers, and hybrid shooters who want:

• Small footprint
• 32-bit float recording
• Directional flexibility
• Built-in safety tracks
• Legitimately useful wind reduction

You’re going to love using this.

And if you’re building out your wedding filmmaking kit, make sure you download my free Wedding Filmmaker Gear Guide. It walks you through all the equipment I personally recommend.

Thanks so much for reading. If you found this helpful, check out my other gear reviews!

The most time-consuming part of creating any wedding film is editing.

You can film a wedding in one day. Editing it? That can take days, sometimes weeks. And as someone who has edited literally hundreds of wedding films, I can confidently say most of your editing time is spent discovering and shaping the story.

You are digging through ceremony audio, the officiant’s message, vows, toasts, letters, interviews, and all of those emotional in-between moments. You sit there, headphones on, scrubbing through hours of A-roll trying to find the heart of the day.

It is one of the most creative parts of editing.

It is also one of the most time-consuming.

But what if there was a tool that could listen to all of that for you, identify the most powerful moments, and assemble them into a structured story on your timeline?

That tool exists.

It’s called Plotline.

My name is Matt Johnson, and today I want to walk you through what Plotline does, how well it works, and yes, talk about the elephant in the room: it uses AI. I have pushed this further before too, and made an entirely AI generated wedding video to see where it fell apart.

And anytime you say “AI” in a creative space, people have opinions.

For the record, this is not sponsored. Plotline was created by my friend Maclean Carlson of Hello Tomorrow Films, one of the most talented wedding filmmakers I know. He built it because he wanted to save time on one of the most exhausting parts of wedding editing: story assembly.

But, if you signup for Plotline using this affiliate link, I will get a small commission, plus you can use the coupon code “WHOISMATT” for 30% off your first 3 months.

So let’s break it down.

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How Plotline Works

For this test, I used DaVinci Resolve, but Plotline works with all major editing platforms including Adobe Premiere and Final Cut.

Here’s the basic workflow:

1. Import and sync all your footage.
2. Build a timeline with your full A-roll: letters, ceremony, vows, toasts, etc.
3. Export an FCPXML file of that timeline.
4. Export a full MP3 of the timeline audio.
5. Upload both files to Plotline.

That’s it.

Once uploaded, Plotline analyzes the audio, transcribes everything, combines that with your XML data, and starts building a story.

Maclean confirmed that your files are not used to train AI models. They remain private.

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Speaker Detection and Transcripts

Once processing is complete, you get a full transcript with labeled speakers.

You can manually name them, or you can hit “Identify Speakers” and let the AI do it. It’s impressively accurate.

From there, you move into the real magic: the Story Script.

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AI Story Generation

Click “Create Story Script” and you’ll be asked a few questions:

• Short, medium, or long film?
• High dialogue or minimal dialogue?
• Which themes should be emphasized?
• Which moments are must-include or exclude?
• Do certain speakers need guaranteed segments?

You can even weight the edit toward vows, toasts, ceremony, reception, or write a custom focus.

And yes, you can automatically remove things like:

• Legal formalities
• DJ filler chatter
• “For those of you who don’t know me…”

Once you hit generate, it takes about 45–60 seconds.

Then you’re presented with a fully structured story script, broken into emotional beats with clear narrative flow.

Hook.
Origins.
Development.
Emotional peaks.
Resolution.

You can preview the audio, tweak settings, regenerate, or export an XML and drop it directly back into your editing software.

And just like that, you have a fully assembled A-roll timeline.

It honestly feels like magic.

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Is It Actually Good?

This is the real question.

Storytelling is subjective. But from a quality standpoint, I was impressed.

The AI built a competent, emotionally structured story that absolutely would work for a wedding film. It understood tone. It identified recurring motifs. It surfaced powerful lines.

Maclean has said it’s trained on a large dataset of well-edited wedding films, and it shows. It understands pacing and narrative arcs in a way that feels intentional.

What really stood out to me is how much control you have. You are not just pressing a button and accepting whatever it spits out. You can heavily tailor the story to your style.

Can it fully edit your film?

No.

It only handles the A-roll story assembly.

You still need to:

• Add music
• Mix audio
• Layer B-roll
• Color grade
• Shape pacing
• Fine-tune emotional beats

There are still hours of creative work left.

But Plotline removes a massive chunk of the initial heavy lifting.

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The AI Debate

Now let’s talk about the controversial part.

AI.

Some people will love this. Others will hate it.

I can see high-volume wedding filmmakers using Plotline to dramatically speed up their workflow and deliver films faster.

I can see wedding photographers moving into video using this as a bridge, since editing audio-driven stories is very different from editing still images.

I can see filmmakers who primarily use music in their edits using Plotline to finally explore story-driven films.

But I can also see more established wedding filmmakers being frustrated.

Because discovering and structuring the story is arguably the most creative part of the edit.

Yes, it is time-consuming.
Yes, it is exhausting.
But it is deeply artistic.

I think this debate really comes down to philosophy.

Some people approach wedding filmmaking as a business. Efficiency matters. Speed matters. Throughput matters.

Others approach it as art. They would never relinquish creative control over story structure to AI.

Personally?

I love the editing process. Discovering the story is my favorite part.

So I don’t see myself using Plotline in my workflow.

But that doesn’t mean it’s bad. It just means it doesn’t align with how I enjoy creating.

There are two sides to AI right now.

There’s generative AI that creates art from text prompts, trained on millions of artists’ work. That understandably upsets many creatives.

Then there are AI tools that save time on tedious tasks. Think of the auto audio mixer in DaVinci Resolve. It levels everything in seconds instead of hours.

Plotline feels much closer to that second category.

It’s not replacing your creativity.
It’s compressing busy work.

But I genuinely want to know what you think.

Would you use it?
Do you think it could build a wedding story better than you?
Where do you fall on the AI spectrum?

You can check out Plotline and use coupon code “WhoisMatt” to save 30% off your first three months.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks so much for reading, and have a great day.

Sony just made the a7siii better with firmware version 5.0!

We are talking big improvements to vertical filmmaking, autofocus, and more! Lets go through all of them!

But before we jump in, quick plug. If you want to fully optimize your Sony camera for fast filmmaking, I have a settings preset file that gives you the absolute best filmmaking setup for the a7S III. I have tested it and confirmed it works perfectly with firmware version 5.0. You can download it for free and install it directly on your camera.

Alright, let’s dive into the firmware updates.

Vertical Menu Display

The first thing you’ll notice after updating to firmware 5.0 is the new vertical display. As soon as you rotate the camera vertically, the menus and settings automatically rotate with it.

This is fantastic news if you’re filming vertical video. No more awkwardly tilting your head sideways just to check your settings. Everything stays oriented correctly, and it honestly works really well.

Sony, you know what else would work really well?!

Open gate.

Sadly, that’s still not here. I doubt we’ll see it until an a7S IV or maybe an FX3 Mark II. I’ve already made videos talking about when those cameras might be released, if you want to go down that rabbit hole.

New Autofocus Options: Spot XL and Custom AF Boxes

The next two updates live in roughly the same menu, so we’ll bundle them together.

First, Sony added a new spot focus size option called Spot XL. If you use spot focus but have always been annoyed by how small the focus box could get, congratulations. You now have an extra large option.

But maybe you’re thinking, that’s cool, but what if I need something even bigger? Or smaller? Or some weird custom shape that I want to keep in focus?

That’s where the second autofocus update comes in, and honestly, this one is even better.

Sony added three custom autofocus boxes that you can create yourself. You can make them as large or as small as you want and place them anywhere on the screen.

I really love this feature. I’ll be honest, I don’t use spot focus very often, but the ability to fully customize it actually makes me want to use it more.

And if you’re a spot focus lover, I know you’re out there, you weirdo, you’re going to love this update.

New Accessibility Feature: Enlarged Menus

Sony also added a new accessibility feature, and I’m always a big fan of companies doing this.

There is now an option to enlarge the screen display on the a7S III, which makes menu text larger and easier to read. It’s a simple feature, but it can make a big difference for a lot of people.

Big thumbs up to Sony for including this!

Individual Memory Card Recording Time Display

Next up is a smaller update, but arguably one of the most requested ones. And it’s kind of weird.

Sony added back a feature that existed in earlier firmware, disappeared in versions 3.0 and 4.0, and has now returned in 5.0.

If you’re recording video using dual memory cards, the camera will now show you the remaining recording time for each card individually.

In firmware versions 3.0 and 4.0, it only showed a combined remaining time for both cards. Now you can see exactly how much space is left on each card, which is way more useful.

So… thanks, Sony?

I’m not sure if we should be thanking them for adding something back that was already there, but hey, at least it’s back now. It’s kind of like if Apple removed the headphone jack and then later said just kidding, you can have it again. That would be wild, right? Right…

USB Streaming and Webcam Support

We’re not done yet! The a7S III now supports USB streaming, meaning you can use it as a webcam.

All you have to do is go into the setup menu, enable USB streaming, connect the camera to your computer, and it should just work.

If it doesn’t work for you, it’s probably because you secretly like Nikon, and Sony somehow knows that you’ve been adapting E-mount lenses to other cameras. They’re very disappointed in you.

Speaking of which, BIG Update For Sony A7S III Is Here For Filmmakers! is worth a look too.

Digital Signature for Video Authentication

This next update is going to be incredibly exciting for roughly seven people, but it’s actually pretty interesting.

Sony added a digital signature feature for video. No, you’re not signing your camera like Peter McKinnon signing someone’s gear at NAB. True story, I watched that happen in 2019. Wild moment.

This digital signature is used to verify that a video was actually recorded with your camera and not generated or altered by AI. Considering how realistic AI video is getting, this is a genuinely useful feature.

Being able to prove that a moment really happened and was captured with a real camera is going to matter more and more moving forward, and I’m glad Sony is thinking ahead here.

Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements

Yes, there are bug fixes, baby!

Sony fixed an audio recording bug where the camera could tell you it was not recording audio even though it actually was. That could definitely lead to some awkward clips, so I’m very glad that one got fixed.

Sony also mentioned general operational stability improvements. That usually means they fixed a few bugs behind the scenes. We may never know exactly what changed, but more stability is always welcome.

Should You Update to Firmware 5.0?

I’ve had a lot of people ask two main questions.

First: will updating delete all of your custom settings?

The good news is no, as long as you’re updating from firmware version 3.0 or newer. Since Sony moved to updating via memory card, your settings will stay intact.

Second: should you even update at all?

If you’re nervous, it’s totally fine to wait a month and see if any bugs pop up. Personally, I haven’t experienced any issues with firmware 5.0 so far, but it also hasn’t been out that long.

Look at the features Sony added and decide for yourself if any of them matter to your workflow. If not, you can stay on your current firmware and be completely fine. You don’t have to update just because a new version exists.

That said, if you want a guaranteed, bug-free way to dramatically improve your footage quality and the speed at which you can film, you should absolutely check out my free a7S III settings preset.

You can download it, install it on your camera, and immediately have everything optimized for fast filmmaking.

Feeling brave? You can download the latest a7S III firmware here. Good luck, and reach out if you need help with anything filmmaking!